May 20, 2013
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Earworm Monday
There's a great big mystery, and it sure is worryin' me.
This diddie wa diddie, this diddie wa diddie.
I wish somebody would tell me what
diddie wa diddie means.Blind Blake was Paramount Records' biggest star. Between 1926 and 1932 he recorded 110 sides, at least one new record every month. Born Arthur Blake, in Jacksonville Florida, his virtuoso vocal and guitar rhythm style was known as Piedmont blues. I can't stop humming it.
In the Piedmont guitar fingerstyle, a regular bass thumb pattern accompanies a syncopated melody on the treble strings picked with the fingers. ( Link ) It has its roots in ragtime and stride piano styles.
Had a little girl about four foot four.
She said, "C'mon papa won't ya give me some more
of your diddie wa diddie, of your diddie wa diddie."
I wish somebody would tell me what
diddie wa diddie means.I went out and walked around.
Somebody yelled, "Look who's in town.
Mister diddie wa diddie, Mister diddie wa diddie."
I wish somebody would tell me what
diddie wa diddie means.I went to church, put my hat on the seat,
Lady sat on it, said "Daddy you sure is sweet,
Mister diddie wa diddie, Mister diddie wa diddie."
I wish somebody would tell me what
diddie wa diddie means.I said, "Sister, I'll soon be gone,
Just gimme that thing you're sittin' on.
My diddie wa diddie, my diddie wa diddie."
I wish somebody would tell me what
diddie wa diddie means.Then I got put out of church,
'Cause I talk about diddie wa diddie too much.
Mister diddie wa diddie, Mister diddie wa diddie.
I wish somebody would tell me what
diddie wa diddie means.
"Blake exhibits a panache, a stunning statement born of overwhelming technique and utter confidence. Blind Arthur's Breakdown (1929) will show what Reverend Blind Gary Davis meant by sporty, but you can place your pin anywhere at random in Blake's discography and still come up with him at his best," says Lawrence Cohn in his book Nothing But The Blues.
Dozens of performers imitated him, but nobody matched him. But let's give Leon Redbone credit for an entertaining try.
I sure wish somebody would tell me what diddie wa diddie means.
Comments (10)
If one does not know what diddie wa diddie means they shouldn't be out diddie wa diddying.
I think in those days in order to be in the music business you needed "Blind" in your name.
@Erika_Steele - I went to church, put my hat on the seat. That's all I did. I am innocent. Make this worm go away.
@godfatherofgreenbay - I never understood why we had a Blind Lemon Jefferson. It's redundant. Lemons don't have eyes to begin with.
@we_deny_everything - worms like moist things. find something dark and damp, and the worm should head for it.
Blind Joe Reynolds
Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie Dunn
I think the name Willie had something to do with being blind and being a bluesman
I won't burn my head over that expression. You got to rememmber in that era it was a common practice to use made up words in songs. In the early 50's some bands used a term called .. " Do Wap Wap "
@Nostra_Damus - Yes, of course. The 1920s and 1950s are practically identical.
@Nostra_Damus - Diddy-Wah-Diddy is the best known of the mythical places from African American folktales. A story was collected in the 1930s. What is described here could also be called “the promised land” or “the land of milk and honey.” Versions of this story can be found in many religious texts, including Christian, Buddhist, and Islamic ones.
They say, “Everyone would live in Diddy-Wah-Diddy if it wasn't so hard to find and so hard to get to even after you know the way.” Everything is on a large scale there. Even the dogs can stand flat-footed and lick crumbs off heaven's tables. The biggest man there is known as Moon-Regulator because he reaches up and starts and stops it at his convenience. That is why there are some dark nights when the moon does not shine at all. He did not feel like putting it out into the sky that night.
@Erika_Steele - The perfect comment, I can't top that!
Comments are closed.