B.B. King - Sitting On The Top Of The World
Work all the summer and all the fall
Just trying to find my little Lenore
But now she's gone, and I don't worry
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
One summer day when she went away
Just when she left me, she's gone to stay
But now she's gone and I don't worry
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
There was days when I didn't know your name
Why should I worry and prayer in vain
But now she's gone and I don't worry
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
Going to the station, down in the yard
Gonna get me a freight train, after worked and got too hard
Now she's gone and I don't worry
Because I'm sitting on top of the world
The lonesome days they have gone by
Why should I beg her when she's saying goodbye?
But now she's gone and I don't worry
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world*
* Existem diversas versões da letra desta canção. A composição original é de Walter Vinson e Lonnie Chatmon, ambos membros dos Mississippi Sheiks, um grupo de blues famoso da década de 30. Porém, as incontáveis gravações do tema que foram feitas ao longo do tempo caracterizaram-se pelas variações introduzidas à letra original.
Sitting on Top of the World – Mississippi Sheiks
Blair Jackson stated that in a 1967 interview, Jerry Garcia claimed that he had learned this song from rockabilly legend Carl Perkins' 1958 recording. In a different 1967 interview, Garcia told Ralph J. Gleason, "Sittin' on Top of the World is another traditional song that was copyrighted some time not too long ago by some country and western guy but it's still essentially a folk song" (The Grateful Dead Reader, Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 21). The "country and western guy" Garcia was referring to could have been Bob Wills, whose 1935 take with the Texas Playboys is most likely where Perkins learned it. The Dead's version, on their self-titled debut (Warner Bros., 1967), bears considerable resemblance to Bill Monroe's 1957 recording, the only other I've come across that includes the "I saw her in Dallas and El Paso…" and "Mississippi River so big and wide…" verses (but then I haven't heard Perkins or Wills' versions). Blues master Howlin' Wolf's 1957 hit was the prototype for Cream's 1968 recording. Bob Dylan was the young harmonica player on the adaptation by Big Joe Williams and Victoria Spivey from 1962, and Dylan returned to the song thirty years later on his album Good as I Been to You (Columbia, 1992).
But all of these were preceded by the original 1930 recording by the Mississippi Sheiks, which is included on The Roots of the Grateful Dead. Apart from the line "Worked all summer" and the chorus, the Dead's interpretation bares only a passing resemblance to this slower rendition. None of the complete verses in either version are common to one another. Sittin' on Top of the World was, according to Randy Jackson, recorded nine more times before 1932, including two other versions by the Mississippi Sheiks, and the liner notes to The Roots of the Grateful Dead do not make clear as to which rendition this might be. The song was also the inspiration for Robert Johnson's Come on in My Kitchen, and a slightly different take by the Sheiks is included on a wonderful disc called The Roots of Robert Johnson (Yazoo, 1990--see Walkin' Blues below).
via Musicbox Online
# Mais informação aqui: http://www.musicbox-online.com/gd-roots.html#ixzz0YHJMVlGn
Algumas das versões mais conhecidas:
* Ray Charles (1949 - an early recording for this artist on Swing Time Records)
* Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (1955)
* Howlin' Wolf (1957)
* Bill Monroe (1957)
* Carl Perkins (1958)
* Memphis Slim (1961)
* Big Joe Williams & Victoria Spivey (1962 – with Bob Dylan playing harmonica)
* Doc Watson (1962)
