CHAPTER XII
THE ANNALS AND BLUES OF
LEFT WING GORDON
Here is a construction camp which employs largely
Negro workers. In four years 8,504 laborers were
employed and there was an average labor turnover of
once each month, or forty-eight different sets of men
working on the buildings and road under construction
during that time. This camp employed men from
different Southern states in the order named: North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana; while
stragglers represented eleven states outside the South.
Why this turnover? Why do men travel from state
to state? Of what sort are they? How many road
camps and construction groups throughout the South
duplicate this record? What are the experience, his-
tory, difficulties of the Negro worker by the roadside?
Why does he quit his job? Where will he go for
the next?
The entire story of the casual laborer will, of course,
have to be told elsewhere in thorough studies of
migration and case studies of many individuals. It
is a remarkable story, sometimes unbelievable. It is
not the purpose of this chapter to go into the matter
of causes, but to present a picture of the workaday
songster as a sort of cumulative example of the whole
story of this volume. It is true that his early home life,
his training, his experience, his relation to the whites,
have all influenced him greatly. It is true also that
there is often slack work, poor conditions of housing
and work, little recreation, small wages, and always a
Left Wing Gordon 207
call to some better place. But we are concerned with
these here only as they are a part of the background of
the picture. Here is a type perhaps more representa-
tive of the Negro common man than any other. Now
a youngster of eight, father and mother dead, off to
Texas to an uncle, then — "po' mistreated boy" — he
goes to Louisiana, then to Mississippi, then to Georgia,
across South Carolina, back home to North Carolina,
then off to Philadelphia, to Pittsburg, to Ohio, to
Chicago, then back to the East and Harlem and back
South again. He is typical of a part of the Negro
movement of the decade. But there is continuously a
stream of moving laborers from country to town, from
town to town, from city to city, from state to state,
from South to North. Here is hardship, but withal
adventure, romance, and blind urge for survival.
As an example of this worker and songster we
present John Wesley Gordon, alias Left Wing 1 Gordon,
commonly called "Wing." He is very real, and one
could scarcely imagine a better summary of the
lonesome road, if made to order. Recent popular
volumes portraying the species hobo show no wanderers
arrayed like these black men of the lonesome road.
Walt Whitman's
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road
Healthy and free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, leading wherever I
choose
would seem a gentle taunt to Left Wing Gordon on the
red roads of Georgia or on the Seaboard rods in "sweet
ol' Alabam'." He had, at the last writing, given
excellent tale of working, loafing, singing his way
1 So called because he had lost his right arm.
208 Negro Workaday Songs
through thirty-eight states of the union, with such
experience and adventure as would make a white man
an epic hero. "You see, boss, I started travelin'
when I wus 'leven years oP an' now I'll be thirty this
comin' August 26th. I didn't have no father an'
mother, so I jes' started somewheres. I'd work fer
folks, an' they wouldn't treat me right, so I moved on.
An', Lawd, cap'n, I ain't stopped yet." And so he
hadn't, for when on the morrow we came to put the
finishing touches on his story, a fellow laborer said,
"Law', boss, Wing done gone to Philadelphia."
"Wing," who started from St. Joseph in Missouri,
lost his arm at eighteen years of age. He gives the
following concrete data about some of the places where
he has worked and loafed. What story might have
been written if we had taken the states alphabetically,
asking him for full details, with plenty of time, one can
only imagine. Here is the order in which he volun-
teered information about the different states, in the
geography of which he appears to be something of a
scholar. The phraseology belongs to Wing and the
inconsistencies remain as in his Iliad.
Louisiana. Worked on boat some an' saw-mill some.
Florida. Worked on hard roads.
Alabama. Worked in steel plants six miles from
Birmingham.
Texas. Didn't do nothin' in Texas, had a little
money to spend.
Arkansas. Worked at H Hotel at New Port,
fellow runnin' name Jack N .
Missouri. Worked on boat.
Illinois. Sold papers in Chicago, started mowin'
lawns, white-washin' fences, brushin' furniture, an'
worked in packin' house.
Left Wing Gordon 209
Wyoming. Had a little money in Cheyenne an'
didn't have nothin' to do.
Nebraska. At Omaha worked at packin' house.
Iowa. Worked in mines and on railroad.
Canada. Worked at government camp 'cross from
Detroit, an' broom factory at Montreal.
Michigan. Worked at Ford factory at district on
P. & M. railroad out north of Detroit.
Kansas. In harvest fields 'bout 37 miles from Leaven-
worth — Naw sir, never been in Leavenworth prisons.
North Carolina. On a job.
Arizona. Didn't do nothin' much.
South Carolina. On hard roads an' Southern Power
Company.
Georgia. Comin' in a hurry, never fooled 'round there
much. Did work in saw mill eight miles out from
Waycross two weeks.
