I’m drawn to the raw, expressive side of blues and enjoy likes of Muddy Waters and Rory Gallagher.  But among electric guitarists, blues is something of an entry point — a foundation, like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.  Everybody competent is expected to be able to at least do a passable job at playing the blues.  And I think it’s easy to do just that — a passable job.

As with all other types of songs, if I’m bothering to write a blues song, I want to add to the rich legacy something worthwhile, something that has rarely been done before.  Hence this song — I’d call it progressive blues.  It contains a lot of traditional elements, but it also has lots of departures.

This song started out as a lament of a black man in the MLK-led era of civil rights movement, though I’m not sure if I can call it that now.  The demo below is something I tracked with the built-in camera of my MacBook.  I was just practicing with iSight camera, but liked the distorted sound it made — seemed appropriately raw to me.

Arian Blue: Oppression Blues

 

I’ve done it again
I’ve succumbed to my fears
I’ve done it again
I’ve succumbed to my fears
Lord, have mercy
Spare me from their jeers

A man in a white suit
Told me of righteousness
A woman in a white suit
Told me of righteousness
Then what of this heartache
That bleeds my hollowness

They all headed down south
To avoid being stretched
They all headed down south
To avoid being stretched
I stretched and stretched and stretched all right
Yet my pain remains all etched

I’ve done it again
I’ve succumbed to my fears
I’ve done it again
I’ve succumbed to my fears
Lord, have you got some mercy
Help me stand to their jeers