(AI Gen) Elijah “Lije” Dupree’s "High Water & Hard Times" (1927-1930s)

High Water & Hard Times Full Album (2:00:18)

From the Cotton Fields to Chicago’s Blues Clubs—A Journey of Survival, Soul, and Song

Google’s Deep Dive Podcast: Echoes of the Delta: The Blues, Migration, and the Soul of America

Echoes of the Delta—A Bluesman’s Journey Through Struggle and Sound

History, like music, is cyclical—its echoes reverberate through generations, whispering truths that demand to be heard. As we stand in the heart of African History Month, we find ourselves not merely reflecting on the past but tracing the rhythms of resilience, migration, and artistic defiance that have shaped the present. Few stories encapsulate this spirit more profoundly than the journey of the blues, a music born in the cotton fields of the American South, carried northward by those seeking freedom, and transformed into anthems of survival.

The odyssey of Elijah “Lije” Dupree, a fictional bluesman rooted in historical reality, is more than just a narrative—it is an allegory of displacement and self-discovery. His journey from the Mississippi Delta to the smoky clubs of Chicago mirrors the migration of millions of African Americans in search of dignity, opportunity, and a new voice. Their exodus was more than geographical; it was a defiant rewriting of identity against the backdrop of systemic oppression.

This project is released in February, a time dedicated to honoring the struggles, triumphs, and contributions of Black history. It is also a moment of deep alignment with TATANKA’s mission—to reclaim, uplift, and share stories that empower marginalized voices. Just as Lije’s blues carried the weight of the past while forging something new, TATANKA seeks to preserve cultural heritage while creating space for the future of diverse artistic expression.

The story of High Water & Hard Times is not just about one man—it is about a movement, a transformation, and the power of music to document, resist, and inspire. As we step into this tale, we step into a soundscape of sorrow and hope, of loss and reinvention. It is a reminder that the blues is not simply a genre; it is a testament to the human spirit—and its echoes still shape the world today.

The Odyssey of Lije Dupree

“The Blues tells a story. Every line of the Blues has a meaning.”
— John Lee Hooker

Elijah “Lije” Dupree – The Man Behind the Blues

Introduction to “High Water & Hard Times”

In the blistering heat of the Mississippi Delta, where the land cracked under the sun and the air hung thick with the scent of cotton and sweat, Elijah “Lije” Dupree was born into a world that knew only struggle. The year was 1905, and Dockery Plantation—where he took his first breath—was a place where music was both a refuge and a rebellion.

Lije’s mother, Sarah, was a housekeeper for the owner’s family, and his father, Isaiah, was a field hand who could make a battered guitar weep like a sorrowful preacher on Sunday morning. When his father wasn’t breaking his back in the cotton fields, he was plucking out old spirituals and deep Delta blues, passing the sound of survival to his son. But hard times don’t wait on a man’s growing years. By the time Lije turned twelve, his father had been hauled away in the dead of night—whispers said it was for looking a white man in the eye too long. He was never seen again.

Lije took up his father’s guitar the way a preacher takes up his Bible. He found a voice in the strings, a way to say all the things he couldn’t speak outright. The rhythms of work songs, the hum of sorrowful hollers drifting through the fields—these became his gospel. By the time he was sixteen, he was sneaking into juke joints, playing for whatever coin was tossed his way. The music was raw, untamed, alive. But no matter how deep he played, he was still bound to the land that had stolen his father.

Then, in 1927, the waters came. The Great Mississippi Flood swallowed the Delta, tearing apart homes and leaving thousands of Black families homeless, stranded, and desperate. Lije lost everything—the shack where he was raised, the few belongings he owned, even the land itself. It was the final push he needed. With nothing but his guitar and the clothes on his back, he headed north.

Memphis was the first stop. Beale Street was alive with bluesmen trying to outplay one another, their guitars crying over the rattle of streetcars. Lije found his way into a few clubs, scraping by, learning the city’s sharper edge. But Memphis wasn’t a home—it was a crossroads. He met a woman who taught him about heartbreak the hard way, and when the trouble got too thick, he hopped a train, heading for St. Louis.

St. Louis had a different rhythm, a sharper bite. The blues there were city-born, shaped by ragtime pianos and brass horns, but Lije adapted. He played under gaslights and in back-alley bars, sharing bottles with gamblers and dreamers. But Chicago—Chicago was the promised land.

By 1929, the Windy City had become the epicenter of the blues. The Mississippi’s sorrow had turned electric in Chicago’s smoky clubs, where men plugged in and turned up. Lije found himself in the thick of it, trying to make a name, but the city had its own way of wearing a man down. The industry was ruthless, money was tight, and the north wasn’t as free as folks back home imagined.

As time passed, the music changed, and so did Lije. He had seen too much, lost too much. The blues was no longer just about sorrow—it was about survival. In the early 1930s, when the road called him back south, he followed. The Delta had a way of pulling a man home, no matter how far he ran.

And so, “High Water & Hard Times” was born—not just an album, but a testimony. Twelve songs that trace the journey of a man who carried the weight of the Delta in his bones, who lost and found himself in the music. Each track tells a chapter of Lije’s life, a story of floods and freight trains, of juke joints and midnight crossroads, of love gained and lost, of a man who sang because the world gave him no other way to speak.

This is his story. This is his blues.

To capture the essence of Black Delta Blues and the Black American experience, the setting of the project is 1927-1930, the golden era of Delta Blues before its migration to urban centers like Chicago.