Tennessee. Out at Knoxville and Maysville at ma-
loominum plant.
Mississippi. In boats at Vicksburg and Natchez.
Virginia. Worked most everywhere — Richmond at
Broad Meadows, 1227 Brook Avenue.
New York. Out at Bessemer plants stirrin' pots.
Washington. At Alexandria, Virginia side.
Ohio. Worked for Mayor of Bridgeport, named C. J — .
West Virginia. At coal mines.
Pennsylvania. Worked in Pittsburg steel mills eight
miles from Pittsburg.
Maryland. I's in Baltimore, had boat carry us out
an' bring us back, Double A flashlight factory at
47 cents a hour.
New Jersey. Cross from New York, four miles from
Nooark, work on Hansack River.
Wisconsin. Used to work out o' Milwaukee, butler
on C. B. & Q. road; eight miles out but we stayed in
Milwaukee.
210 Negro Workaday Songs
Connecticut. Used to ketch boat an' go over to New
Haven, Hartford, Thomasville, eight miles out from
Springfiel', Massachusetts.
Massachusetts. Springfiel' and Boston, too. Didn't
work none in Boston but had sister there.
Rhode Island. Never stopped there but I could walk
all over that little state. Hartford is capital.
North Dakota. Wiped up engine on Great Northern,
237 miles from Minneapolis.
South Dakota. Worked out in Aberdeen in wheat
fields, harvest for Al T , mostly carried water.
California. When war was goin' on, time of govern-
ment camp at Los Angeles an' Sacramento an'
Miles City.
Wing was also a great songster. "When de 'Wing
Blues' come out, dat's me," he would say. His chief
refrain was always
O my babe, you don't know my min',
When you see me laughin',
Laughin' to keep from cryin', l
of which he had many versions. This chorus was
easily adapted to a hundred songs and varied according-
ly. "When you see me laughin', I'm laughin' just to
keep from cryin'," or "I'm tryin' to keep from cryin',"
or "When you think I'm laughin', I'm cryin' all the
time." There were his other versions, such as
O my babe, you don't know my min',
When you think I'm lovin' you
I'm leavin' you behin',
with its similar variety, such as "I'm leavin' to worry
you off my min'," or "When you think I'm leavin'
1 One of the most popular blues today is a piece called You Don't Know My
Mind Blues. We have evidence, however, which tends to show that nu-
merous vulgar versions of the same title were current among the Negroes long
before the formal song was published.
Left Wing Gordon 211
I'm comin' right behin'." Wing claimed a "Blues"
for every state and more; if there was none already at
hand, he would make one of his own. There were
the various Southern blues, the Boll Weevil Blues,
Cornfield Blues, Gulf Coast Blues, Atlanta Blues,
Alabama Blues, Birmingham Blues, Mississippi Blues,
Louisiana Low Down, Shreveport Blues, New Orleans
Wiggle, Norfolk Blues, Virginia Blues, Oklahoma Blues,
Memphis Blues, Wabash Blues, St. Louis Blues, Caro-
lina Blues, Charleston Blues, and many others.
It must be admitted that Wing's blues were mixed
and of wonderful proportions. He could sing almost
any number of blues, fairly representative of the pub-
lished type, with, of course, the typical additions, vari-
ations, and adaptations to time and occasion.
Ohio, Ohio, West Virgini, too,
De blues dis nigger's had only very few.
What you gonna do?
Lawd, what you gonna do?
When I come from New York,
Walkin' 'long the way,
People pick me up
Jes' to get me to pay,
Ain't my place to live,
Anyway you can't stay here.
Illinois Central,
What can you spare?
Fo' my baby's in trouble
An' I ain't dere.
Hey, Lawdy, Lawdy, I got crazy blues,
Can't keep from cryin',
Thinkin' about that baby o' mine.
Lawd, I woke up dis mornin',
Found my baby gone,
Missed her from rollin'
An' tumblin' in my arms.
212 Negro Workaday Songs
Lawd, if I feel tomorrow
Lak I feel to-day,
Good God, gonna pack my suitcase,
Lawd, an' walk away.
I'd rather be in jail,
Standin' like a log,
Than be here
Treated like a dog.
Creek's all muddy.
Pond's gone dry,
1 never miss my baby
Till she said goodby.
Well, I went to graveyard
An' looked in my baby's face,
Said, "I love you, sweet baby,
Jes' can't take yo' place."
Whistle blowed on,
Church bell softly toned;
Well, I had good woman
But po' girl dead an' gone.
Well, I woke up dis mornin',
Had blues all 'round my bed;
I believe to my soul
Blues gonna kill me dead.
O baby, you don't know my min'.
When you think I'm laughin',
Laughin' to keep from cryin',
Laughin' to keep from cryin'.
Wing called that the Louisiana Blues, and certainly
for the time being it was so. And for Georgia 3 although
in his narrative he had given the Empire State of the
South the usual Negro reputation of quick passage, he
sang a mixed blues.
