The Blues Retold



Your blues ain't like mine
Sarah Vaughn,
Her voice wails the bruises
I've been feelin'.

Mahalia Jackson,
That's right!
She down in there too,
Filling' me up so much
My head is spinnin'.

Ella, Ms. Fitzgerald, her scattin'
Firebrand in my veins.
A Spirit gyratin'
Natural mother tongue.

Billie, she can tell you bout
Birthin' those blues in full squat.
Her right of passage tearin' my soul
These are the things I be feelin'.
So you see your blues ain't like
Mine.
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Submitted on May 01, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

25 sec read
0

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXA XXXXA AXAX XXXAXA
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 443
Words 82
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 5, 4, 6

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