"Gin House Blues" is the title of two different blues songs, which have become confused over the years. Both songs were first recorded by Bessie Smith.
The song originally titled "Gin House Blues" was written by Fletcher Henderson and Henry Troy in 1925, and recorded by Bessie Smith with Henderson on 18 March 1926. It has the opening lines "I've got a sad sad story today / I'm goin' to the gin house when the whistle blows..."
However, the song now most usually called "Gin House" or "Gin House Blues" - with the opening lines "Stay away from me 'cause I'm in my sin / If this place gets raided, it's just me and my gin..." - is an entirely different song. It was originally entitled "Me and My Gin", and was recorded by Bessie Smith on 25 August 1928 and released on Columbia 14384-D. It was written by "Harry Burke", which may be a pseudonym of the pianist and songwriter James C. Johnson. It is this song which has been recorded by many musicians over the years under the title "Gin House Blues" (see listing below), with authorship usually credited to Henderson and Troy, apparently in error.
Read more about Gin House Blues: Recorded Versions of 'Me and My Gin' Under The Title 'Gin House Blues'
Famous quotes containing the words gin, house and/or blues:
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”
—Julius J. Epstein (1909–1952)
“In 1862 the congregation of the church forwarded the church bell to General Beauregard to be melted into cannon, “hoping that its gentle tones, that have so often called us to the House of God, may be transmuted into war’s resounding rhyme to repel the ruthless invader from the beautiful land God, in his goodness, has given us.””
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“As one delves deeper and deeper into Etiquette, disquieting thoughts come. That old Is- It-Worth-It Blues starts up again softly, perhaps, but plainly. Those who have mastered etiquette, who are entirely, impeccably right, would seem to arrive at a point of exquisite dullness. The letters and the conversations of the correct, as quoted by Mrs. Post, seem scarcely worth the striving for. The rules for finding topics of conversation fall damply on the spirit.”
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967)