Left Wing Gordon 213
Dear ol' Georgia, my heart is sinkin'
An' my way come blinkin' to you,
If you ever leave Georgia any length o' time,
Yo' heart come blinkin', no other way but you,
Can't be no other way. 1
Then for Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, California,
Virginia, there were other fragments, besides nu-
merous formal versions.
Alabama, Tennessee,
I wrote my mother letter.
Don't write back to me,
Reason I tell you, I got de 'fo'-day blues.
I got de Florida blues,
Hey, mama, hey, baby, I got de crazy blues,
Hey, baby, you don't know my min',
When you think I'm leavin', I'm comin' all the time.
I ain't got no money,
No place to stay.
Hey, baby, hey, honey.
I got de Florida blues.
I got Elgin watch
Made on yo' frame.
Hey, baby, hey, honey,
I got Florida blues.
California ridden,
Don't think I'm didden,
De reason I'm tellin' you,
I have no place to stay.
Mother an' father dead,
Done gone away,
I'm a lonesome boy,
Got nowhere to stay.
1 This and many other of Wing's stanzas have no clear meaning as far as
we can tell. Sometimes his songs give the impression that he has learned the
titles of numerous popular blues and has woven as many of them as possible
into each stanza.
214 Negro Workaday Songs
Hey, mama, hey, baby,
I got de 'fo'-day blues.
I'm California ridden,
I got de California blues.
California in U. S.,
Dat is where my love lie,
An' she will treat me best,
You all take Alexander for ol' plaything,
But Alexander no name for you.
O baby, you don't know my min',
When you think I'm lovin' you, I'm leavin' you behin'.
1
Before continuing Left Wing's story, giving some-
thing more of the scope of his adventures, perhaps the
best further introduction will be the exact record of
some of his songs in the order in which he gave them.
Wing had practically no variation in his tunes and
technique of singing. A high-pitched voice, varied
with occasional low tones, was the most important
part of his repertoire. But what variation in words
and scenes, phrases and verses, the recording of which
would exhaust the time and endurance of the listener
and call for an ever-recording instrument! For cer-
tainly the effort to transcribe everything Wing gave
left the visitor amazingly exhausted, marveling at the
jumbled resourcefulness of the singer, wishing for
some new type of photography which would register
the voice, looks, experience, and inimitable tempera-
ment of this itinerant camp follower.
Anna yo' peaches, but I's yo' man.
How I wonder where you goin' to-day,
That my mother an' father have nowhere to stay.
Would you take them in, oh, would you take them in?
How I love you, how I love you,
Would you take me in, would you take me in?
Anna yo' peaches, but I's yo man,
Would you take me in, would you take me in?
Left Wing Gordon 215
Lawd, I woke up dis mornin',
Couldn't keep from cryin',
Thinkin' about that
Lovin' babe o' mine.
O my babe, you don't know my min',
you don't know my min'.
When you think I'm laughin',
I'm cryin' all de time.
Reason I love you so,
'Cause my heart is true,
Reason I love you so,
I'm goin' 'way.
I'm goin' 'way to worry you off my min'.
Reason I think you worry,
I'm 'way all the time,
1 got de 'fo'-day blues.
You put yo' coat on yo' shoulder,
You want to walk away,
You got yo' lovin' baby,
You want a place to stay.
Well, I love you, baby,
God knows I do.
Reason I love you,
Yo' heart is true.
Reason I love you,
Got de weary blues.
Differing slightly in tone, Wing sets out on a new
song only to swing back again to the same lonesome
blues; indeed he makes his technique and his whines
as he goes, the result blending into a remarkable
product.
Eddy Studow been here,
You got de so long well,
'Cause I feel you sinkin',
Easin' down to hell,
O sweet baby, you don't know my min',
'Cause when you think I'm laughin', I'm cryin'.
216 Negro Workaday Songs
If you don't b'lieve I'm sinkin',
Jes' look what a hole I'm in.
If you don't b'lieve I love you,
Jes' look what a fool I been.
O sweet baby, you don't know my min'.
When you think I'm lovin' you, I'm leavin' you behin'.
baby, jes' ship my clo'es out in valise,
O baby, jes' ship my clo'es out in valise.
Reason I tell you ship 'em,
Yo' heart I don't believe.
Thought I woke up yesterday,
My heart was very sick,
'Cause reason I love you.
'Day's nearer pay day.
The reason I love my lovin' baby so,
Oh, reason I love my lovin' baby so,
'Cause if she make five dollars
She sho' bring her father fo\
Yes, it's hey, sweet baby,
You don't know my min'.
'Cause it's hey, sweet baby.
You don't know my min'.
When you think I'm laughin',
Laughin' jes' to -keep from cryin'.