1927

1927 is a pivotal year for the Delta Blues:

- The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 devastated Black communities, displacing thousands of sharecroppers and laborers, leading to mass migration and social unrest—ideal for storytelling.

- Blues pioneers like Charley Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson were either recording or deeply embedded in the juke joint circuit.

- The rise of segregationist Jim Crow laws and economic hardship in the South created a powerful backdrop of struggle, resilience, and expression through music.

Ideal Community: Clarksdale, Mississippi

- Clarksdale, often called the “Birthplace of the Blues,” was a key hub for Delta Blues musicians.

- The nearby Dockery Plantation (where Charley Patton, Howlin’ Wolf, and others learned to play) was a major cultural center for Blues.

- It was a crossroads of laborers, musicians, and Black resilience, making it an ideal setting for both music and narrative.

The story follows fistional protagonist, Lije Dupree, a Bluesman navigating the turmoil of the Delta in 1927, dealing with racial oppression, migration, juke joints, and the spiritual connection between hardship and music.

The Dockery Plantation in 1927 was one of the most important locations in the history of Delta Blues. It was a massive cotton plantation in Sunflower County, Mississippi, located near Cleveland and Clarksdale, and is widely regarded as the birthplace of the Delta Blues because of the musicians who lived, worked, and played there.

Dockery Plantation

- A Sharecropping Hub:
  Dockery was a self-contained sharecropping community with around 2,000 Black laborers, many of whom worked in extreme poverty. The workers were paid in scrip or credit, often trapped in a cycle of debt to the plantation store. Life was hard, unjust, and filled with struggle, which fueled the Blues.

- Music as an Escape & Protest:
  By the 1920s, the plantation had become a major musical melting pot, where young musicians like Charley Patton were revolutionizing Blues music.
  - - Charley Patton, often called the “Father of the Delta Blues,” lived and played at Dockery during this time, influencing a generation of musicians, including Robert Johnson, Son House, and Howlin’ Wolf.
  - - The music spread through juke joints, work camps, and the levee camps, creating a network of Blues culture deeply tied to Black life in the Delta.

- The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927’s Impact:
  In the spring of 1927, record rainfall caused the Mississippi River to flood, displacing thousands of Black sharecroppers, including many from Dockery.
  - - The flood further exposed racial and economic injustices, with Black laborers forced to work on levees under armed guard while white townspeople were evacuated.
  - - This event pushed many Black workers northward, accelerating the Great Migration and spreading Blues music to cities like Chicago, Memphis, and St. Louis.

- Dockery as a Blues Training Ground:
  The plantation functioned like a school for Blues musicians, where artists learned and honed their craft by playing for workers on Saturday nights. It was also a crossroads for traveling musicians moving between plantations, influencing one another.

Dockery

- Dockery represents the true roots of Delta Blues, where hardship, oppression, and raw storytelling birthed a musical revolution.

- The flood of 1927 serves as a key moment in the narrative, symbolizing both destruction and transformation.

- The Blues culture of Dockery offers a rich setting for a character-driven story—a young musician struggling to find his (or her) voice while surviving the brutal realities of sharecropping life.

Tracks/Lyrics

Note from Human Editor: Again Suno.com generated alternate versions that I felt would be a shame to part with, hence, each track is two takes of the same song. I know I am selfish, but together they are all organic to my ear, much better and more robust than I expected, so I hope you think so too.

01. “Cottonfield Chains” – The Weight of the Land

📍 Dockery Plantation, Mississippi (Spring 1927)

- Lije spends long days in the fields, trapped in the endless cycle of debt and backbreaking labor.

- He plays guitar at night, but his mother Hattie warns him against “the Devil’s music.”

- The blues is his escape, but it’s also a curse—he fears it will never set him free.

[Verse 1]

Young man with an old guitar

Mississippi Son

In grainy black and white color oh

Just like Ma Rainey and Uncle Charlie

Said she should’ve never gave birth

But now here he is

Dedicated to the Mississippi life

Wrote this like “Weight of The Land”

“Mississippi 1927”

[Chorus]

Weight of the land

Made me a dealer to thee

Lord

(The weeks get long

And the days get longer

Son)

Weight of the land

Made it difficult to breathe

Good Lord

(If you stay ’round these parts

You’ll never be someone)

[Verse 2]

Mama say “I’ve been delivered

I let the south sit in and split me open”

So I’m tryna pick this here guitar

Like I’m ‘posed to be

They say this is the devil’s music

Is it gon’ save my soul

Jesus?

[Chorus]

Weight of the land

Made me a dealer to thee

Lord

(The weeks get long

And the days get longer

Son)

Weight of the land

Made it difficult to breathe

Good Lord

(If you stay ’round these parts

You’ll never be someone)

[Verse 3]

Young man

But an old hand

Since way back when

On fields tendin’

Need a minute

I question

What they taught him

Come nightfall

I’m gone

[Chorus]

Weight of the land

Made me a dealer to thee

Lord

(The weeks get long

And the days get longer

Son)

Weight of the land

Made it difficult to breathe

Good Lord

(If you stay ’round these parts

You’ll never be someone)

[Verse 4]

Mama say show her the money

Said

“I don’t want no of that guitar-scam music

Go get a real job and bring it right back to me”

Boy

That don’t compare to the feeling

And we try to tell ya

But you just won’t listen

I should turn you over to the overseer

Let them take you where they take ’em

For your trBA keeping of an overseer

Selling liquid gold from Jesus

Well

Judas

I’ve never trusted you

I’d rather sell my soul and say I love you

[Chorus]

