Week 35: Runaway Man Blues



Floyd Coucil

The Man

Floyd Council is another relatively unknown Piedmont bluesman from North Carolina. Although he was recorded in the peak period of Piedmont’s popularity, commercial success eluded him and he is now days best known for providing half of Pink Floyd’s name.

Floyd was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on September 2, 1911, to Harrie and Lizzie Council. He grew up in the area, and started playing guitar and mandolin in his teens, tutored by his older half-brother Thomas Strowd. BY the mid 1920’s, Floyd, Thomas and Thomas’ full brother Leo were playing on the streets of Chapel Hill as the “Chapel Hillbillies”.

Chapel Hill is only 12 miles to the south west of Durham, a relatively large city that was the center of Piedmont blues in the 1930’s. The Reverend Gary Davis had moved to the town in the mid 20’s and has attracted a group of younger musicians keen to emulate his style. Among them was a local guitarist who had lost his sight in the late 20’s named Fulton Allen and a washboard player named George Washington. The musicians would travel the local area, so it is likely that Floyd knew of and had probably jammed with Davis, Allen and Washington.

In 1935 a certain J.B. Long moved to Burlington, 20 miles to the west of Durham, as the owner/operator of the Burlington Discount Department Store. He had operated other department stores in North Carolina, and was a music lover. Not only did he stock and sell ‘race records’ in his stores, but in 1934, responding to requests by customers for a song detailing a train crash in Lumberton, he wrote “Lumberton Wreck” and offered the opportunity for a band to record it for the American Record Corporation as first prize in a talent show he organised.

Columbia Records, looking for new artists, gave Long the position of southern regional talent scout and in this capacity he came to know the Durham blues scene. In 1935 he organised a recording session for Davis, Allen and Washington in New York. He renamed Allen “Blind Boy Fuller” and Washington “Bull City Red” for publicity reasons. The trio recorded together, and Fuller and Davis also recorded solo material. Fuller’s records were immediately successful, but a dispute over money saw Davis refuse to record with Long again – as a result Fuller became his number 1 artist, and the number 1 bluesman in the country. He arranged for Fuller to record again in 1936 unaccompanied, and again in 1937 where Long insisted on the original structure of two guitars and Bull City Red on washboard.

At this time, Floyd Council was living on J.B Long’s farm, working as a truck driver with his wife working in the Long household. Needing a second guitarist, Long invited Floyd to accompany Fuller on his 1937 recording sessions. On February 8, 1937, Floyd Council and Bull City Red accompanied Fuller on “If You Don’t Give Me What You Want” and “Boots and Shoes”.

Impressed with Floyd’s playing, Long also recorded him solo, laying down the tracks “I’m Grievin’ and Worryin'”, “I Don’t Want no Hungry Woman” and “Runaway Man Blues” on the next day, February 9, 1937. Two days later Floyd recorded three more tracks to be used as the B sides. Four of the tracks were released on 78s that year, with Long insisting on using the name “Dipper Boy Council (Blind Boy Fuller’s Buddy)” to capitalise on the success of Fuller. Unfortunately, the records were only a moderate success, but Fuller’s continued to sell in impressive numbers.

In September and December of the same year, Floyd returned to New York to again record as Fuller’s accompanist along with with harmonica player Sonny Terry. Just 2 years later Fuller was dead, and J.B. Long promoted Brownie McGhee as his replacement.

Floyd’s other two songs recorded in the February 1937 session were released in 1938 under a new name, “The Devil’s Daddy-in-Law” to capitalise on the success of the hokum-styled Petey “the Devil’s Son-in-Law” Wheatstraw. He also recorded two tracks with Sonny Terry in December 1938, but these were never issued.

With little commercial success of his own, and McGhee teamed up with Terry with great results, Floyd’s time had passed. He returned to Chapel Hill and continued to play on the street with his brothers or solo. He also played at country clubs, bars and on the radio. By the 60’s he was playing less, and ill health forced him out of the local scene.

A stroke in the late 60’s partial paralysed his throat muscles and impaired his ability to play guitar. The folklorist Peter B. Lowry attempted to record him in 1970, but the recordings were not of a good enough standard and were abandoned.

