In her teens, Nelson sang folk music in coffeehouses and with The Fuller's Wood Singers group, and was lead singer in The Fabulous Imitations band.
In 1966, Nelson moved to San Francisco where she became part of the SF music scene . The band she fronted, Mother Earth, played the Fillmore Auditorium, sharing bills with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. It was during this period that Nelson wrote and first recorded her signature song "Down So Low" (released on the Mother Earth album "Living with the Animals") that was later covered by a number of artists including Linda Ronstadt, and Etta James. Nelson re-recorded "Down So Low" herself several times.
In the late 1960s, Nelson relocated to Nashville, where she and Mother Earth recorded the album Make A Joyful Noise and the solo effort Tracy Nelson Country. In 1974, her duet with Willie Nelson, "After the Fire is Gone," was nominated for a Grammy Award.
After a lengthy hiatus from recording in the 1980s, Nelson released several albums on the independent Rounder Records label in the 1990s. Her 1998 "Sing It!" collaboration with label-mates Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas (as Marcia Ball, Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson) garnered a second Grammy nomination.
Since the early 2000s, Nelson has recorded for various independent record labels. Other projects include a collaboration with blues-rock veterans Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Corky Siegel and Sam Lay (as the Chicago Blues Reunion), with Angela Strehli, Annie Sampson, and Dorothy Morrison (as the Blues Broads), and performed intermittently with Missouri band the Bel Airs and with Chicago-based Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues.
Growing up in the early 1960s, Nelson immersed herself in R&B, and later what she calls "the folk scare of the sixties." As an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin, she combined her musical passions singing folk and blues at coffeehouses and R&B at frat parties. In 1964 she went to Chicago to record her first album, Deep Are The Roots. A young harmonica player from Memphis named Charlie Musselwhite played on the album and the two would explore the city's famed south side where she met and was inspired by such legendary figures as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Spann and others. A short time later, Nelson moved to San Francisco and, in the midst of the era's psychedelic explosion, formed Mother Earth. After six Mother Earth albums for Mercury Records and Reprise Records, Nelson continued to record as a solo artist on various labels.
Victim Of The Blues
Tracy Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My man left this morning, just about half past four
He left a not on his pillow, said he couldn’t use me no more
Well I grabbed my pillow, turned over in my bed
Well I grabbed my pillow, turned over in my bed
And I cried about my baby ‘til my cheeks turned cherry red
It’s awful hard to take it, it’s such a bitter pill
If the blues don’t kill me, my man and mean treatin’ will
Too sad to worry, too mean to cry,
Too slow to hurry, too good to lie
My man he left me, done said goodbye
Too sick to stay here, too well to die
People think I’m crazy, I’m just a victim of the blues
Tracy Nelson's "Victim of the Blues" is a poignant portrayal of the pain and heartache that follows a breakup. The opening verse of the song sets the scene by describing the moment when the singer's man leaves her. She awakens to find a note on the pillow that explains he can no longer be with her. Throughout the song, she sings about her feeling of abandonment and despair.
The second verse is a desperate attempt by the singer to fall asleep again. However, her thoughts of her ex-lover flood her mind, and she lies awake moaning and weeping, her eyes turning red from the repeated tears. The third verse is perhaps the most striking, as the singer struggles with the aftermath of her relationship's collapse. She says that the pain is so intense that it is like taking a bitter pill that's difficult to stomach. She fears that if the blues don't kill her, the mean treatment she received from her man will.
The last verse of the song sums up the singer's feeling of desolation, loneliness, and despair. She says that people think she's crazy, but in reality, she's a victim of the blues. The song is a powerful rendition of the heartbreak that comes with a romantic relationship's ending
Line by Line Meaning
My man left this morning, just about half past four
My significant other left me this morning at 4:30 am
He left a not on his pillow, said he couldn’t use me no more
He left a note on his pillow stating that he doesn't want me anymore
Well I grabbed my pillow, turned over in my bed
I held my pillow tight and turned over in my bed
And I cried about my baby ‘til my cheeks turned cherry red
I cried so much over him that my cheeks turned red
It’s awful hard to take it, it’s such a bitter pill
It's extremely difficult to deal with; it's a hard pill to swallow
If the blues don’t kill me, my man and mean treatin’ will
I might not survive because I'm either going to be overwhelmed by sadness (the blues) or his cruel treatment
Too sad to worry, too mean to cry,
I'm beyond worrying because I'm so sad, but I'm also not crying despite my sadness
Too slow to hurry, too good to lie
I'm feeling apathetic and unmotivated to do anything, but I'm still a good person who doesn't lie
My man he left me, done said goodbye
My significant other abandoned me and said his farewell
Too sick to stay here, too well to die
Although I'm very unwell, I'm still not prepared to die yet
People think I’m crazy, I’m just a victim of the blues
Others might perceive me to be insane, but it's just that I'm struggling to cope with intense sadness (the blues)
Contributed by Emma J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Hicham BOULJROUF
Great !! thankx for sharing all this amazing music!
Giancarlo Fina
bel pezzo!
grosper
Great!
Dwain Walton
SANG IT HONEY!
MAN HARA HADASHI
Great