Weight of the land

Made me a dealer to thee

Lord

(The weeks get long

And the days get longer

Son)

Weight of the land

Made it difficult to breathe

Good Lord

(If you stay ’round these parts

You’ll never be someone)

[Bridge]

Instead

Nighttime fall my escape

Fields don’t seem so far away

Found a bag of mother soul

A seasonal airborne sense of hope

Spillin out that boy’s tote

Say I owe you what I wrote

[Chorus 2]

Weight of the land

Made me a healer and thee

Good Lord

(Function away

Exist through day

But damn

It gets hard

Son)

Weight of the land

Made me familiar to me

Good Lord

(To teachers with lies

Don’t waste your time

They’re never for you

Son)

Weight of the land

Made it easier to breathe

Good Lord

Slow, raw 1927 Delta blues with deep slide guitar, foot-stomping rhythm, and haunting, wailing vocals. Sparse, rhythmic picking and a mournful, resonant melody evoking toil and sorrow.

02. “The Levee’s Gonna Break” – The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927

📍 Near the Mississippi River (April 1927)

- Torrential rains flood the Delta, destroying homes and drowning fields.

- Black laborers, including Lije, are forced to work on the levees under armed guards.

- The floodwaters rise, and the levee collapses—chaos ensues.

[Intro]
Dark clouds gather, wind starts to wail
Sheriff ridin’ through, says “Boy, grab a shovel and a pail”
Hands are bleedin’, backs bent low
Ain’t no mercy when the river starts to roll

[Chorus]
It’s a hard
Hard rain gonna fall
The river’s risin’, the levee won’t hold
I’m gonna get washed away in a torrential flood
Of sin
Angels take me in because
The Levee’s Gonna Break
The Levee’s Gonna Break

[Verse 1]
Clouds rollin’ in
Across the Gulf of Mexico
Five years of dust
Ished everywhere we go

[Verse 2]
Field so dry
I’m ’bout to lose my cotton too
We all was prayin’
Lord knows He answered true

[Verse 3]
Seven days of rain
Graveyard flooded to the gate
Seven days of rain
Sittin’ on that riverbank
Reminds me of Noah’s fate

[Verse 4]
Water to my knees
Boss man says, “Keep on diggin’”
Armed men watchin’
No one’s soul worth forgivin’

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[Verse 5]
Levee breaks at dawn
Roarin’ like a demon’s cry
Bodies floatin’
Lord, I ain’t ready to die

[Bridge]
Morning breaks
Not a dew drop on the ground
Shattered skies
Thundering all around

[Outro]
Water’s gone, but the stain remains
Ghosts still whisper in the Delta rain
Some was saved, some was lost
Lord, we all paid the cost

Urgent 1927 Delta blues with pounding percussive guitar, heavy bass notes, and a fast, frantic rhythm. Droning slide guitar mimicking rushing water. Raw, desperate vocal delivery.

3. “High Water Blues” – Losing Everything

📍 Refugee Camp in Greenville, Mississippi (May 1927)

- Homeless and hungry, Lije and his mother take shelter in a Red Cross tent city.

- The white authorities distribute food unfairly, leaving Black families to starve.

- Lije watches men beaten for trying to leave, realizing his only way out is through music.

[Chorus]

So I’m goin’ down I’m goin’ down

I’m goin’ down Memphis right away

Where won’t be no water risin’

And my music will be there

I’m goin’ I’m gone

[Verse]

Water’s risin’ water’s risin’

Got my family in a tent

Doin’ hungry somethin’ awful

I ain’t had a bite to eat

You know I’m hungry I’m cold

[Chorus]

So I’m goin’ down I’m goin’ down

I’m goin’ down Memphis right away

Where won’t be no water risin’

And my music will be there

I’m goin’ I’m gone

[Verse 2]

Say the high sheriff and the police

Comin’ on a rollin’ in a truck

I got one a basket of biscuits

And the other a bucket of soup

Ain’t it a shame?

[Chorus]

So I’m goin’ down I’m goin’ down

I’m goin’ down Memphis right away

Where won’t be no water risin’

And my music will be there

I’m goin’ I’m gone

[Verse 3]

They divided up all the biscuit

And the colored got none

But they took that bucket of soup

And they put poison on a cut

Ain’t it a shame?

[Chorus]

So I’m goin’ down I’m goin’ down

I’m goin’ down Memphis right away

Where won’t be no water risin’

And my music will be there

I’m goin’ I’m gone

[Verse 4]

For it’s over it’s over

The water take your home away

You lose your home your mama mama

And your child gotta leave

Mama he’s gone

[Chorus]

So I’m goin’ down I’m goin’ down

I’m goin’ down Memphis right away

Where won’t be no water risin’

And my music will be there

I’m goin’ I’m gone

[Verse 5]

He’s in the ground in the ground

With them tombstones ‘bove his head

It’s more than a man can stand

More than I’m gonna take

You know I’m gone

[Chorus]

So I’m goin’ down I’m goin’ down

I’m goin’ down Memphis right away

Where won’t be no water risin’

And my music will be there

I’m goin’ I’m gone

[Chorus]

So I’m goin’ down I’m goin’ down

I’m goin’ down Memphis right away

Where won’t be no water risin’

And my music will be there

I’m goin’ I’m gone

Slow, raw 1927 acoustic Delta blues with deep slide guitar, foot-stomping rhythm, and haunting, wailing vocals. Sparse, rhythmic picking and a mournful, resonant melody evoking toil and sorrow.

