Leadbelly y su influencia en los Creedence Clearwater Revival

Leadbelly es el bluesman de la edad de oro del genero que mas influyo en el rock de los 60-70, e incluso posteriormente. La lista de clasicos que lego es descomunal, asi como su potencia sexual. Por lo que parece presumia de acostarse con 7 u 8 hembras por noche, cosa de la que presume cualquier españolito de a pie. Como el viejo Leadbetter no era iberico le daremos el beneficio de la duda …

No solo retozar entre las sabanas y el blues le tenian ocupado, por lo visto paso muchas temporadas entre rejas por su caracter problematico. Se dice que incluso conmuto una pena en una carcel de Texas por dar un concierto al alcaide de la prision. Otra de las magicas anecdotas del viejo blues.

Os dejo una seleccion de temas del viejo maestro con sus correspondientes versiones de grupos rock:

WHERE DID YOU SLEEP LAST NIGHT

(recordada por todos tras el genial Unplugged de Nirvana, confirmando el buen gusto musical que tenia Cobain)

My girl, my girl, don’t lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don’t ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My girl, my girl, where will you go
I’m going where the cold wind blows

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don’t ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

Her husband, was a hard working man
Just about a mile from here
His head was found in a driving wheel
But his body never was found

My girl, my girl, don’t lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night

LEADBELLY:

NIRVANA:

 

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

(pese a todo la version a la que mas cariño le tengo es la de un irreconocible Harry Dean Stanton en “La leyenda del indomable”. De todos modos, si Leadbelly hubiera escuchado la voz de Fogerty estaria muy orgulloso)

Well you wake up in the morning, hear the ding dong ring,
You go a-marching to the table, see the same damn thing
Well, it’s on a one table, knife, a fork and a pan,
And if you say anything about it, you’re in trouble with the man
Let the midnight special, shine her light on me
Let the midnight special, shine her ever-loving light on me
If you ever go to Houston, you better walk right, you better not stagger, you better not fight
Sheriff Benson will arrest you, he’ll carry you down
And if the jury finds you guilty, penitentiary bound
Yonder come little Rosie, how in the world do you know
I can tell her by her apron, and the dress she wore
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
She goes a-marching to the captain, says, “I want my man”
“I don’ believe that Rosie loves me”, well tell me why
She ain’t been to see me, since las’ July
She brought me little coffee, she brought me little tea
Brought me damn near ever’thing but the jailhouse key
Yonder comes doctor Adams, “How in the world do you know?”
Well he gave me a tablet, the day befo’
There ain’t no doctor, in all the lan’
Can cure the fever of a convict man

LEADBELLY:

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Xl54RHAj8

COTTON FIELDS (CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL)

When I was a little bitty baby
My mama would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana
Just a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home

It may sound a little funny
But you didn’t make very much money
In them old cotton fields back home
It may sound a little funny
But you didn’t make very much money
In them old cotton fields back home

Oh when those cotton balls get rotten
You can’t pick you very much cotton
In them old cotton fields back home

It was down in Louisiana
Just a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home

I was over in Arkansas
People ask me what you come here for
In them old cotton fields back home
I was over in Arkansas
People ask me what you come here for
In them old cotton fields back home

(No he podido encontrar la original de Leadbelly)

I heard it through the grapevine (Creedence Clearwater Revival-Marvin Gaye)

Hay días que soy capaz de darle la razón al viejo Pedro y reconocer que los Creedence son la mejor banda de todos los tiempos. Que los Beatles me perdonen por mis infidelidades musicales con los maestros del rock pantanoso pero es que hay días que la cocina del alma que decían los Doors está sucia, enfangada de barro, como una ciénaga. Y el sonido que buscas es rock sucio, con olor a vaso de whisky recién acabado con colillas dentro; un sonido crudo, directo, asfixiante, catártico. Que contenga sexo, sudor, sangre, lágrimas …. Territorio Creedence.

La primera vez que oí este tema fue en el mágico tocadiscos de mi abuela y era el gran Marvin Gaye el que me hipnotizaba. No puedo elegir entre la voz de Marvin y la de Fogerty, no puedo. Es como si te preguntan si quieres más a papá o a mamá. Así que pongo las dos, aunque la de los Creedence es la versión reducida. Me gusta más la larga, con todos esos solos del maestro Fogerty:

Ooh, I bet you’re wondering how I knew
About you’re plans to make me blue
With some other guy that you knew before.
Between the two of us guys
You know I love you more.
It took me by surprise I must say,
When I found out yesterday.
Don’t you know that…

(Chorus:)
I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oh I heard it through the grapevine,
Oh and I’m just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.

I know that a man ain’t supposed to cry,
But these tears I can’t hold inside.
Losin’ you would end my life you see,
Cause you mean that much to me.
You could have told me yourself
That you love someone else.
Instead…

(Chorus)

People say believe half of what you see,
Son, and none of what you hear.
I can’t help bein’ confused
If it’s true please tell me dear?
Do you plan to let me go
For the other guy you loved before?
Don’t you know…

(Chorus)

 

Creedence:

 

Marvin Gaye:

Fortunate son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Creedence Clearwater Revival o los dioses del rock sureño. Hoy, una canción dedicada a los señores de la guerra que pese a no tener huevos de ir cuando los llamaron luego se dedican a jugar al estratego y mandar al frente carne de cañón. Qué fácil es la vida bajo las faldas de papi, señor Bush.

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, they’re red, white and blue.
And when the band plays “Hail to the chief”,
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me; I ain’t no fortunate one, no,
Yeah!

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no millionaire’s son, no.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me; I ain’t no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, “How much should we give?”
Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! yoh,

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no military son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me; I ain’t no fortunate one, one.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate son, no no no,

Have you ever seen the rain? (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Es lamentable que en los cuatro meses que llevo haciendo ésto aún no hubiera puesto ninguna canción de los Creedence, los maestros absolutos del “rock pantanoso” y una de las bandas realmente imprescindibles en cualquier discografía.

Aprovechando que al fin llueve por estos pagos, cosa que ya iba haciendo falta, cuelgo esta joya llamada “Have you ever seen the rain?”. Ya habrá tiempo para el rock cenagoso de “Green River”, “Born on the Bayou” o “Run through the jungle”.

De todas las versiones que he oído ninguna llega a la suela del zapato a ésta, la original. Ni siquiera la de los Ramones, pese a lo que me gustan. El órgano etéreo y la voz de Fogerty desarman a cualquiera.

Hoy es buen día para mirar por la ventana y meditar, aprovechémoslo:

“Someone told me long ago there’s a calm before the storm,
I know; it’s been comin’ for some time.
When it’s over, so they say, it’ll rain a sunny day,
I know; shinin’ down like water.

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
comin’ down on a sunny day?

Yesterday and days before, sun is cold and rain is hard,
I know; been that way for all my time.
’til forever, on it goes through the circle, fast and slow,
I know; it can’t stop, I wonder.

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
comin’ down on a sunny day?”