Song Analysis

Skip James was one of the originators of the 30's delta blues styles. The son of a preacher and working as a freelance laborer, Skip James was first recorded in 1931. He very soon feel into obscurity for over 30 years, not recording a single song on wax. After being rediscovered in the 60's recovering from an illness in the hospital, he was taken to Newport to play in the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, along with fellow forgotten delta blues man Son House. Skip James became well known for playing in an open D-Minor style and for using a three fingered picking technique. His song Cypress Grove Blues, released on his original 1931 recording, features an intense declaration of the prejudices and hate the narrator has had to face over his life, utilizing euphemism, imagery, and contradiction to enforce this mood.

Even the title Cypress Grove Blues is a euphemism. He uses the phrase, "When yo' knee bones go to achin' and yo' body gettin' cold, you know, you jes' gettin' ready, honey, for some cypress grove" to represent death. The opening lines declare that he'd rather be dead and buried in some Cypress Grove "Than to have a contrary woman, Lord, I never can control". It is a clever way to talk about wishing to be dead without it becoming a tired cliche through use of a thoroughly original euphemism for death.

The imagery is intense. There is a pervading mood of starkness and cold and bleakness, which is reinforced by the use of striking imagery. The stanza which contains the lines, "I will drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log, before I stay up here, Honey, treated like a dog", are, to me, the most striking lines in the song. Not only do you see a desperate man clutching for anything to keep himself alive, drinking filthy water and sleeping on a forest floor, but you can emphasized with the man, almost tasting the sting of the muddy water, and feeling the bark dig into your back. The song brings out hopelessness with unmatched talent.

The contradiction in this song is one of the most interesting elements. The final stanza repeats the lines, "I'm gonna sing this song, and I ain't gonna sing no more," over and over. This seemingly paradoxical statement actually emphasizes the narrator's confusion on what to do in the future. It also could be a statement on the blues itself, with him declaring that he does not want to sing, and does not have the time to mourn anymore, yet he knows deep down he has to sing to stay sane. Though the blues is not famous for its deeply poetical lyrics, Skip James proves there is complexity and what seems merely like a simple song.