MUSIC VIDEO
LYRICS
Cold empty bed, springs hard as leadPains in my head, feel like old Ned
What did I do to be so black and blue?
No joys for me, no company
Even the mouse ran from my house
All my life through I've been so black and blue
I'm white inside, but that don't help my case
Cause I can't hide what is on my face
I'm so forlorn. Life's just a thorn
My heart is torn. Why was I born?
What did I do to be so black and blue?
Cause I can't hide what is on my face
I'm so forlorn. Life's just a thorn
My heart is torn. Why was I born?
What did I do to be so black and blue?
I'm hurt inside, but that don't help my case
Cause I can't hide what is on my face
How will it end? Ain't got a friend
My only sin is in my skin
What did I do to be so black and blue?
Tell me, what did I do?
What did I do? What did I do?
What did I do? What did I do?
What did I do? What did I do?
What did I do? Tell me, what did I do to be so black and blue?
What did I do to be so black and blue?
ANALYSIS
“Black and Blue” is a jazz standard composed by Fats Waller and was performed multiple times by a number of artists, including Louis Armstrong. The song describes the injustice and oppression faced by an impoverished black man. The narrator is so poor that “[e]ven the mouse ran from [his] house,” and he blames his situation on account of his race: “My only sin is in my skin / What did I do to be so black and blue?” (“Black and Blue” 2001). The “Roarin’ 20s” wasn’t equally kind to everyone, despite overall increases in wages and living standards. Many African Americans grew up in and were unable to break the cycle of poverty, resulting in living conditions like that which the song describes. Like many jazz songs, “Black and Blue” helped bring the black experience to the forefront of popular music.
Cause I can't hide what is on my face
How will it end? Ain't got a friend
My only sin is in my skin
What did I do to be so black and blue?
Tell me, what did I do?
What did I do? What did I do?
What did I do? What did I do?
What did I do? What did I do?
What did I do? Tell me, what did I do to be so black and blue?
What did I do to be so black and blue?
ANALYSIS
“Black and Blue” is a jazz standard composed by Fats Waller and was performed multiple times by a number of artists, including Louis Armstrong. The song describes the injustice and oppression faced by an impoverished black man. The narrator is so poor that “[e]ven the mouse ran from [his] house,” and he blames his situation on account of his race: “My only sin is in my skin / What did I do to be so black and blue?” (“Black and Blue” 2001). The “Roarin’ 20s” wasn’t equally kind to everyone, despite overall increases in wages and living standards. Many African Americans grew up in and were unable to break the cycle of poverty, resulting in living conditions like that which the song describes. Like many jazz songs, “Black and Blue” helped bring the black experience to the forefront of popular music.
WORKS CITED
“Black and Blue.” Lyrics.com, 1 Feb. 2001,www.lyrics.com/lyric/785439/Giants+of+Jazz%3A+Louis+Armstrong/Black+and+
Blue.
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