Lawd, what you gonna say,
1 need de woman for de money,
I got no place to stay.
For de reason I love my lovin' baby so,
When she make eight dollahs,
Sho' bring her father fo'.
Ruther see you dead,
Floatin' in yo' grave;
Ruther see you dead,
Lawd, floatin' in yo' grave.
Than be here, Lawd,
Treated dis a-way.
Left Wing Gordon 217
Geech had my woman
An' two or three mo';
Oh, de Geech had my woman
An' two or three mo'.
He's a hard headed man
An' won't let me go.
I wake up dis mornin',
Feet half-way out de bed,
Lawd, I wake up dis mornin',
Oh, de blues you give me
Sho' gonna kill me dead.
Left Wing's story of his wanderings does not omit,
of course, the woman part of his "lovin' worP." Try-
as he might to sing of other experiences, inevitably he
would swing back to his old theme.
I ruther be dead
In six feet o' clay,
Than to see my baby,
Lawd, treated dis a-way.
Well, I love my baby,
I tell the worP I do,
But reason I love her,
Her heart is true.
Gonna lay my head
On some oP railroad iron,
Das de only way, baby,
To worry you off my min'.
I went to depot,
I looked up on de boa'd,
My baby ain't here,
But she's somewhere on de road.
But I'm goin' to town,
Goin' to ask chief police,
Fo' my baby done quit me
An' I can't have no peace.
218 Negro Workaday Songs
An' I'm goin' away, baby,
To worry you off my min',
'Cause you keep me worried
An' bothered all de time.
I wonder whut's de matter,
Lawd, I can't see.
You love some other man, sweet woman,
An' you don't love me.
Befo' I'd stay here
An' let these women mistreat me,
I'd do like a bull frog,
Jump in de deep blue sea.
Wing, however, does not jump into the deep blue sea,
although like the other traditional bull frog he does
jump from place to place. Concerning the women
about whom he sings, he affirmed, "Can't count 'em,
take me day after tomorrow to count 'em. Find
fifteen or twenty in different cities. New Orleans
best place to find most fastest, mo' freer women, —
person find gang of 'em in minute.
"But I had some mighty fine women. Fust one was
Abbie Jones, 'bout Ioway Street. Nex' was in
M , Missouri, Jennie Baker, Susan Baker's
daughter. Nex' one St. Louis, lady called Bulah
Cotton, Pete Cotton's daughter. Nex' one was in
Eas' St. Louis, her name Sylvia Brown. Nex' I had
in Poplar Bluff, one dat took my money an' went off,
Effie Farlan, had father name George Farlan. Nex'
Laura, she's in Memphis, Tennessee, she's 'nother
took my money an' gone. Jes' lay down, went to
sleep, jes' took money an' gone. Wake up sometimes
broke an' hongry, they jes' naturally take my money.
Nex' woman was at Columbia, S. C, 'bout las' regular
one I had, Mamie Willard, mother an' father dead.
Sweethearts I can git plenty of if I got money. If I
Left Wing Gordon 219
ain't got none I'se sometimes lonesome, but not always,
'cause sometimes dey feel sorry fer you an' treat you
mighty fine anyway."
Wing tells some remarkable stories, evidently prod-
ucts of the perfect technique of appeal and approach,
in which formality and easy-going ways are blended
with great patience and persistence. This series
of adventures alone would make a full sized volume
albeit there is no need to publish it abroad. Typical,
however, are the chant verses below.
I seed a pretty brown,
Lawd, walkin' down the street,
I sided long up to her,
Said, "Lady, I ain't had nothin' to eat."
Lawd, she don't pay me no min',
Walkin' wid her head hung high.
But still I knows
I'll git dat gal by an' by.
So I walks up behin' her,
And asts her good an' polite,
"Miss, can you tell me
Where po' boy can stay tonight?"
Still she don't pay me no min',
An' she's movin' on her way,
I asks her, "Good Lawd, lady,
Where can po' boy stay?"
I ast her to tell me
If she knows girl name Sady,
'Cause if she does,
I's her man Brady.
Co'se I don't know no Sady
An' I could git place to stay,
But I wants to stay wid dis lady,
So I walks on her way.
220 Negro Workaday Songs
So she takes me to her home
An' makes me pallet on de flo';
An' she treats me, baby,
Better 'n I been treated befo'.
Wing says he never stays in any place more than three
weeks, "leastwise never mo' 'n fo\" Sometimes he
walks, sometimes he rides the rods, sometimes when
money is plentiful he rides in the cars. He has had
his tragic and his comic experiences. The spirit of
the road is irrevocably fixed in him and he can think
in no other terms. Some day a Negro artist will
paint him, a Negro story teller will tell his story, a
"high she'fF" will arrest him, a "jedge" will sentence
him, a "cap'n" will "cuss" him, he will "row here few
days longer," then he'll be gone.