4. “Saturday Night in Clarksdale” – The Juke Joint Baptism

📍 Clarksdale, Mississippi (Summer 1927)

- Lije sneaks away to a rowdy juke joint, playing in a blues contest for the first time.

- He faces off against a cocky, more experienced guitarist who mocks him.

- Lije wins the crowd with raw emotion and gets his first taste of real freedom.

[Chorus]

Go knock that boy down

But everyone knows he gets back back up and up and round round

Keep knockin’ him down

Man couldn’t be me

Keep knockin’ him down

Maybe he gets it

Maybe we found

Somebody who sinks

And we all crown

Not like we think

[Post-C]

If I told him thunder might as well come

Matter fact lightning strikes whoever else run

Not by a long shot just tryin to warn em

Keep testin’ my heart

I done put new scars on my old guitar

[Verse 1]

I thought I was big shit at sixteen

Couldn’t tell me nothin’ bout big strings

Drew a hard seller Saturday night in Clarksdale

Anxious as a sinner and I caught hell

[Chorus]

Go knock that boy down

But everyone knows he gets back back up and up and round round

Keep knockin’ him down

Man couldn’t be me

Keep knockin’ him down

Maybe he gets it

Maybe we found

Somebody who sinks

And we all crown

Not like we think

[Post-C]

If I told him thunder might as well come

Matter fact lightning strikes whoever else run

Not by a long shot just tryin to warn em

Keep testin’ my heart

I done put new scars on my old guitar

[Verse 2]

Some old head looked me dead in my eyes

Said “Son” gone send your ass back to Pine Bluff

Little half of his age a wasted effort

Just take my word for it man tried to tell him

[Chorus]

Go knock that boy down

But everyone knows he gets back back up and up and round round

Keep knockin’ him down

Man couldn’t be me

Keep knockin’ him down

Maybe he gets it

Maybe we found

Somebody who sinks

And we all crown

Not like we think

[Post-C]

If I told him thunder might as well come

Matter fact lightning strikes whoever else run

Not by a long shot just tryin to warn em

Keep testin’ my heart

I done put new scars on my old guitar

[Verse 3]

Mmmm clappin’ and dancin’

Fa sho

Shoutin’ for joy

Teach me about abundance im feeling perspective I’m humbled it’s real

Genuine love for the pain that I feel

I ain’t runnin’ from my trauma but damn good job momma for sure

[Chorus]

Go knock that boy down

But everyone knows he gets back back up and up and round round

Keep knockin’ him down

Man couldn’t be me

Keep knockin’ him down

Maybe he gets it

Maybe we found

Somebody who sinks

And we all crown

Not like we think

[Post-C]

If I told him thunder might as well come

Matter fact lightning strikes whoever else run

Not by a long shot just tryin to warn em

Keep testin’ my heart

I done put new scars on my old guitar

[Bridge]

Whoooooowhee

On the same team

Encouragin’ what’s inside of me

Noticein’ somethin that I can’t see

Thank you for showin me what freedom means

[Chorus]

Go knock that boy down

But everyone knows he gets back back up and up and round round

Keep knockin’ him down

Man couldn’t be me

Keep knockin’ him down

Maybe he gets it

Maybe we found

Somebody who sinks

And we all crown

Not like we think

[Post-C]

If I told him thunder might as well come

Matter fact lightning strikes whoever else run

Not by a long shot just tryin to warn em

Keep testin’ my heart

I done put new scars on my old guitar

Upbeat, driving 1927 Delta blues with a stomping bass rhythm, playful fingerpicking, and raw call-and-response vocals. Hypnotic groove with lively, raucous energy.

5. “The Devil’s Crossroads” – The First Temptation

📍 A lonely dirt road outside Clarksdale (Summer 1927)

- A mysterious old man tells Lije about “the Crossroads,” where a man can sell his soul for greatness.

- Lije, desperate for a way out, plays his guitar under the full moon, hoping for an answer.

- No devil appears—but his playing feels different afterward.

[Chorus]

At the Devil’s crossroad

On a lonely Delta dirt road

I danced with the specter

Who bought my soul for a song

[Verse]

Well it was 1927

The Great Depression

Robert Johnson’s great confession

Better his life before his death and resurrection

[Chorus]

At the Devil’s crossroad

On a lonely Delta dirt road

I danced with the specter

Who bought my soul for a song

[Verse]

An unnerving sense of calm

Sparked by the sound of an old man

Riding on through the fog

Must of been a hellhound dog

[Chorus]

At the Devil’s crossroad

On a lonely Delta dirt road

I danced with the specter

Who bought my soul for a song

[Verse]

Underneath a full moon

Filling up the review

There was only one thing to do

And he knew

Yeah, he knew

I didn’t know

[Chorus]

At the Devil’s crossroad

On a lonely Delta dirt road

I danced with the specter

Who bought my soul for a song

[Chorus]

At the Devil’s crossroad

On a lonely Delta dirt road

I danced with the specter

Who bought my soul for a song

[Chorus]

At the Devil’s crossroad

On a lonely Delta dirt road

I danced with the specter

Who bought my soul for a song

[Chorus]

At the Devil’s crossroad

On a lonely Delta dirt road

I danced with the specter

Who bought my soul for a song

Dark, eerie 1927 Delta blues with droning slide guitar, minimal percussion, and an echoing, supernatural atmosphere. Slow, hypnotic groove with ghostly falsetto hums.

