Week 1: Death Don’t Have no Mercy



Reverend Gary Davis

The Man

The Reverend Gary Davis, born April 30, 1896, was one of the greats of the early bluesmen, a master of the Piedmont style with a hauntingly powerful voice. His early life reads like a blueprint for blues men of the era: partially blind from birth, fully blind by 20, he the only child of 8 to survive infancy and when he was just 10 his father was shot and killed by a Sheriff in Birmingham, Alabama. Davis grew up in Laurens, South Carolina, in the Piedmont plateau region that sits to the east of the Appalachians and runs parallel to the east coast of the US, from New Jersey down to Alabama. He started on the guitar at age 6, teaching himself gospel, rag time and blues tunes using the Piedmont style of alternating thumb and index finger with a syncopated melody on the high strings. He moved to Durham, North Carolina in his twenties, already regarding as having one of the best techniques in the country, where he taught legends such as Blind Boy Fuller and recorded his first records in the late ’30s. He became a reverend in 1937 and increasingly used gospel styling in his singing. He moved on to New York, performing as a street corner busker and didn’t record again until the late ’50s. Already a legend to other bluesmen, he found greater fame later in life, with the folk explosion in the 60s. His influence was huge, acts such as Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane all recorded covers of his songs, and his strong melodic leads between bass oriented chords has became the stable for modern blues. Davis died of a heart attack in Hammonton, New Jersey on May 5, 1972.



The Song

Death Don’t have no Mercy was recorded in 1960 and released on Davis’ album ‘Harlem Street Singer’. It’s a traditional spiritual, the lyrics deal with the personification of death, coming into people’s houses to snatch away the living – fairly appropriate for a guy who lost a father and all seven of his siblings. Davis never played the same version twice, improvising melody lines over the chord procession. The version I’ve used is the original 1960 recording. The song is a 16 bar blues, with a short intro and a full 16 bar solo, played in E minor. The recorded version has 6 verses, plus the solo, but they all follow the same 16 bar progression. He improvises licks especially in the Em chords, and utilises short walking baselines in some of the chord changes. The trick to this song is not to rush it – it’s a slow, haunting piece. Let the notes ring out, and use the guitar leads as a counter melody to the voice.

The Lyrics

Em Am B7 Em Death don't have no mercy in this land Em7 A7 D7 G B7 Death don't have no mercy in this land Em Em7 He'll come to your house and he won't stay long Am C You'll look in the bed and somebody will be gone Em C Em B7 Em Death don't have no mercy in this land Well Death will go in any family in this land Well Death will go in every family in this land Well he'll come to your house and he won't stay long Well you'll look in the bed and one of your family will be gone Death will go in any family in this land Well he never takes a vacation in this land Well old Death never takes a vacation in this land Well he'll come to your house and he won't stay long Well you'll look in the bed and your mother will be gone Death never takes a vacation in this land Well he'll leave you standin' and cryin' in this land Well Death will leave you standin' and cryin' in this land Well he'll come to your house and he won't stay long You'll look in the bed and somebody will be gone Death will leave you standin' and cryin' in this land Old Death always in a hurry in this land Old Death always in a hurry in this land Well he'll come to your house and he won't stay long You'll look in the bed and your mother will be gone Death always in a hurry in this land Well he won't give you time to get ready in this land Well he won't give you time to get ready in this land Well he'll come to your house and he won't stay long Well you'll look in the bed and somebody will be gone Death won't give you time to get ready in this land

The Intro



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The Progression



Here’s what he does in the first verse:

Em / Am B7 / Em $6.0 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 $4.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 | $5.0 $4.2.$3.2.$2.1.$1.0 $5.2 $4.1.$3.2.$2.0.$1.2 | $6.0 $4.2 $3.0 $4.2 0 2 $5.0 $6.3^ $5.0 $6.3^ | Em / Em7 / A7 D7 $6.0 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 $5.2.$4.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 | $4./5.$2./3.$1./3 $4.5.$2.3.$1.3 $4.5.$2.3.$1.3 $4.5p2 0 | $5.0 $3.2.$2.2.$1.3 $5.0 $4.0 $3.2.$2.1.$1.2 | G / B7 / $6.3 $3.0.$2.0.$1.3 $3.0.$2.0.$1.3 $5.0 1 | $5.2 $4.1.$3.2.$2.0.$1.2 $6.2 $4.1.$3.2.$2.0.$1.2 | Em / / Am $6.0 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0 $4.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0 | $6.0.$5.2 0 2 $6.0 $4.2.$3.0.$2.3.$1.0 | $5.0.$4.2 $3.2.$2.1.$1.0 $4.2 $3.2.$2.1.$1.0 | C / Em C / Em B7 $5.3.$4.2 $3.0.$2.1.$1.0 $5.3.$4.2 $6 0 3 $5 0 1 | $5.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 $5.3.$4.2 $3.0.$2.1.$1.0 | $6.0.$5.2 $6.3 $5.0 1 2 $4.1 $4.1.$3.2 | Em / / $6.0 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 $6.0h3 $5.0 2 0 $6.3 | $4.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 $6.0.$5.2 $4.2.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 | Davis has a constant progression where he plays the bass note on the 1st and 3rd beats, with the treble notes of the chord on 2nd and 4th, either strummed or picked with three fingers. He fills it out with improvised riffs. Try to get the basic chords down first, then jazz it up with some riffs of your own. The voicings in the chord diagrams aren’t 100% accurate – check the tabs for the proper voicings.Here’s what he does in the first verse:

The Solo



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The Outro



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Biography More about Reverend Gary Davis