Text by Bruce Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery, April 26th, 2024)
“It Hurts Me Too” performed by Elmore James.
You said you was hurting
You almost lost your mind
Now the man you love
He hurts you all the time
Let me hear you say “Yeah!” Again, louder this time! Say it as if you mean it! YEAH! Have you got the blues?!?!
Well, I have, yes indeed. Earlier this week, on Tuesday morning, I couldn’t get out of my bed. I hadn’t slept much in two nights since I was in pain, pain in my back, pain in my shoulders, and a throbbing in my head. I was completely exhausted from lack of sleep. Oye! I felt as if I were being tortured by some outside force, why would God or some other deity do this to me?? I had this feeling that I had done something wrong and that I had to pay the piper. I couldn’t work since I couldn’t think straight so thanks to John P Nadien & John Mori for covering for me. I feel much better now that I’ve slept, drank more water, eaten a big salad, meditated and done some exercise, and taken a long walk to calm down and think about my life.
Ever since my Blues LP collection fell off my top shelf in my living room when the earthquake struck and shook my apt building several weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about The Blues and they way they are universal. I’ve listened to a handful of those albums since that calamity, Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat, Muddy Waters, and a couple of Chicago Blues Anthologies LP’s. Plus a handful of blues songs that Pigpen sung when he was still performing in The Dead (like the above one, “It Hurts Me Too”).
I read a Willie Dixon autobiography a while back which I really dug since Mr. Dixon talks about the many ways of looking and listening to the Blues: the universality of the Blues worldwide and the fact the Blues are one way the Black folks deal with their legacy and their ongoing suffering on this planet.
Since I’ve quit smokin’ herbs and drinking anything other than water, juice, and coffee, I want to listen to music with a more clear mind. I want to hear what is still special about music that continues to inspire me and make me think about my life and the rest of humanity and what we are all doing to each other and to Mother Nature. It’s a long journey and I am still working on it. Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support.
