Re: About the lyrics of "East Virginia Blues"
One of the ways that we know a song is "traditional" or "folk", in the older sense, meaning that it has been passed down from person to person, is that it usually exists in different versions, even with different tunes. People learned these songs by ear, sometimes attempting to re-create a song after only one hearing, making changes due to such factors as forgetfulness, misunderstanding, moral or religious attitudes, localization of settings or dialect (e.g., Virginia, Virginnie), and artistic creativity. The difference in wording that you're talking about is minor. If you look at other recordings of "East Virginia Blues" or "East Virginia," you'll find much greater variations in lyrics, some meaningful, others not. Joan Baez's recording doesn't even contain the words you're asking about. I hope this is helpful.
Added: Oh, I see that you may have English as a second language. Don explained the meanings well in Post #2.
Last edited by Ranald; Mar-26-2023 at 11:53am.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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