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Bottle It Up and Go

from Win some, blues some by Blind Willie Motel

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Bottle It Up And Go

In 1939, Tommy McClennan recorded "Bottle It Up and Go" during his first recording session for Bluebird Records. His song includes "a catchy guitar lick, a stomping danceable groove and a neat structure which divided the twelve-bar [blues] stanza into verse and chorus: socking home a different coupler each time". It is a solo piece with McClennan on vocal and guitar and borrows lyrics from earlier songs.

McClennan used verses similar to those found in "Hesitation Blues": "Now nickel is a nickel, a dime is a dime..." and "The Duck's Yas-Yas-Yas": "Now my mama killed a chicken, she thought it was a duck, she put 'im on the table with 'is legs sticking up". He also used verses similar to those in Julius Daniels' 1927 song "Can't Put the Bridle On That Mule This Morning" (Victor 21359-A): These verses have been traced back to 19th-century work songs, which were noted in an 1870s newspaper article.

McClennan, who had recently arrived in Chicago from the Delta, was cautioned by Big Bill Broonzy about using racially loaded lyrics in northern cities. According to Broonzy, McClennan stubbornly refused to compromise, resulting in a hasty exit out a window during one performance with McClennan's smashed guitar around his neck.

"McClennan, for his part, reflected pensively that they had indeed been forced to 'bottle it up and go'". When McClennan re-recorded the song as "Shake It Up and Go" in 1942, he used different lyrics.

However, In 1932, a jug band version of "Bottle It Up and Go" was recorded by a loose musical collective led by Will Shade and Charlie Burse, who recorded as the Memphis Jug Band, Picaninny Jug Band, Dixieland Jug Blowers, Dallas Jug Band, and other names. Based on a "traditional piece known in the South", it features several verses in the hokum blues style with jug band accompaniment. A second version was recorded and released by the Memphis Jug Band in 1934 (Okeh 8959).

In 1937, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson recorded the song as "Got the Bottle Up and Go" (or "Got Bottle Up & Gone") (Bluebird 7012). It was performed as an early Chicago blues with Williamson on vocal and harmonica accompanied by Big Joe Williams and Robert Lee McCoy (later known as Robert Nighthawk) on guitars. These early versions of "Bottle Up and Go" include the refrain "High-powered mama, daddy's (or papa's) got your water on".


from Win some, blues some, released July 18, 2015
"Bottle It Up and Go" (Trad arr Tommy McClennan)

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from Win some, blues some, released July 18, 2015
"Bottle It Up and Go" (Trad arr Tommy McClennan)

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Blind Willie Motel image

Blind Willie Motel Matakana, New Zealand

Blind Willie Motel are:

Brendan Wright—Harp, guitar, vocals
Jim Fletcher—Guitar, bass, vocals
Greg Fletcher—lap steel guitar, vocals

A love of classic blues has been the anchor for our repertoire - mixed with country, folk and other genres.

If there is one thing that helps define the band, it’s a desire to play a quirky mix of great songs that are generally not clichéd by over exposure. ... more

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