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

a história é a do lamento de um ex-milionário, durante a época da lei seca, em relação à futilidade efémera do dinheiro e à falsidade de muitas amizades perante a riqueza alheia, num azul escrito por jimmy cox em 1923 e popularizado pela grande bessie smith seis anos depois. a sua abordagem é diferente da versão original, introduzindo uma atmosfera de vaudeville e até algum jazz. e assim nasceu um standard.



Once I lived the life of a millionaire,

Spent all my money, didn’t have any cares.

Took all my friends out for a mighty good time,

Bought bootleg liquor, champagne and wine.

Then I began to fall so low,

Lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go.

I get my hands on a dollar again,

I’ll hang on to it till that eagle grins.

Because, nobody knows you

When you're down and out.

In your pocket, not one penny,

And as for friends, you don't have any.

When you get back up on your feet again,

Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend.

I said it's strange, without any doubt,

Nobody knows you when you're down and out.

Ooooh, nobody knows you

When you're down and out.

In your pocket, not one penny,

And as for friends, you don't have any.

When you get back on your feet again,

Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend.

I said it's strange, without any doubt

Nobody knows you, nobody knows you,

Nobody knows you when you're down and out