yellow dog era o nome local de uma linha férrea regional do mississippi, por oposição à muito maior (e nacional) southern railways. neste azul de bessie smith (derivado de um ragtime escrito em 1913 e adaptado dois anos depois por w.c. handy) que festeja agora cem anos de idade, há muito de vaudeville e segundos sentidos. e o romance entre miss susie e o jockey lee? bem, as duas linhas não se cruzavam.

Ever since Miss Susie Johnson lost her jockey Lee

There has been much excitement and more to be

You can hear her moanin’?

Moanin’? night and morn

She's wonderin' where her easy rider's gone

Cablegrams goes off in inquiry

Telegrams goes off in sympathy

Letters came from down in Bam

Everywhere that Uncle Sam

Is the ruler of delivery

All day the phone rings, it's not for me

At last good tidings fills my heart with glee

This message came from Tennessee

Dear Sue, your easy rider struck this burg today

On a southbound rattler beside the Pullman car

I seen him there and he was on the hog

Oh, you easy rider's got to stay away

She had to vamp it but the hike ain't far

He's gone where the Southern cross the Yellow Dog