Backstage Blues, Episode 7: Runaway Blues

During the Harlem Renaissance, women's blues music symbolized freedom and autonomy. The Great Migration and the history of slavery influenced the theme of travel in blues lyrics. Ma Rainey was a prominent figure who traveled extensively, demonstrating independence and the end of enslavement. The classic blues genre, performed by women, challenged traditional gender roles. The ability to travel represented control over their lives, including their sexuality. Ma Rainey's songs showcased women seeking creative expression and defying traditional family structures. The lyrics emphasized mobility and initiative. This spirit of wanderlust was revolutionary and influenced later songs by artists like Aretha Franklin. Women like Ma Rainey used their platform to tell stories of travel and independence. These timeless songs resonate with those seeking change and betterment through movement. Welcome back to the Backstage Blues, a podcast where we delve into the rich history of blues music and explore the narratives that have shaped this historically charged, powerful genre. In today's episode, we're journeying back to the vibrant period of the Harlem Renaissance to consider the symbolism of travel in women's blues music. This era was a golden age for African American culture, and blues music was an essential part of its soundtrack. The blues created a space for women to express their aspirations, struggles, and joviality, and this space facilitated women to engage in and articulate ideas and experiences that they could not partake in in real life. Travel became a metaphor for freedom for many of these women. This was a time of both cultural and ideological shifts, but also physical shifts. The Great Migration saw millions of African Americans move from rural South to the urban North, and this was mirrored in the lyrics of the blues. But there was actually a longer history of slavery in which travel provided the most palpable route to autonomy. During the period of enslavement, women's lives were subject to their enslavers, and often they were sexually exploited. Travel became a risky path to their liberation. The thematic overlap in the blues therefore reinstated the shared aspirations to escape subjugation, which was echoed in the music culture of slavery. As jazz writer Ben Cidron has remarked, freedom was equated with mobility. However, it is worth noting that women's mobility and migratory narratives were often invisible. In this way, blues music was particularly important for visualising women's stories. Travelling therefore emerged as a strong theme in women's blues music. Now we will look at some specific examples and dive into the great voices of this genre, particularly looking at Ma Rainey and the messages she sought to convey. The career of infamous Gertrude Rainey, or Ma Rainey as she is known, demonstrates travel as an indicator of independence. As an entertainer, she travelled extensively around the US, demonstrating her exercising her freedom and symbolising the end of enslavement. The performance of women's blues as entertainment became known as the classic blues, which many feminist scholars, such as distinguished Hazel Carby, has identified as an establishment of black feminism. The classic blues embodies the potential of surpassing conventional gender barriers. The travelling musician demonstrated a definitive image of self-determination. Ma Rainey earned a living without depending on a man whilst engaging in an exciting and expressive form of employment. The characters in her songs presented possibilities of equal opportunities to the women in her audiences. The female characters of her songs often showed stories of running away from their domestic and familial responsibilities. These women certainly were not passive. We can hear this in the opening song to this podcast, which was Ma Rainey's Leaving This Morning, courtesy of Internet Archive. I'm leaving, trying to find a man of my own. For women, the ability to travel suggested the freedom to control their own lives, particularly their sexual lives. Women in these songs sought after greater and more fulfilling creative expression. This was often portrayed through their relationships with men, with these men being presented as confining, disappointing or exciting players in their stories. Musicians such as Ma Rainey and Billie Holiday did not bear any children. Whether this was an active decision or not, this added a liberal element to their music as they demonstrated alternatives to the traditional nuclear families in this period. Ma Rainey's Weeping Women Blues describes the journey of a woman searching for her absconding lover. She sings, this mean old engineer, cruel as he could be, took my man away and blowed the smoke back at me. I'm going down south, won't be back till fall. If I don't find my easy rider, ain't coming back at all. Although the song title suggests an abandoned and miserable female protagonist, in fact the lyrics suggest otherwise. The agency of the protagonist is evident through her movement. Rather than to passively stay at home, she takes initiative. The lyrics emphasise mobility rather than sentiment. Whether she is enticed by the lure of the road or escaping the domestic confinement of her home, there are many possibilities that disrupt traditional narratives of women's homelessness. There is no promise of safety or satisfaction, but in a way this reasserts a sense of liberty, riskiness and uncertainty that comes with the journey. This wanderlust spirit was revolutionary. And we can see the impact of these songs decades later, songs that listeners may be more familiar with, such as Aretha Franklin's song Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning, as heard in the background of this podcast, again courtesy of Internet Archive. When Franklin almost replicates Mulraney's lyrics when she sings While I'm leaving here, leaving here on a southbound train. As we wrap up today's episode, let's remember the powerful voices of women like Mulraney, such as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Ida Cox, with whom have been discussed in previous episodes. These women used their platform to narrate stories of travel and independence, both literally and figuratively. These songs remain timeless, resonating with many who experiences of movement and travel as a means to seek change and betterment. For further reading on this subject, I would highly recommend Angela Davis's book Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. You've been listening to Backstage Blues. See you next time!