Nobody

minstrelsy

Title

Nobody

Date

1906

Genre

Performer

Writer

Bert Williams and Alex Rogers

Recording Label

Columbia Phonograph

Recording Technology

Edison Cylinder

Description

Bert Williams, born in Bahamas, was one of the most popular blackface performers of his day: “Nobody” became his signature song. Modern audiences may find it sad: audiences in 1905 fell out of their seats laughing. This song, which Williams routinely sang in blackface, parodies sentimental songs and what might be called “sad negro” songs, in which characters in blackface sang of their troubles. Instead of “mother’ or wife the singer finds “nobody.” Williams himself parodies and further exaggerates the pitch bending typical of the minstrel show. Notice how he vocally imitates the long slurred note of the trombone, starting at about 52 seconds. Williams managed a comic overstatement of typical minstrel tricks.

Lyrics

When life seems full of clouds an' rain
and I am filled with naught but pain,
who soothes my thumpin' bumpin' brain ?
Nobody
When winter comes with snow an' sleet,
and me with hunger and cold feet,
who says " Ah, here's two bits, go an' eat!"
Nobody
I ain't never done nothin' to nobody,
I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time!
And until I get somethin' from somebody, sometime,
I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time!
When I try hard an' scheme an' plan,
to look as good as I can,
who says " Ah, look at that handsome man!"
Nobody
When all day long things go amiss,
and I go home to find some bliss,
who hands to me a glowin' kiss?
Nobody
I ain't never done nothin' to nobody,
I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time!
And until I get somethin' from somebody, sometime,
I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time!
Nobody, no time!

Type

minstrelsy

Is Referenced By

Bert Williams, born in Bahamas, was one of the most popular blackface performers of his day: “Nobody” became his signature song. Modern audiences may find it sad: audiences in 1905 fell out of their seats laughing. This song, which Williams routinely sang in blackface, parodies sentimental songs and what might be called “sad negro” songs, in which characters in blackface sang of their troubles. Instead of “mother’ or wife the singer finds “nobody.” Williams himself parodies and further exaggerates the pitch bending typical of the minstrel show. Notice how he vocally imitates the long slurred note of the trombone, starting at about 52 seconds. Williams managed a comic overstatement of typical minstrel tricks.