ORIGINAL BLUES LYRIC ASSIGNMENT
Write an original 12-bar Classic Blues Lyric using the following instructions:
• Create an appropriate title for your blues.
• Indicate whether your lyrics are fictional or non-fictional.
• Compose a minimum of five stanzas with each stanza consisting of
three lines in a, a, b form. Skip an additional space between stanzas.
• The “a” lines and the “b” line should end with words that are in exact
rhyme with each other.
• Practice reading your lyrics aloud for sound, substance, and rhythmical
continuity.
• Include appropriate punctuation – i.e., periods, commas, and the like.
You may also use dialect, if characteristic of your subject.
• All papers should be typewritten with your name and the course included.
• Create a story, or scenario in your lyrics with the “a” lines setting up the situation,
and the “b” lines bringing closure to the stanza.
• Be imaginative and creative with your lyrics, speaking them aloud, and/or singing them in order to discern their aural, rhythmic, and musical sense.
Marva Griffin Carter
Look at Bessie Smith’s “Lost Your Head Blues” as a model, except her first stanza does not end in an exact rhyme. You may check textbook readings and/or YouTube for this listening example with lyrics.
