Blues and Broken Hearts

[sbrothy]

Today someone wanted me to listen to an 11-year old kid “playing the blues”. I asserted that it makes no sense. I’m of the opinion that you cannot play blues before you’ve had your heart broken and perhaps flirted with love and death. Be it a failed relationship or an alkohol or drug addiction. This kid might be so technically adept that he has played with Santana or whatever, but I’ll go out on a limb and assert that an 11-year old kid has no idea what blues is about before he has had some adult experience.

There are famous blues players who has no idea what a scale is or what is up and down on a guitar but they nevertheless know how to play blues so it makes me cry.

The discussion got kinda animated before I simply shut it down. I know I can hear the difference but I wasn’t believed.

Am I the crazy one?

 

[DaveC426913]

Like a doctor that can't care for a pregnant patient if they've never been through a pregnancy themselves?


What makes you think an 11 year old can't have had their heart-broken? Childhood is filled with heart-break. Or do you mean that only romantic heart-breaks count?

 

[sbrothy]

Like a doctor that can't care for a pregnant patient if they've never been through a pregnancy themselves?


What makes you think an 11 year old can't have had their heart-broken? Childhood is filled with heart-break. Or do you mean that only romantic heart-breaks count?

Hmm. Good point. I think I somehow put the limit at puberty without really having good arguments. It’s as if I cannot relate to an 11-year old’s problems with all the crud I myself have been through (and thats a lot!) Like if I asserted you haven’t lived without jumping out of a plane with a parachute or spent a night in police detention.

Still, if I compare this kid to Steve Ray Vaughan or Albert King I’m hearing a difference. Maybe if I didn’t know beforehand there might be none.

Maybe it also needs to be said that I play guitar myself. Mostly blues. Maybe what this boils down to is jealosy.

EDIT: Being that honest kinda hurt. Maybe I could use my hurt pride in my playing. :)

 

[DaveC426913]

Hmm. Good point. I think I somehow put the limit at puberty without really having good arguments. It’s as if I cannot relate to an 11-year old’s problems with all the crud I myself have been through (and thats a lot!) Like if I asserted you haven’t lived without jumping out of a plane with a parachute or spent a night in police detention.

Right. But it's all relative and subjective.

An eleven year old who's lost a beloved parent in a messy divorce could certainly go a round with a jilted lover in the of "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" arena.

Maybe what this boils down to is jealosy.

Envy, not jealousy.

When someone says they're 'jealous', they almost always mean 'envious'. (Just a pet peeve of mine.)

 

[sbrothy]

Right. But it's all relative and subjective.

An eleven year old who's lost a beloved parent in a messy divorce could certainly go a round with a jilted lover in the of "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" arena.


Envy, not jealousy.

When someone says they're 'jealous', they almost always mean 'envious'. (Just a pet peeve of mine.)

Heh. Good. I like a good English lesson. And peeves and idiosynchrasies are a kinda…. umm…. Yes. I’m sure you know what I mean. :P

 

[difalcojr]

No, you are not crazy. I agree with you.

And agree with Dave too. Albert King on the album "Blues Power" talked about the baby who wanted his bottle, so he goes to kicking and crying, well, he's got the blues... You're both right.

Envy is correct, thank you for pointing that out, really. Any 11-year old who can play good blues is someone to be envied, for sure. Unusual. Jealously involves a sexual relationship trouble, usually. Too young for an 11-year old to have his woman cheating on him. That might sound funny.

 

[Frabjous]

I saw a teenage girl cover this at the International Blues Challenge several years ago. It was a nice performance.

 

[difalcojr]

Very nice. One of my favorites, Albert Collins. From Texas, home of many blues greats. Are you going to post all the Blues recordings you like on this thread? If so, it will end up 30+ pages, probably!! Not much on PF that I have seen?

 

[DaveC426913]

Jealously involves a sexual relationship trouble, usually.

No. Jealousy involves the threat of loss; it doesn't have to a relationship.


Envy is “the painful feeling of wanting what someone else has, like attributes or possessions.” If you're jealous, you feel “threatened, protective, or fearful of losing one's position or situation to someone else.”
https://languagetool.org/insights/post/word-choice-envy-jealousy

 

[difalcojr]

Yes, I agree, you are correct. It doesn't have to be sexual, but often is, in blues songs, anyways. Yes, it's a possessive threat, jealously, as you nicely have defined.

Here's that Albert King song with the baby and teenage girl having the blues: The kids. Long, but words are right in the beginning.

 

[sbrothy]

Very nice. One of my favorites, Albert Collins. From Texas, home of many blues greats. Are you going to post all the Blues recordings you like on this thread? If so, it will end up 30+ pages, probably!! Not much on PF that I have seen?

Oh man, we’d be here for a long long time. :)