* The Grateful Dead (1967)
* Cream (Wheels of Fire (In the Studio) album – 1968)
* Cream (Goodbye album (live version) – 1969)
* Chet Atkins (1968)
* Jerry Reed (1969)
* Jelly Roll Kings [Off Yonder Wall album (1971); reissued 1997 by Fat Possum Records)
* Sam Chatmon (1974)
* John Lee Hooker (1974)
* Chris Smither (1984)
* The Seldom Scene [15th Anniversary Celebration - Live at the Kennedy Center album (Sugar Hill CD-2202) - recorded 10 November 1986]
* Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1989)
* Ronnie Earl (1990)
* Lonesome River Band (1991)
* Bob Dylan (Good as I Been to You album - 1992)
* Pat Travers (11 April 1992)
* Jack Bruce (1993)
* Taj Mahal (1993)
* BBM (Bruce-Baker-Moore) (Around The Next Dream album - 1994)
* Greg Kihn (1994)
* Hans Theessink [Hard Road Blues album (Blue Groove BG-6020) - 1994]
* Othar Turner
* North Mississippi Allstars
* Willie Nelson (2000)
* Van Morrison & Carl Perkins (Good Rockin' Tonight album - 2001)
* Bill Frisell (2002)
* Ellen McIlwaine (2002)
* Jack White (2003 – on the original soundtrack of the movie "Cold Mountain")
* The Radiators (8 June 2004)
* Harry Manx (2004)
* B.B. King (2008)
Existe uma geneologia da canção aqui: http://milton.mse.jhu.edu:8001/research/folkindex/S10.htm#Sitontoo:
1. Campbell, Frank. Frank Campbell & the Country Blues, Campbell, LP (196?), cut# 4
2. Double Decker String Band. Evolution Girl, Marimac 9021, Cas (1988), cut# 20
3. Evans, Joe. Early Country Music, Historical HLP-8002, LP (197?), cut#A.03
4. Fox, Curly. Champion Fiddler, Vol. 2, Rural Rhythm RR 252, LP (196?), cut# 2
5. Gorman, Skip; and Rick Starkey. Late Last Night, Marimac 9602, Cas (1991), cut# 6
6. McGee, Sam & Kirk. Stars of the Grand Old Opry, Guest Star GS 1505, LP, cut# 3
7. Michael, Walt; & McCreesh, Tom. Dance Like a Wave on the Sea, Front Hall FHR-017, LP (1978), cut# 14
8. Monroe, Bill; and his Bluegrass Boys. Knee Deep in Bluegrass, Decca DL-8731, LP (196?), cut# 12 (I'm Sittin' on Top of the World)
9. Moody, Clyde. Moody's Blues, Old Homestead 90013, LP (197?), cut#A.04
10. Poston, Mutt; and the Farm Hands. Hoe Down! Vol. 6. Country Blues Instrumentals, Rural Rhythm RR 156, LP (197?), cut# 2
11. Ringer, Jim. Any Old Wind that Blows, Philo 1021, LP (1975), cut#B.06
12. Smith, Hobart. Hobart Smith, Folk Legacy FSA-017, LP (1964), cut# 12
13. Stecher, Jody; and Kate Brislin. Blue Lightning, Rounder 0284-C, Cas (1991), cut# 4
14. Thomas, Tony. Old Style Texas and Oklahoma Fiddling, Takoma A-1013, LP (195?), cut# 16
15. Watson, Doc. Doc Watson, Vanguard VSD-79152, LP (1964), cut#A.02
16. Watson, Doc; Clint Howard and Fred Price. Old Timey Concert, Vanguard 107/8, Cas (1987), cut#A.05
17. White, Roland. I Wasn't Born to Rock'n Roll, RidgeRunner RRR 0005, LP (1976), cut# 9f
18. Wills, Bob; and the Texas Playboys. Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 8. More of the Best, Kalidescope F-32, LP (1988), cut# 6
19. Wiseman, Mac. 20 Old-Time Country Favorites, Rural Rhythm RHY-258, CD (1997), cut# 8
20. Young, Lonnie, Sr. Sounds of the South, Atlantic 7-82496-2, CD (1993), cut#2.14
E uma outra, muito completa, aqui: http://www.deaddisc.com/songs/Sittin_On_Top_Of_The_World.htm:
- Mississippi Sheiks, 1930
- Two Poor Boys (Joe Evans and Arthur McClain), 1931
- Milton Brown, 1934
- Bob Wills, 1935
- Single, Bill Monroe, 1957
- Knee Deep In Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, 1958
- Whole Lotta Shakin', Carl Perkins, 1958
- Old Style Texas and Oklahoma Fiddling, Tony Thomas, 195?
- Wayne Raney and the Raney Family, 1960
- Doc Watson, Doc Watson, 1964
- Hobart Smith, Folk Legacy, Hobart Smith, 1964
- Real Folk Blues, Howlin' Wolf, 1965
- Bluegrass Style, Bill Monroe, 1965
- Hometown Guitar, Chet Atkins, 1968
- Frank Campbell and The Country Blues, Frank Campbell, 196?
- Champion Fiddler, Vol. 2, Curly Fox, 196?
