Monday, September 24, 2018

1000 SONGS - DAY 371 SONG #402

DAY 402: A Woman's Blues

Ball and Chain is what I would call a female Blues. It was written by Big Mama Thornton (the one who first recorded Hound Dog by Leiber/Stoller) in 1961, but not recorded before 1968. It was made famous by the rendering of Janis Joplin. Another fine version is that of Etta James. Three women singing a song that deals with the miserable situation of a married woman, who loves her husband that treats her bad, as made clear, for example, in this part of the lyrics:

I said Oh, Oh Baby,
Why do you wanna do all these mean things to me?
I said Oh, Oh Baby, why do you wanna do,
Why do you wanna do all these things to me?
Because you know I love you,
And I'm so sick and tired, so sick and tired of being in misery.
Hey Hey, ball and chain

(Most of the lyrics you find on the internet do not match what Big Mama actually sings on the version featured below).

The song picks up a common topic of many blues songs, like "my baby left me this morning", "love in vain" a.s.o., but from a female perspective: the woman is the one who wants to leave this miserable situation, but the love to her husband clinches to her like a ball and chain. She is a prisoner in this relationship. That's what the song is about, and each of those great performers give to it a personal touch.

Here there are the versions of BMT, Etta James and Janis (live version from Monterey).








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