St. louis blues": music and lyrics by w. c. handy, recorded by bessie smith, 1925 "that black snake moan": written and recorded by blind lemon jefferson, 1926 1. both of these recordings are in the blues genre and were recorded within a year of each other, yet they are very different. they also have many similarities; compare and contrast them. 2. what do hear as the musical, lyrical, and/or emotional high point of each recording? be specific both about the point in the song (pinpointing lyrics or using track timing) and why it is the high point for you. 3. in your opinion, which of these two songs is a more "authentic" recording of the blues? 4. which of the two do you prefer listening to, and for what reasons?

everybody they have a little secret something

that they don't wanna tell anybody

because it's shakin'

yeah yeah

like when your hearts racing

from having stage-fright

listen up

say okay i-i understand you but

you don't ever have to hide

no no

just look it in the eye

don't be afraid of letting go!

if you don't try you'll never know

and whoa whoa

if you really wanna win

you gotta dive in

come on now you know it's time

you never know what you may find

and whoa whoa

if you really wanna win

you gotta dive in

yeah yeah yeah yeah

hey!

time to stand up

don't have pretend

and if you mess up

just go and try again

no don't worry

you're surrounded by your friends

yeah yeah yeah yeah

don't have to hide out

don't need to fear the worst

nothing's scary

as they seem at first

hey you're a monster

you can do it that's for sure

come on come on

don't be afraid of letting go!

if you don't try you'll never know

and whoa whoa

if you really wanna win win win win

you gotta dive in

come on now you know it's time

you never know what you may find

and whoa whoa

if you really wanna win

you gotta dive in

yeah yeah yeah

you gotta face your fears

yeah yeah yeah

and they will disappear

yeah yeah yeah

what are you waiting for

yeah yeah yeah

come on

don't be afraid of letting go

if you don't try you'll never know

and whoa whoa

if you really wanna win

you gotta dive in

come on now you know it's time

you never know what you may find

and whoa whoa

if you really wanna win

you gotta dive in