Floyd moved south to nearby Sanford in the 1970’s, and on May 9, 1976, he passed away from a heart attack. He is buried in the White Oak AME Zion Cemetery in Sanford.



The Song

Sometimes when you are working out songs like this, you get the key right, but the positions or tuning wrong – and that is exactly the case here. I’ve tabbed it out in standard played with a capo on the third fret, and based around the E chord shape. Now that I’ve finished it and the more I listen to it, the more I’m thinking it is actually played in standard tuning but dropped down a whole tone – so D to D, not E to E, and without a capo. This means the A string becomes a G, and I think the song is played based around the A chord shape and not the E. Note to self: listen more before you start writing tab!

Regardless, you’ll get pretty much the same sound. The structure is a quick change 12 bar, but Floyd uses the A7 and B7 in bar 2, which is somewhat uncommon. His thumb generally alternates with little grace or passing notes that really add momentum going into the next bar, and he improvises around similar themes every repetition. In the main “riff” repeated in bars 3, 7 and 11, he uses a little C7 to B7 double stop. When playing this, it’s important not to hit the bass note too hard – you don’t want to drown out the treble note.



The Lyrics

E When I left my home A7 B7 E I left my baby crying A When I left my home I left my baby crying E B7 Saying daddy you gonna leave me C#7 B7 E and it sure do grieve my mind My mama's in the kitchen Sister's in the door Yeeeeeeah Sister's in the door But my baby's in the backyard Crying daddy don't go Don't you worry about me mama Don't count the days I'm gone Don't you worry about me mama Don't count the days I'm gone 'Cause you got to remember Someday your daddy will be back home All right boy Solo I'm gonna get me a razor Knife and a blue steel gun I'm gonna get me a razor Knife and a blue steel gun So I can cut you if you stand Shoot you if you run

The Intro



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The Progression



$6.0 $5.2.$4.2.$2.0h2 3 $6.0 $2.3 3.$5.2.$4.2 $6.0 | $5.0.$4.2.$3.0 $2.2.$3.0.$1.0 $5.0.$4.2.$3.0 $6.0 $5.2.$4.1.$3.2.$2.0 $5.2.$4.1.$3.2.$2.0 $6.0 | $6.0 $1.0 $6.0.$2.3p2 0 $5.3.$3.3 $2.0 $5.2.$3.2 0h1 | $6.0.$4.2 $1.0.$2.0 $1.0.$2.0.$5.2.$4.2 $2.3.$1.0 $6.0.$2.3.$1.0 $5.2.$4.2 | $5.0.$4.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.2 $5.0.$4.2.$3.0.$2.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.2 $5.0.$4.2 $4.2 $5.0.$4.2 0 | $5.0.$4.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.2 $5.0.$4.2.$3.0.$2.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.2 $5.0.$4.2 $4.2 $5.0.$4.2 0 | $6.0 $1.0 $6.0.$2.3p2 0 $5.3.$3.3 $2.0 $5.2.$3.2 0h1 | $6.0 $1.0.$2.0 $4.2.$5.2.$1.0.$2.0 $1.0.$2.0 $1.0.$2.0.$6.0 $5.0 1 | 2.$3.4.$2.0.$4.1 $3.4.$2.0 $4.1.$3.4.$2.0.$5.2 $3.4.$2.0 $4.1.$5.2.$3.2.$2.0 $3.2.$2.0 $4.1.$5.2.$3.2.$2.0 $6.0 | $5.4.$4.3.$3.4 4 $5.4.$4.3.$3.4.$2.0 $6.0 $5.2.$4.1.$3.2.$2.0 $3.2 $5.2.$4.1.$3.2.$2.0 $6.0 | $6.0 $1.0 $6.0.$2.3 2 $6.0.$2.0 $5.3.$3.3 $5.2.$3.2 0h1 | $6.0 $1.0.$2.0 $5.2.$4.2.$1.0.$2.0 $1.0.$2.0 $6.0 $5.2.$4.2 | Here’s the first verse, note the A7 to B7 shape in bar 2, the B to B7 in bar 9 and the B7 to C#7 in bar 10. Also note that Floyd varies bar 12 in each repetition. Sometimes he plays it like this; sometimes he uses the same notes, but plays it with the rhythm of bar 3 – using a quick pull-off which changes the rhythm of the second half.

The Solo