- The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions, Howlin' Wolf, 1971
- Greatest Folksingers of 60s, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 1972
- Live and Cookin', Howlin' Wolf, 1972
- Chester Burnette A.K.A. Howlin' Wolf, Howlin' Wolf, 1972
- Any Old Wind That Blows, Jim Ringer, 1975
- I Wasn't Born To Rock 'N' Roll, Roland White, 1976
- Old Timey Concert, Doc Watson, 1977
- Pat Webb - Guitar, Pat Webb, 1977
- Dance Like A Wave On The Sea, Walt Michael and Tom McCreesh, 1978
- Hoe Down! Vol. 6, Country Blues Instrumentals, Mutt Poston and The Farm Hands, 197?
- Early Country Music, Joe Evans, 197?
- Top Of The World, Earl Scruggs, 1983
- It Ain't Easy, Chris Smither, 1983
- Swingin' Piano 1920-46, Various Artists (Vera Guilaroff), 1983
- Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 8, Bob Wills And The Texas Playboys, 1988
- Evolution Girl, Double Decker String Band, 1988
- Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol 2, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 1989
- Blue Lightning, Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin, 1991
- The Chess Box, various Artists (Howlin' Wolf), 1991
- Late Last Night, Skip Gorman and Rick Starkey, 1991
- Good As I Been To You, Bob Dylan, 1992
- Complete Recordings 1951-1969, Howlin' Wolf, 1993
- Original Folkway Recordings, Doc Watson, 1994
- Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley 1960 Through 1962, Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley, 1994
- Strange Things Happening, Sleepy La Beef, 1994
- Off Yonder Wall, Jelly Roll Kings, 1997
- The Carter Family On Border Radio 1938-1942, The Carter Family, 19??
- Original Carter Family In Texas - Vol. 4 - Radio Transcriptions, The Carter Family, 19??
- 1934-37, The Light Crust Dough Boys, 19??
- Crystal Creek, 19??
- Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers, 19??
Notes
First recorded by the Mississipi Sheiks and possibly written by members of the group, possibly adapted from a traditional song. Jacobs and Carter were members of the Mississippi Sheiks who wrote and performed under a number of different names; Bo Chatman (Carter) and Walter Vincson (Jacobs).
The Mississippi Sheiks version, just vocals, one guitar and one fiddle is slow and stately compared to the Dead's version.
The stately rhythm of their version and the song's melody were subsequently used by Robert Johnson in Come On In My Kitchen. Versions of this can be found on:
- King of the Delta Blues Singers, Robert Johnson, 1966
- Jo Ann Kelly, Jo Ann Kelly, 1969
- Anthology, Vol. 2, Duane Allman, 1974
- Up on the Hill, Mickey Baker, 1975
- Art of Bottleneck Guitar, Sam Mitchell, 1975
- How Late'll Ya Play 'til?, David Bromberg, 1976
- Cold and Lonesome on a Train, Sparky Rucker, 1977
- Sacre Blues, Don Preston, 1981
- King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol 1 and 2, Robert Johnson, 1985
- The Complete Recordings, Robert Johnson, 1990
- Shades of Two Worlds, Allman Brothers Band, 1991
- A Truckload of Blues, Bob Brozman, 1991
- Roots of Rhythm and Blues- A Tribute to the Robert Johnson Era, Various Artists, 1992
- Built for Comfort, Robert Lucas, 1992
- Ain't I a Woman, Rory Block, 1992
- Blue Light Til Dawn, Cassandra Wilson, 1993
- Numtaz Mahal, Taj Mahal / V M Bhatt, 1995
- Keb' Mo', Keb' Mo', 1995
- All Time Blues Classics, Robert Johnson, 1996
- Live at Ronnie Scott's, London, Taj Mahal, 1996
- Celebration of Blues: Women in Blues, Various Artists, 1996
- Celebration of Blues: The Great Guitarists, Vol. 3, Various Artists, 1996
- The Blues of Robert Johnson, Various Artists, 1997
- Live from Around the World, Kristina Olsen, 1997
- Great Country Blues, Various Artists, 1997
- Gone Woman Blues, Rory Block, 1997
- Divine Divas- World of Women's Voices, Various Artists, 1997
- Greycourtlightning, Bill Perry, 1998)
