The Hat knows quite a few people who take drugs. Not the kind of drugs that get a whole chapter to themselves in your sad remaindered posthumous biography, more the kind that you forget to take twice-a-day to stop bits falling off, seizing up and reminding you how old and knackered you are becoming.
For research purposes only, you understand, I have been observing recently those on this daily Trip. They seem to share a number of common characteristics. Apart from quickly learning that you should never read the tiny print on the leaflet that comes in the pill box - for fear that if you do you may never take one again - they are, without exception, unreasonably optimistic about The Future and they have usually gathered around them a comfort blanket of prescription friends who share their stoicism about mortality and lace it with a heavy dose of black comedic irony. The Hat gets the impression that they all seem to have been educated at the 'If it weren't for Bad Luck I wouldn't have No Luck at all' school of humour.
A uniting factor is that there also seems to be a witty conversational predilection for the subjects of funerals, the method of final despatch, wills and making lists of people you don't like and don't want turning up at the wake....and of course What Happens Afterwards is a constant topic. Black Humour predominates and confidently asserts that it will be Alright in the End.
It struck me that this last defiantly cheery approach is one that has made its way without a moment's hesitation through the history of the blues. If you flick back through the annals it is obvious that there ain't nothing new here. Dark smart humour, overcoming adversity with a smile, near death experiences and outwitting The Devil seem to have been daily occurrences for some blues musicians and if someone promoted all the performances of these battles and struggles they would keep an arena fully booked for a decade. Blind Lemmon Jefferson, Mississipi John Hurt and Muddy spent a lot of time trying to turn around their Bad Luck and Trouble with a wry ballad and artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin, George Harrison and Dylan have made a good job of lyricising the Art of Dying With A Twist - that is when they were not too busy defining their recovery from Bad Love and Betrayal. As I listen to Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart on the mainstream networks singing about your heart being as Black As Night the theme looks as though it is in safe hands. You will all know that a perennial favourite has always been St James Infirmary with its laconic plea for straight laced shoes and another round of booze - something picked up decades later by Johnny Cash who complains about having to wear a tie when he carts his pal to his funeral in a fancy suit - and then asks the tidy body to book an advance stake in heaven for him.
It struck me that this last defiantly cheery approach is one that has made its way without a moment's hesitation through the history of the blues. If you flick back through the annals it is obvious that there ain't nothing new here. Dark smart humour, overcoming adversity with a smile, near death experiences and outwitting The Devil seem to have been daily occurrences for some blues musicians and if someone promoted all the performances of these battles and struggles they would keep an arena fully booked for a decade. Blind Lemmon Jefferson, Mississipi John Hurt and Muddy spent a lot of time trying to turn around their Bad Luck and Trouble with a wry ballad and artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin, George Harrison and Dylan have made a good job of lyricising the Art of Dying With A Twist - that is when they were not too busy defining their recovery from Bad Love and Betrayal. As I listen to Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart on the mainstream networks singing about your heart being as Black As Night the theme looks as though it is in safe hands. You will all know that a perennial favourite has always been St James Infirmary with its laconic plea for straight laced shoes and another round of booze - something picked up decades later by Johnny Cash who complains about having to wear a tie when he carts his pal to his funeral in a fancy suit - and then asks the tidy body to book an advance stake in heaven for him.
It's all about overcoming the odds, picking yourself up, dusting yourself down and moving on and if It's Gonna Get You then It's Gonna Get You and you'll laugh when it does. In the meantime get down there with my pill-packing friends and tell 'em you ain't ready. Even with metal hips, plastic knees, the odd titanium stent and a statin a day, you can still sing and play the blues and cock a humourous snook at the bloke with the scythe. John Martyn was still cracking jokes as they pushed his wheelchair down the road. Pinetop Perkins, John Lee Hooker and Hubert Sumlin were all sticking it to the man in their eighties and nineties and when BB King turned up at Wembley a couple of years ago he pointed out with a twinkling eye that his Last Farewell Tour wasn't necessarily his Last Farewell Tour. What the Hat really likes about this attitude is the way the young guns have picked it up and run with it. The idea that you can beat off the bad stuff, recover from loss and look trouble straight in the eye and keep your sense of humour is just as relevant today in a blues club as it always has been and just as good to listen to. Somehow I don't see the winner of X Talent getting their bubble gum round that idea.
But don't let me depress you with my Black Hat and my tale of The Crossroads. You gotta Keep on Keepin On and I had to share this with you. As Dr John said 'If I don't do it, somebody else will'. I am sure you are all out there dancing to the rhythm of life and laughing your heads off on a daily basis. As a lover of the blues you will also know that even if you occasionally hit a blue note you can be certain that by the end of the song you will have probably shimmied your way Out of Trouble, got yourself some new shoes, a new partner, a fresh glass, a bite to eat and the Sun will be Shining again.
I think this is the point where I should probably mention that the sun always shines on the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival, there is plenty to eat and drink and all those people standing around wearing black are probably musicians about to go on stage to entertain you. Top men and women especially hired by the Hebden Team to help you beat off The Black Dog. It really doesn't matter if you are Down and Out. If you turn up next June, we can fix that.
All I have to do now is remember what I did with my pill box and ask Cozy whether it is Tuesday or Wednesday.....
Pip Pip
The Man in The Hat