Mr. Burba - Lesson 3: The Blues Lyric Form

Lesson 3: The Blues Lyric Form

Along with the chord progression of the twelve bar blues, there is a consistent form to the lyrics of the Blues. Although not all blues follow this form, it is very common and a good place to start with writing a Blues lyric.

Look at the lyrics for "Cross Road Blues" by Robert Johnson:

I went to the crossroad, fell down on my kneesI went to the crossroad, fell down on my kneesAsked the Lord above "have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please"
Ooh, standin' at the crossroad, tried to flag a rideOoh-ee, I tried to flag a rideDidn't nobody seem to know me, babe, everybody pass me by
Standin' at the crossroad, baby, risin' sun goin' downStandin' at the crossroad, baby, eee-eee, risin' sun goin' downI believe to my soul, now, poor Bob is sinkin' down
You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie BrownYou can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie BrownThat I got the crossroad blues this mornin', Lord, babe, I'm sinkin' down
And I went to the crossroad, mama, I looked east and westI went to the crossroad, baby, I looked East and WestLord, I didn't have no sweet woman, ooh well, babe, in my distress

What do you notice about the lyrics? Do you notice any repetition?

The Blues form looks like this:

The AAB form has one line that repeats (A) and a refrain that rhymes with the first two lines (B).

A: I went to the crossroad, fell down on my kneesA: I went to the crossroad, fell down on my kneesB: Asked the Lord above "have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please"

In a traditional 12-bar Blues each line gets 4 measures:

A (Four Measures)

B (Four Measures)

The singer usually sings for the first two measures (call) followed by a instrumental section where a soloist plays for two measures (response). We can see this if we look at a graphic analysis of "Dust My Broom" by Elmore James:

You can see here that the lyrics take up the first two of four measures with the instrument response taking up that last two.

How to write a Blues Lyric

Remeber that the Blues is about personal expression. It can be about anything that is upsetting, annoying, or can even be about things that make you happy.

The Blues form can be simple but the difficulty will be in expressing yourself in a way that makes a listenter feel what you are feeling through what you sing or say.

Steps:

Write a line that would last for approximately 8 beats when sung (A)
Repeat the line
Write a B line that rhymes with the last word of line A.

If you need help with rhyming you can go to this online rhyming dictionary.