Nobody's Dirty Business by Mississippi John Hurt

Walt,

I agree. John Hurt's version is significantly different musically from the early recordings of the Porter/Grainger song. His version appears to be the model for recordings by Frank Stokes and Taj Mahal (although the lyrics are quite different in these three versions).

I'm not sure exactly how to handle this. With floating lyrics there are a huge number of variations.

We have the classic blues version (Porter/Granger) and the folk blues version (Hurt). We could set the John Hurt version as an adaptation (lyrically) of the Porter/Granger version (with the music not adapted). Another possibility would be to consider them two different songs with a comment connecting them. Any suggestions?

I read a bit on Mudcat, as expected the "song" existed in some form before Grainger & Robbins polished it ca. 1923.

This is what I gathered:

1) It's NOT related to "Nobody's Business But Our Own" as sung by the Dockstader Minstrels (1880s), also NOT related to "It's Nobody's Business But My Own" sung by Bert Williams; by Skidmore and Walker, from Ziegfield Frolic, 1919.

2) The Grainger & Robbins is song was 'adapted' from Howard Odum's older song "Tain't Nobody's Business But My Own", written around 1910.

In fact there are two (similar) versions listed by Odum, namely "Nobody's Bizness but Mine" & "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness but my Own". Personally, I don't think they are the sources either. See texts on the mudcat page.

The Journal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. 24, No. 94. —October-December, 1911.

"Folk-Song and Folk-Poetry as Found in the Secular Songs of the Southern Negroes" by Howard W. Odum

https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28882

My suggestion is to create a traditional work NOBODY'S BUSINESS (Singer confesses to all sorts of infractions -- rambling, drinking, gambling -- but says it's "nobody's business if I do." He says he might even kill somebody; morphine, cocaine and women will drive him out of his mind; his money goes to buy his girlfriend fancy clothes; "she runs a weenie stand/way down in no man's land" and drives a Cadillac, but it's all nobody's business)

This would gather versions by Taj Mahal, John Hurt, Riley Puckett, and possibly these as well:

Charles Nabell, "Nobody's Business" (OKeh 40389, 1925)

Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers, "Ain't Nobody's Business" (OKeh 45092, 1927)

Emry Arthur, "Nobody's Business" (Vocalion 5230, 1928)

Warren Caplinger's Cumberland Mountain Entertainers (Brunswick [Canada] 224, 1928)

Mississippi John Hurt, "Nobody's Dirty Business" (OKeh 8560, 1928)

Jerry Behrens, "Nobody's Business" (OKeh 45564, 1932)

Tommie Bradley "Nobody's Business If I Do" (Champion 16696, 1933)

Walker's Corbin Ramblers, "Nobody's Business" (Vocalion 01648, 1934)

Leo Soileau & his Aces, "Nobody's Business" (Decca 5101, 1935)

Riley Puckett, "Nobody's Business" (Bluebird B-6103, 1935)

Lulu Belle & Scotty, "It Ain't Nobody's Bizness" (OKeh 04962, 1939)

Roy Sexton & his Arizona Hoedowners, "Nobody's Business" (Old Timer 8013, n.d.)

Witherspoon's would be an adaptation of this.

Grainger & Robbins' another.

Irving Taylor's another.

Last updated by walt on 2018-12-29 11:28:00 UTC - Show original message

I'm not even convinced that Grainger & Robbins' is an adaptation of this one. Musically they are quite different, and the "Nobody else's business" trope seems not substantial or unique enough to establish a connection.

Thanks Matthias. Fine by me. Then we're up to Murray's 2nd proposal, namely: "Another possibility would be to consider them two different songs with a comment connecting them."

If Murray agrees, I will create the traditional, make the song adaptation changes plus the comment.

Walt,

I like your suggestion. Please go ahead and make the changes.

So I see nothing became of all this...Why is that?

I felt a bit uncertain in the process ... Do you feel up to it?

Walt, I'm going to attempt all this...At the very least some adaptations could be set up...Taj Mahal's too...And all the country versions are starkly different.

I agree with your Traditional approach above..All the Tain't nobody's business ones really are starkly different

Musically they are a mile apart. The lyrics aren't close either. The only commonality to me it the ain't nobody's business....I think you already had the right answer above..Just create a Traditional above the Porter/Grainger work (if they even wrote it) and make that one an adaptation..

I can create the Work but I'm not an editor so I can't move the above songs. I will go through each of the ones you recommended be moved above. I can move the country songs as I created most of them.

You also need to copy the lyrics of Tain't Nobody's biz if i Do and attach them on the Work page of the adaptation (since it will be an adaptation now) they are on the mudcat thread too. It's hard for me to do some of the things you guys can because I'm not really an editor

https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28882

Actually I probably wouldn't even make the Sara Martin/Bessie Smith version an adaptation...Instead I would put a hyperlink to one another and say "Not to be confused with ....." They songs are a mile apart. I also saw this so we have one that predate's Martins by 14 years...

There seems to exist an even older version than Bessie Smith's 1923 version. It was done the previous year by Sara Martin with Fats Waller on piano.

This song was 'adapted' from Howard Odum's older song "Tain't Nobody's Business But My Own", written around 1910. If that's the case Cole Porter would have been 19 so then we are going to have to question if they wrote this too..

Actually just because of the uncertainty. I would make the Tain't an adaptation so they are all together..That's prob more important.

I see we did a Weatherspoon adaptation. That muckies this up as if we are making one for the very little he changed then we could have 20 adaptations. Literally every country one has more lyrical changes than the Witherspoon one.

Last updated by mduval32323 on 2020-02-14 14:06:56 UTC - Show original message

Assignee: SlimD mduval32323

Mark,

I reassigned this to you in order to remove restrictions that you may have.

Murray

Status: open processed