Week 16: James Alley Blues



Richard "Rabbit" Brown

The Man

Richard “Rabbit” Brown is another mystery of the blues – a man without a verified photograph and 5 songs recorded in one day – and almost nothing else is known about him. A photo that may be Rabbit (but looks very suspiciously like Mississippi John Hurt) has been discovered and that is all. He illustrates the development of the early blues, and his songs have a timeless quality about them – James Alley Blues could have been recorded by Dylan in his prime.

What we do know is that Rabbit was born sometime around 1880, and was already an older man when he was recorded. It is likely he was either born somewhere around New Orleans or moved there at the latest when he was a teenager. His voice is more reminiscent of delta blues singers, or Louisiana country singers. In James Alley Blues he sings “I’m from the country”, but where and in what state is a mystery.

It is presumed that Brown settled in New Orleans in or around 1890, likely because either he or his family moved to the city to escape the hard life of a share cropper. It’s very likely his parents were freed slaves. The date of 1890 is speculated because one of his songs “The Downfall of the Lion” recalls true events in the city’s history: in 1890 police chief David Hennessey was murdered with a shotgun blast to the head. After the resulting mistrial, a mob lynched 11 men and 5 others died from injuries sustained. Italian immigrant criminal gangs were blamed, and the word ‘Mafia’ entered the US vocabulary. ‘Downfall of the Lion’ was never recorded, but people remembered Rabbit Brown singing it, and part of one verse was remembered by Lemon Nash, a New Orleans guitarist.

Brown settled in an area know locally as “The Battlefield” in the Back o’ Town section of the city, and lived on James Alley. Louis Armstrong also grew up James Alley (also identified as ‘Jane Alley’ though Louis in his autobiography states it was “James not Jane as some people call it”) and it’s likely the two knew each other. Like the name suggests, The Battlefield was a violent red light district full of pimps, thieves, murderers and gangs. Shootings were common and police tended to avoid the area after dark. Brown got the nick name ‘Rabbit’ because he was a small man, so it is likely he knew how to handle himself.

Rabbit was known to play and sing on the corners, and he is remember by contemporaries as being a bit of a ‘clown’, playing badly, beating out chords and hollering the words. It’s very, very probably that this was an act designed to entertain white folks for coins – his recorded and remembered songs tell of a socially aware songwriter with a delicate touch on the guitar.

He was definitely very accustomed to the shenanigans of The Battlefield – one of his songs, now entirely forgotten except the name “Gyp the Blood” recalls a shootout between rival bar owners and hired gangsters from New York. Rabbit was a natural story teller – “Mystery Of The Dunbar’s Child” tells the story of the kidnapping of a child from Opelousas, Louisiana and is thought to be an original piece. Likewise, “the Sinking of the Titanic” is an original.

In addition to street corner playing, Rabbit would singing to customers as he rowed them across Lake Pontchartrain, and performed at Mama Lou’s on the shores of the lake. Lemon Nash recalls that if it was a slow night, Rabbit would call in a fire alarm, and hitch a ride back with the fire fighters, playing and singing for them on the way. It is likely that he supplemented his income through other ventures in the red light area.

How he came to be recorded is unknown, but on March 11,1927, Richard “Rabbit” Brown recorded 6 songs for Victor in New Orleans. “Sinking of the Titanic” gets a mention in a national magazine, and one of the tracks “Great Northern Blues” is never released and is lost.

And that’s all we know of Rabbit Brown. Nothing else has ever been found, though it is said that he died in New Orleans sometime around 1937.

In 2003, a compilation of spiritual songs recorded between 1902 and 1960 was released titled “Goodbye, Babylon”. It featured two tracks, recorded in New Orleans in 1929 and credited to ‘Blind Willie Harris’. Both the guitar and voice sound very similar to Rabbit Brown, and many blues enthusiasts insist they are the same person. Nothing at all is known about Blind Willie Harris, so whether he and Rabbit Brown are the same person or not is just another mystery of the blues.



The Song

James Alley Blues is a great example of the early ‘songster’ tradition. It’s bluesy, but is probably closer to folk.

It is a 12 bar in C. Rabbit’s guitar is in dropped D tuning, with a capo on the third fret that brings it up to the key of C – but he only capos the highest 5 strings leaving the low E (or D in this case) open. It’s played with A, D and E chord shapes.

Rabbit alternates between finger picking and strumming. The bending section is difficult to pull of accurately, and the timing changes slightly each repetition. It’s best just to work out a comfortable and natural way to your style to execute them accurately.



The Lyrics

C The times ain't now nothin' like they used to be. F Oh, times ain't now nothin' like they used to be. G And I'm tellin' you all the truth. Whoa, take it from me. C I done seen better days, but I'm puttin' up with these. I done seen better days, but I'm puttin' up with these. I could have much a better time with these girls down in New Orleans. Cause I was born in the country, she thinks I'm easy to rule. Cause I was born in the country, she thinks I'm easy to rule. She try to hitch me to a wagon, she wanna drive me like a mule. You know, I bought her the groceries and I pay the rent. Yeah, I buy her the groceries and I paid the rent. She try to make me to wash her clothes, but I got good common sense. I said, if you don't want me, why don't you tell me so? You know, if you don't want me, why don't you tell me so? Cause it ain't like I'm a man that ain't got nowhere to go. I been give you sugar for sugar, let you get salt for salt. I give you sugar for sugar, let you get salt for salt. And if you can't get 'long with me, we'll it's your own fault. How you want me to love you, and treat me mean? How do you want me to love you, you keep on treatin' me mean? You're my daily thought and my nightly dream. Sometime I think that you're too sweet to die. Sometime I think that you're too sweet to die. And another time I think you ought to be buried alive.

The Intro



In bar 4, when he changes to a D shape, he plays a low F note on the (uncapoed) 3rd fret of the low E (D) string. I’ve written it as “0” in the tab. In bar 10, in the E shape, he plays the open low E(D) string. I’ve written this as “0*”.

The timing in the first few bars is all over the shop, a beat is added when ever he feels like it, and the thumb doesn’t consistently hit on the beat. In bar 3 it settles down in a 4/4 time for the rest of the song. I suggest you use this as a rough guide and work out a way to play it you feel happy with.

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The Progression