It seems a long time ago I began to discover the deep well of the blues. I was never alone in suddenly realising the profound depth of the blues, understanding that 'Blues' merely scratches the surface of its rich history. My dear friend, the 'Doc,' opened my eyes to a world beyond the bands of today that play their perception of the blues, presenting themes we sing about. As it is quite impossible to define the blues, so to fully acknowledge and define their roots is equally impossible.
Collectors have discovered America’s powerful prison music, borne within the oppressive prison system of the South, where men worked from dawn to dusk. These songs thrived after the traditional work gangs were broken up, finding their last refuge in road crews and prisons, essential for the spiritual and physical survival of the prisoners. Their expression in song of misery, deprivation, and despair goes beyond today's understanding, but has truly left us with another rich legacy of the 'Blues' .......
These songs go far beyond a means of making the work more bearable. Many were based on Spirituals; they were used as a source of clandestine worship, even as a source of coded messages to arrange meetings or to escape from the obscenity of slavery, if discovered, could result in beatings or worse.
Are these songs not voices from the past, telling us of the true spirit of the blues.
From Texas Retrieve State prison 1951
We need another witness