Corrine, Corrina

"Corrine, Corrina"
Written by	Traditional
Published	1928
Language	English
Form	Blues
Original artist	Bo Carter (1928)
Recorded by	Barbecue Bob (1929) Charlie Patton and Henry Sims (1929) Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon(1929)

"Corrine, Corrina" is a 12 bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by "Bo Carter" Chatmon (Brunswick 7080, December 1928).^[1] However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Chatmon and his publishers, Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams. The song is familiar for its opening verse:

Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?

Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?

I ain't had no lovin', since you've been gone.

The Mississippi Sheiks, as the Jackson Blue Boys with Papa Charlie McCoy on vocals, recorded the same song in 1930; this time as "Sweet Alberta" (Columbia 14397-D), substituting the words Sweet Alberta for Corrine, Corrina.^[2]

"Corrine, Corrina" has become a standard in a number of musical styles, including blues, rock and roll, Cajun, and Western swing.

The title of the song varies from recording to recording; chiefly with the variant "Corrina, Corrina".

History

"Corrine, Corrina" may have traditional roots, however, earlier songs are different musically and lyrically. One of the earliest is the commercial sheet music song "Has Anybody Seen My Corrine?" published by Roger Graham in 1918. Vernon Dalhart (Edison 6166) recorded a vocal version in 1918,^[3] and Wilbur Sweatman's Original Jazz Band (Columbia A-2663), an instrumental version the same year. Graham's song contains sentiments similar to "Corrine, Corrina":

Has anybody seen my Corrine?

No matter where Corrina may be,

Tell my Corrina to come right back to me,

I want some lovin' sweetie dear.

Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded a version of "C.C. Rider" in April 1926 entitled "Corrina Blues" which contains a verse in a similar vein:

If you see Corrina, tell her to hurry home

I ain't had no true love since Corrina been gone

I ain't had no true love since Corrina been gone

I ain't had no true love since Corrina been gone

The Mississippi Sheiks also recorded "Sweet Maggie" in the 1930s.

Sweet Maggie sweet Maggie where you bin so long

Tell me sweet Maggie where you bin so long

There hasn’t bin no lovin since you bin gone.

Sweet Maggie sweet Maggie where’d you stay last night

Sweet Maggie sweet Maggie where’d you stay last night

You come home this morning the sun was shining bright.

I met sweet Maggie way across that sea

I met sweet Maggie way across that sea

She wouldn’t write me no letter she didn’t care about me.

Sweet Maggie sweet Maggie what you gonna do

Sweet Maggie sweet Maggie what you gonna do

Just a little bit of lovin and let your heart be true.

Sweet Maggie sweet Maggie dear pal of mine

Sweet Maggie sweet Maggie dear pal of mine

Nowt you left me walkin tears rollin down and cryin.

If you see sweet Maggie tell her to hurry home

If you see sweet Maggie tell her to hurry home

There hasn’t bin no lovin since you bin gone.

Tell me sweet Maggie what’s the matter now

Tell me sweet Maggie what’s the matter now

You didn’t write me no letter you didn’t love me no how.

Goodbye sweet Maggie now you fare so well

Goodbye sweet Maggie now I declare you well

When I get back here can’t anyone tell.

Western Swing standard

Prior to World War II, Bob Wills adapted "Corrine, Corrina" to a Western swing dance song. Following his recording with The Texas Playboys (OKeh 06530) on April 15, 1940, the song entered the standard repertoire of all Western swing bands, influencing the adoption of "Corrine, Corrina" by Cajun bands and later by individual country artists.^[4]

Although the Playboys' rendition set the standard, early Western swing groups had already recorded "Corrine, Corrina". Western swing bandleaders easily adapted almost any style of music into their dance numbers, but the Mississippi Sheiks' string band country blues style came easier than some. Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies recorded the song during a session on August 8, 1934, after meeting the Sheiks at a similar recording session earlier that year. Their version was titled "Where You Been So Long, Corrine?" (Bluebird B-5808).^[5]

"Corrine, Corrina" is also an important song related to Western swing's pioneering use of electrically amplified stringed instruments. It was one of the songs recorded during a session in Dallas on September 28, 1935 by Roy Newman and His Boys (OKeh 03117).^[6] Their guitarist, Jim Boyd, played what is the first use of an electrically amplified guitar found on a recording.^[7]

Cliff Bruner's Texas Wanderers also recorded an early version of Chatmon's song on February 5, 1937 (Decca 5350).