6. “Riding the Rails” – Leaving the South

📍 Illinois Central Railroad, Heading North (Fall 1927)

- Lije hops a freight train with other Black men escaping the Delta.

- He shares stories and songs with fellow travelers, realizing he’s part of something bigger.

- The night is cold, but the promise of something better keeps him warm.

[Chorus]

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

[Verse 1]

Riding the rails on the Illinois Central

Heading north

I hopped up to hold on

Hold on

I hopped up just in time

Just in time

[Chorus]

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

[Verse 2]

A bag and my guitar in my hand

About ten other men

All running from other plans

Trying to start again

[Chorus]

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

[Verse 3]

And it went brr

Brr

And I held on tighter ’cause I felt bigger

And it went brr

Brr

And I held on tighter ’cause I felt bigger

[Chorus]

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

[Verse 4]

The wind was cold

But the promise was warm

The wind was cold

But the promise was warm

Hold on

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Hold on

Mmm

Hold on

[Chorus]

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

[Verse 5]

Riding the rails on the Illinois Central

Heading north

I hopped up to hold on

Hold on

I hopped up just in time

Just in time

[Chorus]

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

Soon as we left the Delta

I felt it

I’m a part of something bigger

Rolling 1927 Delta blues with train-rhythm strumming, deep bass plucking, and soulful harmonica swells. Rhythmic, percussive picking mimicking the movement of a train.

7. “The Mean Streets of Memphis” – The First City Struggles

📍 Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee (Late 1927)

- Lije arrives in Memphis, where bluesmen play on every corner.

- He gets hustled out of his first gig, learning that the city is cruel.

- A kind-hearted woman helps him find work playing for tips, giving him his first real break.

[Verse]

I hopped off the train in Memphis in the fall of ‘27

Old amp and a guitar in my hand

I met a man down on Beale Street and he told me ’bout the sun

And he said

“Boy

I’m gonna give you your first chance”

He gave me a show at the place he run

Then he ran off with all my hard work and my money

Man

That’s the truth

But a woman found me lying in the street

Said

“Son

I got some friends hiring a guitar man

Bet they’ll hire you”

[Chorus]

Oh, the mean streets of Memphis took me in when I was down,
When that city of angels left me lost and spun around.
But she said, “Boy, pick up your guitar, there’s a place where you can play,”
And I’ll be damned, that night, I found my way.
Turns out the stories ‘bout these sidewalks were all true,
A woman’s kindness turned my black-and-blue to blues.

[Verse]

Got a residency playin’ for a surgery doctor

His name was Kennedy if my memory serves me right

He put a dollar in my pocket and he didn’t make me sign nothing

Said

“You really helped me out tonight”

Said his dad was playing the bar piano

His brother’s a mother-fucking jazz flautist and they all work their own shifts

I swear I didn’t make that shit up

God can razz me

Long live the Kennedys and born and raised on Beale

[Chorus]

[Verse]

Played six nights a week ‘til my fingers damn near bled,

Sang my heart out ‘til I had no voice left in my head.

The whiskey was cheap, but the music ran deep,

And every night, I swore I’d never leave.

Met a man with a suit and a golden grin,

Said, “Boy, you could make it big if you just play to win.”

[Chorus]

[Verse]

But I ain’t one to trade my soul for a dime,

Ain’t no man gonna own these songs of mine.

So I stayed with the streets, with the flautist and the keys,

Where the music was real, where the blues set me free.

And that woman still smiles when she sees me play,

Like she knew all along I’d find my way.

[Chorus]

Gritty, 1927 Memphis blues with fingerstyle picking, walking bass, and a shuffle beat. Punchy, conversational vocals with bright yet melancholic guitar licks.

8. “A Woman Called Trouble” – Love & Heartache

📍 Memphis, Tennessee (Winter 1927-28)

- Lije falls for Rosie, a blues singer with a past as troubled as his.

- They play music together, but she warns him not to love her—she’s been burned before.

- When a gangster from her past comes looking for her, she vanishes into the night.

[Chorus]

She was a woman called Trouble

On a horse named Heartache

She smelled of leather

Muscadine

And all things good

And she shot me through the heart

With nothin’ but a good love

Turns out

I was the kindling from the start

Just dry sticks and straw

A house that needed burnin’ all along

[Verse]

I first laid eyes on her

In a bar in Memphis while she was on the stage

Singin’ old Robert Johnson and Charley Patton blues

She had a radiator smile

And eyes as deep as the Mississippi

And I was just a fool tryin’ to steal her tune

[Chorus]

She was a woman called Trouble

On a horse named Heartache

She smelled of leather

Muscadine

And all things good

And she shot me through the heart

With nothin’ but a good love

Turns out

I was the kindling from the start

Just dry sticks and straw

A house that needed burnin’ all along

[Verse 2]

Turns out

She was searchin’

For another fool like me to write a song or two with

We spent the fall gettin’ into trouble day and night

Then one night she looked at me

Smoked her last Camel and she said

“I told you a burn draws to the light”

[Chorus]

She was a woman called Trouble

On a horse named Heartache

She smelled of leather

Muscadine

And all things good

And she shot me through the heart

With nothin’ but a good love

Turns out

I was the kindling from the start

Just dry sticks and straw

A house that needed burnin’ all along

[Verse 3]

Then one day last autumn

A Ford drove up with bullet holes all down the sides

A tall man with a fedora and a 12-gauge in his hands

She grabbed my arm

Kissed me in the car and said

“Twenty minutes after I leave here

You drive out of town

And don’t even think about comin’ back”

[Chorus]

She was a woman called Trouble

On a horse named Heartache

She smelled of leather

Muscadine

And all things good

And she shot me through the heart

With nothin’ but a good love

Turns out

I was the kindling from the start

Just dry sticks and straw

A house that needed burnin’ all along

[Verse 4]

But before she hit that point

She told me somethin’ else

It was somethin’ that I didn’t understand

She said

“Don’t save a burn from the fire

Instead

Let’s burn out together”

Then she flashed a twenty dollar cigarette

With a lucky strike in her hand

[Chorus]

She was a woman called Trouble (Trouble)

On a horse named Heartache (Heartache)

She smelled of leather

Muscadine

And all things good

And she shot me (Shot me) through the heart (Through the heart)

With nothin’ but a good love (Good love)

Turns out

I was the kindling from the start (Kindlin’ from the start)

For a house th-

A house that needed burnin’ all along

[Chorus]

She was a woman called Trouble

On a horse named Heartache

She smelled of leather

Muscadine

And all things good

And she shot me through the heart

With nothin’ but a good love

Turns out

I was the kindling from the start

Just dry sticks and straw

A house that needed burnin’ all along

Slow, smoky 1928blues ballad with deep, moaning slide guitar, rich harmonics, and a sultry, intimate vocal style. Sensual, hypnotic rhythm with lingering notes.

9. “Rollin’ Into St. Louis” – A New Kind of Blues

📍 St. Louis, Missouri (Spring 1928)

- Lije follows the river to St. Louis, where jazz and blues mix in new ways.

- He joins a small band, playing in a club for the first time.

- The crowds love his raw Delta style, but the bandleader wants him to “clean it up” for white audiences.

[Verse]

The years they roll by like the waters

St. Louis, spring 1928

He hopped a boxcar and made it to the city where the jazz and blues was changin’

They said, “Bout time you got here! We been waitin’!”

[Chorus]

He kicks the edge off, lets the rhythm take him
St. Louis nights burn bright, the crowd can’t shake him
Every note cuts deep, every chord’s on fire
They shout ’til dawn, lift him higher and higher
But the bandleader says, “Son, you’ve got to refine it,
Smooth out those edges if you plan to ride it.”
But he knows this road don’t ever end, no way (Way, way, way)

[Verse]

Not long ‘fore he throws in with a band down on Decatur

Where they’re all wound up in knots and most their women wanna trade ’em

A hundred sweaty faces and they’re all concentratin’

On the shuffle, as the band takes him abazin’

[Chorus]

[Verse]
The midnight air hums with a sweet refrain
Trumpets cry out like a runaway train
Whiskey and smoke mix with dreams on the rise
He plays like a man with the stars in his eyes

[Chorus]

[Verse]
But the city’s got rules, and the game ain’t fair
Some doors stay locked no matter who’s there
He hears the talk—”Too rough, too wild”
But the river don’t smooth out just to stay in style

[Chorus]

[Verse]

He said, “Someday my time may come to an end”

But ’til then

Like the wanderer river

I roll again and again

And I will ride

Rollin’

Like the waters of time

I’ll ride to the end of the line

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

And he smiles and picks

The river of notes moves along

In a line at its pace

Just a little behind the rest

Like a shadow close on their heels

The trick becomes gettin’ it back into shape

So he’s shakin’ his head and he licks his lips

And throws his pick over to me

And he changes tempo

‘Cause he knows this time it has to rip

So in goes the slide

With the soul of the Delta attached

Now in the hissin’ attack

And the bend

And with it come the sounds of the freight train clickin’ so fast (So fast)

And he stands there on the stage

Takin’ tasty bites of the tune

And leavin’ the plate

While we’re all sat capturin’ ’em

The notes on the plane fall free

And he’s full of energy

And he’s rollin’ into St. Louis

Comin’ up

Upbeat 1928 St. Louis blues with a swinging piano groove, bright horn accents, and walking bass. Laid-back yet lively rhythm with playful, expressive vocals.

10. “Chicago Bound” – The Final Gamble

📍 Riding the Illinois Central to Chicago (Late 1928)

- Lije hears that record companies are scouting for Blues musicians in Chicago.

- He hocks his guitar for a train ticket, taking the last step toward his dream.

READ: March Morning, 'Merica (Dawns & Daffodils)

- The cold wind howls as the train rolls north—there’s no turning back.

[Chorus]

I’m on the Northbound train

Goin’ to Chicago

Where I can sing my name

The Northbound train

It’s so off track

It’s a soul train

I’m movin too fast to turn back

[Verse]

I’m goin’ to Chicago

Illinois bound

Goin’ to Chicago

Sorry but I can’t take you

Goin’ up north

(Cut this! Where’s that woman gone?)

I won’t be back

Please send that woman fast

[Chorus]

I’m on the Northbound train

Goin’ to Chicago

Where I can sing my name

The Northbound train

It’s so off track

It’s a soul train

I’m movin too fast to turn back

[Verse 2]

Late 1928

I pawn my guitar

For a ticket on the Illinois Central

To Chicago

As the winters cold winds howlin

The train rollin north

And now

There’s no turnin back

[Chorus]

I’m on the Northbound train

Goin’ to Chicago

Where I can sing my name

The Northbound train

It’s so off track

It’s a soul train

I’m movin too fast to turn back

[Verse 3]

I been expectin’ you down on Dearborn

This man replies

The south’s not ready for you

It’s not safe

The door slides open

Light breaks from steel window slots

I go up to the slow train door

The conductor in black offers me his hand

And opens to my confused silhouette

You’re welcome on Jackson

[Chorus]

I’m on the Northbound train

Goin’ to Chicago

Where I can sing my name

The Northbound train

It’s so off track

It’s a soul train

I’m movin too fast to turn back

[Verse 4]

(Howlin and women callin)

Well that train never seem to stop

In Memphis

Tennessee

The rescue bound women and children in Riverdale

We runnin from southern weaponry

[Chorus]

I’m on the Northbound train

Goin’ to Chicago

Where I can sing my name

The Northbound train

It’s so off track

It’s a soul train

I’m movin too fast to turn back

[Bridge]

Where’s that woman gone?

Send that woman back

Hey

Bring that woman fast

Ill be happy when I come home

God be willing when I come home

Please stay silent

Until I come home

If I never make it

Keep it silent when I come home

Even vigilantes dream of comin home

[Chorus]

I’m on the Northbound train

Goin’ to Chicago

Where I can sing my name

The Northbound train

It’s so off track

It’s a soul train

I’m movin too fast to turn back

[Chorus]

I’m on the Northbound train

Goin’ to Chicago

Where I can sing my name

The Northbound train

It’s so off track

It’s a soul train

I’m movin too fast to turn back

1928 energetic, gritty Chicago blues with jumpy fingerpicking, slapping bass, train track drums, and subtle harmonica swells. Train-like rhythm with a driving, relentless momentum.

11. “Windy City Blues” – A Star is Born… and Broken

📍 Chicago, Illinois (Early 1929)

- Lije gets a shot at recording a race record, but the label wants a polished sound.

- He plays in South Side clubs, feeling the tension between success and selling out.

- His mother’s words haunt him—was the blues a curse after all?

Intro

(Soft, soulful guitar riff)
In the shadows of the city, where the blues are born
A hoodoo man’s whisper, echoes through the dawn
A tale of love, loss, and the devil’s toll
A story of the blues, that’ll forever unfold

Verse 1

Down in Chicago in 1929
Hoodoo man
Where did you go?
(We don’t know)
We did a deal with a two-dollar bill
Or a back alley-digit whore
They never know which

Chorus

She says “Baby
Baby
Baby don’t hang the goose
‘Cause you will lose”
And ain’t that a thing?
And ain’t that the blues?
(Sure is) There he go
I heard it on my race record

Verse 2

Yeah we sold it out
But I still got my soul
And when it plays and they say “It ain’t like the Lord intended”
I’ll play it anyway, gotta make me whole
Gonna find my way, through the devil’s toll
Gonna sing these blues, till my dying role

Chorus

She says “Baby
Baby
Your hair may not be pressed and curled
Because of me
But child my blessings
They are bigger than this world
And I ain’t tryna see you gone”
As a graveyard shift comes back again

Bridge

The lady said “You just like your father
Will you hold me for him?”
If only it wasn’t true
She told my brother “Blues will kill you”
But even still he be on that harp again
Like it’s his last true friend

Chorus

She says “Baby
Baby
Baby don’t hang the goose
‘Cause you will lose”
And ain’t that a thing?
And ain’t that the blues?
(Sure is) There he go
I heard it on my race record

Verse 3

And my baby loves me
And I know
Yes
I do
So burly black and smart mother
Yes she is
But she say I’m gone and she said I’m through

Chorus

Verse 4

I’m searching for a way to break the curse
Gonna find a way to heal the hurt
Gonna sing these blues, till the morning light
Gonna find my way, through the darkest night
Gonna make amends, for the deals I made
Gonna find my soul, before it’s too late

Bridge

In the silence, I hear my mama’s voice
Whispering secrets, of a haunted choice
A path of redemption, or a life of pain
The blues will haunt me, till I’m free again

Chorus

Verse 5

My mama’s words, they still echo in my mind
“Don’t let the devil, take control of your time”
But the blues got me, like a lover’s bind
I’m trying to escape, but it’s hard to unwind
I’m searching for redemption, a way to be free
From the blues that haunt me, and the deals I’ve made with thee

Chorus

Outro

1929 Chicago blues with deep walking bass, sharp blues licks, and light percussion. Smooth yet edgy vocals with dynamic tempo shifts.

12. “The Long Road Home (Reprise)” – Full Circle

📍 Back in Mississippi (1930s)

- Years later, Lije returns to Dockery, now a legend.

- The plantation is the same, but he is different—he’s free, but at what cost?

- He sits on a porch and plays one last song as the sun sets over the Delta.

[Intro]

When the nights are long, and the world feels wrong,

I’ll find my peace in the Delta’s song.

Strumming my guitar under fading skies,

Let the blues take me where the spirit flies.

[Chorus]

Right now,

The Mississippi I love so much

Seems like a broken Delta song.

Please, Mister Delta Man,

Play me one of them Delta blues of mine.

[Verse 1]

When times get hard and life is cold,

And people say it’s a hard-luck world,

Just give me that guitar and let me lose,

Please let me play that Delta blues.

[Chorus]

Right now,

The Mississippi I love so much

Seems like a broken Delta song.

Please, Mister Delta Man,

Play me one of them Delta blues of mine.

[Verse 2]

The long road home, Mississippi,

Seems like I’ve been gone so long.

That long road home, Mississippi,

Seems like I’ve been gone too long.

