Black Swan Records and the Political Economy of Music
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Exercise 1: African Americans in the Entertainment Business

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Lyrics: "Nobody"

When life seems full of clouds and rain
And I am filled with nothing and pain
Who soothes my thumping, bumping brain?
Nobody

And me with hunger and cold feet
Who says, "Here's twenty-five cents, go and eat"?
Nobody

I ain't ever done nothing to nobody
I ain't ever done nothing to nobody, no time
And until I get something from somebody, sometime
I'll never do nothing for nobody

When I was in that railroad wreck
And thought I'd cashed in my last check
Who took the engine off my neck?
Nobody

When time was things was looking bright
I started to whittle on stick one night
Who cried out, "Stop now, that's dynamite"?
Not a soul

I ain't ever done nothing to nobody
I ain't ever done nothing to nobody, no time
And until I get something from somebody, sometime
I'll never do nothing for nobody

Note: The original 1905 published version contained eleven verses, only two of which are heard on the 1906 recording (which also has two verses not in the published version).

Bert Williams performing "Nobody," recorded for Columbia in 1906, accompanied by a studio orchestra. This was Williams's signature song, recorded when very few African Americans had the opportunity to make records and those who did were narrowly limited in the material they could record. Its appearance predated the first jazz and blues recordings by more than a decade.
Alex Rogers and Bert Williams, "Nobody," performed by Bert Williams and studio orchestra, Nobody (phonograph record, Columbia 3423; 1906).