Ma Rainey

“The blues ain't nothin' but a good woman feelin' bad.”

“They say I do it, ain't nobody caught me. Sure got to prove it on me.”

“Woke up this mornin' with the blues all in my bed, Went to eat my breakfast, the blues was in my bread.”

“It's true I wear a collar and a tie... Talk to the gals just like any old man.”

“Lord, send me a man, I'm so tired of this one I've got.”

“White folks hear the blues come out, but they don't know how it got there.”

“You don't know, you don't know my mind. When you see me laughing, I'm laughing to keep from crying.”

“Went out last night with a crowd of my friends, they must have been women, 'cause I don't like no men.”