[Chorus]

Right now,

The Mississippi I love so much

Seems like a broken Delta song.

Please, Mister Delta Man,

Play me one of them Delta blues of mine.

[Verse 3]

Mississippi, you’re looking better,

Mississippi, you’re looking fine.

The river rolls, and I surrender

To that sweet Southern state of mind.

[Chorus]

Right now,

The Mississippi I love so much

Seems like a broken Delta song.

Please, Mister Delta Man,

Play me one of them Delta blues of mine.

[Bridge]

The sun sinks low, casting shadows deep,

Old Man River carries secrets he keeps.

Through cotton fields and broken dreams,

I hear that lonesome guitar scream.

[Verse 4]

Old Man River, he just won’t stop his flow,

Rolling through years, through pain and hope.

The blues it carries is a tale untold,

Of souls that wander and never grow old.

[Chorus]

Right now,

The Mississippi I love so much

Seems like a broken Delta song.

Please, Mister Delta Man,

Play me one of them Delta blues of mine.

[Outro]

So let the strings cry, and let the river run,

I’ll find my home beneath the setting sun.

Where the blues were born and never die,

I’ll rest my soul where the Delta skies lie.

Laid-back 1930s acoustic Mississippi Delta blues with warm, resonant slide guitar, slow swinging rhythm, and a nostalgic, aged, weathered vocal tone. Simple yet deeply emotional.

The Blues Lives On

As the last notes of High Water & Hard Times fade into the air, one truth remains—the blues is more than music. It is history, it is memory, and it is defiance set to rhythm. Lije Dupree’s journey from the fields of Mississippi to the heart of Chicago’s blues scene is not just his own; it is the story of countless voices, often silenced in history books but immortalized in song. The blues is the language of resilience, a way of saying, We are still here.

This story serves as both a tribute and a call to action. Just as the blues carried the sorrows and hopes of the past, it continues to evolve, shaping the music of today and tomorrow. It is the foundation of jazz, rock, soul, and hip-hop—a legacy that refuses to be forgotten.

As the legendary bluesman Muddy Waters once said:

“The Blues had a baby and they named it Rock and Roll.”

aaa

Strings of Liberation: Zahra’s Journey to the Orchestra Americana

Zahra Abeni had always known the weight of silence. Born in a refugee camp on the Sudanese-Egyptian border, she grew up watching her mother weave stories into songs, her voice the only lullaby against the howling desert winds. Music, in her culture, was more than entertainment—it was a lifeline, a history, a whispered prayer. But in the world beyond their small community, her voice was unheard, her existence overlooked.

When she arrived in the United States as a teenager, she quickly realized that silence had many forms. The world labeled her—a Black, queer, Muslim woman—as an outsider before she had the chance to speak. Her hijab drew stares, her accent invited mockery, and her love for both women and men was treated as an anomaly. She learned to retreat, to keep her music within the walls of her bedroom, where her violin wept in the moonlight, playing the melodies of a home she could not return to.

Then, she discovered Orchestra Americana, a project under TATANKA, dedicated to celebrating diversity through music. It was a call she could not ignore. The initiative sought musicians from all backgrounds, inviting them to share their stories through sound. For the first time, she felt as though someone was asking, What does your voice sound like? instead of Where do you belong?

Walking into the rehearsal hall for the first time, Zahra felt her pulse quicken. The room was alive with color—musicians of every race and culture tuned their instruments, laughter in every accent blending into an overture of possibility. There were Indigenous drummers, Appalachian fiddlers, jazz saxophonists, and South Asian tabla players. A trans Mexican guitarist met her eyes and smiled. She was not alone here.

When Zahra lifted her violin and played, the room grew still. Her bow danced across the strings, weaving the ancient melodies of her people into something new—something that belonged here, in this space, with these people. She played not just for herself but for every girl who had been told she was too different, too foreign, too much.

As the final note rang out, the conductor, a Cherokee woman named Elowen, wiped a tear from her cheek. “You don’t just play, Zahra,” she said. “You remember.”

From that day forward, Zahra was no longer an outsider. She was a composer, a collaborator, a force. Orchestra Americana did not seek to erase her history but to amplify it. She learned to blend her violin’s sorrowful wails with the deep hum of a blues bass, to let its cries answer the mournful echoes of a Lakota flute. Music was no longer just a refuge—it was a revolution.

Months later, at their first major performance, Zahra stood center stage, her violin tucked beneath her chin, facing an audience that mirrored the world—diverse, vibrant, unbreakable. As she played, she closed her eyes and imagined her mother, singing to the desert sky, whispering the stories of those who came before.

This time, Zahra did not fear the silence. She filled it with sound.

Takeaway

Zahra’s story is a testament to the power of music as a force of inclusion and liberation. Orchestra Americana, like the blues before it, serves as both a sanctuary and a rebellion—lifting voices that have long been silenced, uniting cultures through shared melodies, and proving that no story, no sound, is too foreign to be heard.

Her journey reminds us that representation is not just about being seen—it’s about being allowed to create, to shape the narrative, to stand on a stage and say: This is me, and I belong.

This is the power of Black musical traditions—constantly growing, endlessly influential, and deeply tied to the fight for freedom. TATANKA’s mission echoes this same truth: to reclaim, uplift, and give voice to the forgotten and the unheard. The blues is not just history; it is a living force, waiting to be played, sung, and felt by new generations.

So, as the needle lifts from the record or the last chord fades from the air, the question remains:
What will we do with the echoes of the past?