Get all 9 Cornelius Eady releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Withstand EP, Withstand (single), THE STERLING BROWN PROJECT: CORNELIUS EADY & ROUGH MAGIC with Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Threnody, WHEN YOU GO TO SLEEP, DO YOU THINK YOU'LL WAKE UP IN AMERICA?, DECEMBER, CHEAP HOTEL EP, Seven Songs EP, and 1 more.
1. |
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The Money Mississippi Blues (1955)
Lyrics by Langston Hughes; Original Music by Jobe Huntley; New Melody: Cornelius Eady
I don’t want to go to Money, honey,
not Money, Mississippi!
no, I wouldn’t go to Money, honey,
down in Mississippi.
There’s pity, sorrow, and pain
in Money, Mississippi.
Tears and blood like rain
in Money, Mississippi,
in Money, Mississippi!
His father died for democracy
fighting in the army over the sea.
His father died for the U. S. A.
Why did they treat his son this a-way?
in Money, Money, Mississippi,
Money, Mississippi.
His mother worked to raise her child,
dressed him neat, kept him from running wild.
She sent him to the country when vacation came,
but he never got back to Chicago the same.
They sent him back in a wooden box----
from Money, Money, Mississippi,
Money, Mississippi.
Like old boy, just fourteen years old,
shot, kicked, and beaten ‘cause he was so bold
to whistle at a woman who was white.
He was throwed in the river in the dead of night
In Money, Money, Mississippi,
Money, Mississippi.
I don’t want to go to Money, honey,
not Money, Mississippi.
No, I wouldn’t want to go to Money, honey,
down in Mississippi.
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2. |
DIVIDED CITY
04:28
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Divided City
Words and Music: Cornelius Eady
Well, I don’t want to make no problems,
Don’t want to raise a fuss,
But I went out to find
Someone re-painting a line
Between the front and the back of the bus.
“I’m getting in touch with my feelings”,
He said,
“I’d rather do this than lie.”
Divided City,
Heart over law,
Then the white man spit in my eye.
Well, I don’t want to seem a cry-baby,
Don’t wish to make a stink,
But I went out to find
A new WHITES ONLY sign
By the fountain where I wanted to drink
“Well you know, I’m just being honest”,
She said,
“Let’s admit that it’s a biased world”
Divided City,
Tribes over law,
“I’m tired of not feeling good”.
Wake up and smell the coffee!
Welcome to the end of the rainbow!
Just when you claw to the top,
They take off your clothes,
Put a bone through your nose,
And serve you that long, long drop.
“Don’t pull that shit on us”,
They said,
“It’s time to re-define.”
Divided City,
Vibes over law,
New bottles,
Old Wine.
Wake up and smell the coffee!
For June
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3. |
ODETTA PLAYS B.B. KING'S
04:13
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Odetta Plays BB King’s
Words and Music: Cornelius Eady
Lay me out in my singing clothes
As long as I’ve got light, then let it shine.
I’ve calloused my fingers on the blues
Many miles on the river, but they’re all mine.
Water’s wet til the well runs dry
A bird’s a bird til they burn the sky
Call me Odetta, I ain’t done yet
A singer is a singer til they snatch your breath.
Get a good strong arm to wheel me down
Then stand back, honey—I don’t mess around
Knuckles on a lily –that’s the way I sound
Got a angel’s laugh and a voice like a crown.
Water’s wet til the well runs dry
A bird’s a bird til they burn the sky
Call me Odetta, I ain’t done yet
A singer is a singer til they snatch your breath.
Lay me out in my singing clothes
Then close the door, and hear me dream.
As long as I’ve got light, then let it shine.
Got bumps on the chassis, but they’re all mine.
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4. |
NO BIG DEAL
03:11
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No Big Deal
Words and Music: Cornelius Eady
So you found him
Where you thought he’d be
Hiding in that
Other gals house.
Once upon a time
This would have rated
Mayhem,
Now you just
Remove the louse.
Now you look into
That woman’s younger eyes.
You know she’ll feel
The way you feel,
When destiny
Turns
To no big deal.
So what’s the term for this moment?
I guess they’d say
You’re a big girl now,
Belting down a scotch
After work,
With all the finesse
The blues will allow.
And you’re looking,
Browsing the bar room mirror
Looking for
A heart to peel.
It used to be
A sideshow,
Now,
It’s no big deal.
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5. |
BURGER AND A SHAKE
05:56
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Words and Music: Cornelius Eady
Hungry little black kid
Makes his first big mistake,
Sits at the counter of the five and dime
For a burger and a shake,
Had no idea
What getting service there would take.
Take a beating with a rubber hose
Take a beating with a fist,
Take half the nation screaming out foul
Just for a place to sit.
Take 30 days on Parchman Farm,
Screaming at the gates,
A shot of guff, a firehose chaser
For a burger and a shake.
Back in 1961
The blues had many friends.
Back in 1961
The South was a world without end.
Antebellum, status quo,
Know your place, and Jim Crow.
Up jumps the sheriff,
He sure ain't on your side.
Calls you an outside agitator,
Though you've lived there all your life.
Calls you a Nigger,
And drags your ass to jail.
He's taking you to America,
Where the blues falls down
Like hail.
Take a church being blown to bits,
Young lives being blown to dust,
Gov't troops, and T.V. news
Just for a seat on the bus,
The Supreme Court and misery,
King, and a double take
From the conscience of a nation
For a burger and a shake.
Hungry little black kid
Makes his first big mistake,
Sits at the counter of the five and dime
For a burger and a shake,
Had no idea
What getting service there would take.
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6. |
DANGEROUS TIMES
04:46
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Dangerous Times
Words and Music: Cornelius Eady
Here's the new law of the land:
Keep the weird out anyway that you can.
Don't let the be-boppers in,
Extract your eardrums
To save them from sin.
It's the rule of the one-eyed man,
A paid holiday back to ol Birmingham.
You can run, but there ain't
No hope,
They'll string you up
While denying the rope
And these are dangerous times,
Don't wanna know
What's waiting in line
No one'll care
If you're going down
For the third time,
It's your half
Of a perfect crime.
A murderous hex,
Don't wanna see
What's coming up next
A tragedy
The world is a slow-motion
Car crash,
Where the hell can a boy resign?
It's the old tale of the fish:
Swallow your neighbor
And make a wish.
It's the old times revival,
Money and birth
Equals survival
There's no need to pretend
Somebody loses, somebody wins.
Rewrite Supreme Court decisions
Turn your talent for hate
Into a tradition
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Cornelius Eady New York, New York
Cornelius Eady is the author of 8 books of poetry, lives in NYC and is the co-founder of Cave Canem. The band Rough Magic came out of the sessions for his CD/Chapbook BOOK OF HOOKS. (Kattywompus Press, Jan. 2013)
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