Four Definitions of the Blues
![Four definitions of the Blues. The first quote is by Toni Morrison (1934-2019). It reads: “What we used to be able to do with each other in private and in that civilization that existed underneath the white civilization... My work bears witness and suggests who the outlaws were, who survived under what circumstances and why, what was legal in the community as opposed to what was legal outside it. All that is in the fabric of the story in order to do what music used to do. The music kept us alive.” The second is from August Wilson August Wilson (1945-2005). It reads: "...that’s life's way of talking. You don’t sing to feel better. You sing ‘cause that’a way of understanding life…The blues help you get out of bed in the morning. You get up knowing you ain’t alone. There’s something else in the world. Something’s been added by that song. This be an empty world without the blues." The third is a quote by Thomas Dorsey (1899 - 1993). It reads: “the Blues ain’t nothing but a good [person] feeling bad”. The fourth is by Howlin’ Wolf (1910-1976). It reads: “Everybody says they don’t like the Blues, but you’re wrong. See the Blues comes from way back.” “I’mma tell you what the Blues is… when you ain’t got nothing then you got to worry about something and that’s when the Blues come in. I don’t have this and I don’t have that and you look over at these other people and they got this and got that and then in your heart you feel like you ain’t nobody. You’ve got the Blues.”](https://teachrock.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/4-Definitions.png)
Four Definitions of the Blues
Related Lessons
lesson:
The Juke Joint: Where Oral Literature Comes Alive
Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: ELA
What role do Blues lyrics and juke joints play in Black American literature and life?