Blind Joe Reynolds - Outside Woman Blues

First performance: 00/09/1968


Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song only once:
 
1968-09-00 Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ 
 
Springsteen (along with fellow Earth-band members John Graham and Michael Burke) entered Ocean County College in September 1968. Bruce ended up staying for three semesters, dropping out in December 1969 shortly after his parents moved to California. Earth is believed to have performed several times at Ocean County College during the September to December 1968 period. Springsteen even contributed a piece of poetry to Seascape, the school's Literary Yearbook. The twenty-six mentioned songs are taken from the only known Earth-era repertoire listing. The document is likely to have been created by Springsteen in September or October 1968. The amount of tracks displayed, their sequencing, plus the header and numbering notation by Bruce, all point to this as being an inventory of Earth's live repertoire of 'cover' material. For this reason it is of greater historical significance than an individual gig setlist, particularly in that no Earth audio is circulating. A few of these songs are performance hold-overs from the The Castiles-era. Since Earth was a three-piece band it's hardly surprising that material from both Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (the era's two premier three-piece bands) are abundantly represented. 
 
 
  
photo credit Billy Smith
 

Songinfo

"Outside Woman Blues" was originally recorded by Blind Joe Reynolds in 1929 but covered by Cream in 1967, Cream was defitely the inspiration for covering the song. Reynolds used "Woman Blues" in several song titles, including "Cold Woman Blues", "Goose Hill Woman Blues", and "Third Street Woman Blues". In 1967, the song was popularized by the British rock group Cream, who recorded a blues rock adaptation in 1967 for the album Disraeli Gears, with vocals by Eric Clapton. Clapton performed the song also live as a solo artist. 
 
 
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

When you lose your money, great God, don't lose your mind
When you lose your money, great God, don't lose your mind
And when you lose your woman, please don't fool with mine

I'm gonna buy me a bulldog, watch my old lady whilst I sleep
I'm gonna buy me a bulldog, watch my old lady when I sleep
'Cause women these days, get so doggone crooked, till it might make a 'fore-day creep

Tell you married men, how to keep young wives at home
Tell you married men, how to keep young wives at home
Get you a job, roll for the man, and try to carry your labor home

Tell you married women, how to keep your husbands at home
Tell you married women, how to keep your husbands at home
You oughta take care of that man's labor, and let these single boys alone

You can't watch you wife and your outside women too
You can't watch you wife and your outside women too
While you off with your woman, your wife could be at home

Beatin' you doin' it, buddy what you trying to do?
Hmmm hmmm, buddy what you tryin' to do?