Paraphrase- A alternative way for naming the poem would be " The tired blues"
Connotation-“Ain’t got nobody in all this world,Ain't got nobody but ma self.I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’ And put ma troubles on the shelf.” Resembles the feelings that many people feel all throughput the world, loneliness is a common illness in society.
Attitude- The singer seems to be a lonely and depressed, his expresses his sadness and connects to people hearing his music.
Shift- The last line says, "He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead." At this point I believe that the poem turns from a man singing to the deeper meaning, that this man is so depressed and lonely that when he sleeps there is no difference between him and a dead man.
Title v.2- the title shows the sadness of this man as well as the deep meaning that can be drawn out of blues songs an d the people behind the lyrics.
Theme- The theme of this poem was that people can connect and express their ideas and inward expressions through songs an dpoetry, the man in the poem was so dead inside that when he slept there was no noticeable difference between him and a dead man.
In case you have not read this poem:
The Weary Blues
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway. . . .
He did a lazy sway. . . .
To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—
“Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
And put ma troubles on the shelf.”
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more—
“I got the Weary Blues
And I can’t be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can’t be satisfied—
I ain’t happy no mo’
And I wish that I had died.”
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.
