"Hey, Joe, Oh where you're goin' with that gun in your . . . Hey, Joe, I said, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?" [Remainder of copyrighted lyrics removed. Folks, let's please not expose Ward to liability by posting copyrighted material beyond what FairUse allows.] ''Appears this Joe should finish high school, take a summer course in remedial English grammar and attend an anger management seminar.'' Either that or just find a more faithful wife. But then what would JimiHendrix sing/play about? ''"Hey Joe, Oh where you goin' with that bag of recyclables?"'' Is anybody surprised at the amount of violence in the Blues? Would it be possible to write and get mainstream airplay of a song like HeyJoe in 2001? ''Yes. Just call it rap.'' I also remember a song by (I think) LightningHopkins with lyrics along the line of "You'll have a hard time leaving me baby, with my pistol in your mouth/You may think you're going north, but your brains are stayin' south" ... ''OTOH, I remember a song by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pride and Joy.'' Well you've heard about love givin sight to the blind My baby's lovin cause the sun to shine She's my sweet little thing She's my pride and joy She's my sweet little baby I'm her little lover boy A great song. There is a slight hint of violence in one line: You mess with her you'll see a man get mean. The great thing about Stevie Ray Vaughan (or at least the CD I have of his group) is that not only is he one of the most impressive guitar players ever, but his songs have a bit more of an uplifting feel than other reasonably contemporary artists, like Jonny Lang. Lang has some incredibly moving guitar leads on his first CD, but he songs tend to be downers, and he doesn't really sound credible singing the words he sings. ---- I read "''OTOH, I remember a song by Stevie Ray Vaughan''" above and was surprised to see mention of ''Pride and Joy''; I was expecting ''Boot Hill'': Look up on the wall baby, hand me down my shootin' iron Look up on the wall baby, hand me down my shootin' iron Call your mother long distance, tell her to expect your body home And it goes on from there. (Rest of lyrics at http://srvrocks.com/boot_hill.htm.) --GlennVanderburg ---- Is anybody surprised at the amount of violence in the Blues? Why would anyone be? The Blues originated as the main expressive medium of a people living through poverty and hardship in a society that hated them, that had their oppression written into its laws. Poverty, hardship, hatred and oppression beget violence. ''Is anyone surprised by the amount of violence in classic works of literature (Shakespeare, or Greek tragedies for example)? Or in the Bible?'' ---- ''The Blues originated as the main expressive medium of a people living through poverty and hardship in a society that hated them, that had their oppression written into its laws.'' That would be more persuasive if you could point to a body of violent songs in, say, Yiddish. I think the violence in the blues has a lot more to do with the fact that the South in general (white as well as black) was a pretty violent place. I forget his name, but some history professor claims that was the driving force behind Southern courtesy: you went to great lengths to avoid offending anyone, so that you didn't find yourself in a duel. Hei, I need the tab for this song... (Steve Ray Vaughan) If you have it, please mail me at kitty2003@softhome.net THX!!!!