Night Music: Janis Joplin, “Bourgeois Blues”

This one goes out to my friends Jane and Pete, who are looking to rent a place in Washington DC (job change) and rent out their place in Red Hook in the Hudson Valley.

If you’re in the market in either place, let me know.

I fell on this tune tonight, however, because we were having a little hootenanny after dinner and I ended up singing on this one. It’s hard to sing voice chorus verse and not get monotonous, or corny.

I’ve heard the Leadbelly version many times, he wrote it, but I fell in love with the song because of Ry Cooder. Never heard the Joplin version until tonight, but she sang it with heart when she was but a child (20 years old). It’s plenty good.

One thought on “Night Music: Janis Joplin, “Bourgeois Blues”

  1. I’ve had the “Blow My Blues Away” compilation for a couple of years now (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_All_My_Blues_Away), there’s some cool stuff on there, along with a good deal of duplication. I like the stuff with Jorma, as well as the “interview” with Don Adams; Adams tries to be arch about it, but it seems clear to me that a stand-up like Adams had to know what she was talking about (regarding how much easier it is to get into a performance when the audience is into it).

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