Folk music revival

Many different artists have covered this folk/blues classic, for example Eric Clapton, who sings it with the "Alberta, Alberta" title, Willie Nelson, and Conor Oberst (known from Bright Eyes). They all sing a Bob Dylan type style of it with mostly the same lyrics, except for Oberst who includes in the first verse: I've been worried about you Coquito(a sweet coconut beverage), ever since you've been gone. "Corrine, Corrina" entered the folk-like acoustical tradition during the American folk music revival of the 1960s when Bob Dylan began playing a version he titled "Corrina, Corrina". His version, sung in a blues-like manner, however, is not "Corrine, Corrina" musically, even though containing lyrics from that song. His song is from "Stones In My Passway" (Vocalion 3723) recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. Besides the musical similarities, Dylan's song includes lyrics taken from Johnson's song:

I got a bird that whistles, I got a bird that sings.

I got a bird that whistles, I got a bird that sings.

He also found a relationship to "Alberta, Let Your Hair Hang Low" which few others find:^[8]

Alberta, let your hair hang low,

Alberta, let your hair hang low,

I'll give you more gold,

Than your apron can hold,

If you'd only let your hair hang low.

References

1. ^ Cheseborough, "Carter, Bo", p. 186: "Carter's [Bo Carter and the Mississippi Sheiks] 1928 recording of 'Corrine, Corrina' is the earliest know version of that song, which has become a standard of American music.
2. ^ Dixon, Blues & Gospel Records, p. 355.
3. ^ Seubert, "Has Anybody Seen My Corrine".
4. ^ Clayton, The Roots of Texas Music, p. 23: "For example, 'Corrine, Corrina,' now considered a Cajun standard, probably was originally an African American blues song. In the 1930s, it was adapted to western swing by Bob Wills, and, from there, worked its way into the standard Cajun repertoire, changing slightly with each transformation."
5. ^ Ginell, Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing, p. 107: "The Brownies began the session [August 8, 1934] with five blues, which all showed the influence of the Mississippi Sheiks, the black string band that recorded during the Brownie's previous visit to San Antonio in April. Two of the songs became long-lasting standards in western swing bands' repertoire: "Where You Been So Long, Corrine?' Oberstein's bastardized title for 'Corrine Corrina') and 'Just Sitting on Top of the World' ('Sittin' on Top of the World')."
6. ^ Govenar, Deep Ellum and Central Track, p. 243: "Dallas, September 28, 1935 ... DAL 181, Corrine, Corrina, Vo/OK 03117."
7. ^ Dempsey, The Light Crust Doughboys Are on the Air, p.120: "[Jim] Boyd, who played bass and guitar in his on-and-off career with the Doughboys that continued into the 1990s, receives credit from some researchers with what may be the first recorded use of an electric guitar. It occurred in a September 1935 session with the group Roy Newman and His Boys, who played on Dallas radio station WRR. They recorded 'Shine On Harvest Moon,' Corrine, Corrina' and 'Hot Dog Stomp'."
8. ^ Waltz, "Corrina, Corrina": "Lomax reports that this "also occurs as Alberta or Roberta." If so, they are not the songs usually found under these names [i.e. "Alberta, Let Your Hair Hang Low"]. Many do think them related, and Roud appears to lump them. But the form is simply too different in my book."

Bibliography

• Cheseborough, Steve. "Carter, Bo". Encyclopedia of the Blues pp 185-186, edited by Edward M. Komara. Routledge, 2005. ISBN 0-415-92700-5
• Clayton, Lawrence. The Roots of Texas Music. Texas A&M University Press, 2005. ISBN 1-58544-492-8
• Dempsey, John Mark. The Light Crust Doughboys Are on the Air: Celebrating Seventy Years of Texas Music. University of North Texas Press, 2002. ISBN 1574411519
• Dixon, Robert M.W. Blues & Gospel Records, 1902-1943. Storyville Publications, 1982. ISBN 0902391038
• Ginell, Cary. Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1994. ISBN 0-252-02041-3
• Govenar, Alan B.; Jay F. Brakefield. Deep Ellum and Central Track: Where the Black and White Worlds of Dallas Converged. University of North Texas Press, 1998. ISBN 1-57441-05102
• Seubert, David. "Has Anybody Seen My Corrine. Donald C. Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara, Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.
• Waltz, Robert B; David G. Engle. "Corrina, Corrina". The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World. Hosted by California State University, Fresno, Folklore, 2007.

External links

• "Corrine, Corrina", Bo Carter (Brunswick 7080, 1928)—Internet Archive.
• "Has anybody seen my Corinne?" , Ernest Hare (Emerson 7459, 1918)—Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia.