Trouble in Mind- Version 4
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

Trouble in Mind/Sun's Gonna Shine Through My Back Door

Old-Time Blues and Western Swing Song; Copyrighted Richard Jones 1926

[Not to be confused with "Don't Get Trouble in Mind" songs]

ARTIST: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes

EARLIEST DATE: 1926

RECORDING INFO: Trouble in Mind - Jones, Richard M.

Rt - Sun Gonna Shine in/on my (Back) Door
Lomax, Alan / Folksongs of North America, Doubleday Dolphin, Sof (1975/1960), p589/#313
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p105
Blizard, Ralph; & John Lilly. Blue Highway, Blizard BH4591, Cas (1991), trk# 12
Bluestein, Evo. Evo's Autoharp, Greenhays GR 715, LP (1985), trk# 1
Charles, Roosevelt. Oster, Harry / Living Country Blues, Minerva, Sof (1969), p434/#208 [1960/11/19]
Clarke, Greg. Home Recordings - October 2001, Clarke, CD (2001), trk# 12a (Trouble in the Mind)
Daniels, Charlotte; and Pat Webb. Charlotte Daniels and Pat Webb, Prestige International INT 13037, LP (196?), trk# A.06
Gibson, Bob. Yes I See, Elektra EKL 197, LP (1960), trk# B.04
Holcomb, Roscoe. Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward, Folkways FA 2363, LP (1962), trk# A.08 [1961]
Holcomb, Roscoe. High Lonesome Sound, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40104, CD (1998), trk# 5
Houston, Cisco. I Ain't Got No Home, Vanguard VRS 9107, LP (1962?), trk# 12
Irby, Jerry; & his Texas Ranchers. Western Swing - Blues, Boogie and Honky Tonk (Vol. 6), Old-Timey LP 121, LP (198?), trk# 6 [1951ca]
Kweskin, Jim; Band with Samoa Wilson. Now and Again, Blix Street G2-10075, CD (2003), trk# 9
Len & Judy. Folk Songs. Sweet and Bittersweet, Prestige 7355, LP (1964), trk# B.06
McGhee, Brownie; and Sonny Terry. Walk On, Astan AST 20051, LP (1984), trk# A.07
Miller, John. Let's Go Riding, Rounder 3002, LP (1974), trk# A.04
Muldaur, Geoff/Geoffrey. Sleepy Man Blues, Prestige Folklore FL 14004, LP (1963), trk# B.04
Poston, Mutt; and the Farm Hands. Hoe Down! Vol. 6. Country Blues Instrumentals, Rural Rhythm RR 156, LP (197?), trk# 3
Rutherford, Enoch; and the Gold Hill Band. Old Cap'n Rabbit, Heritage (Galax) 080, Cas (1989), trk# 16
Sheehan, Lauren. Some Old Lonesome Day, Sheehan 1, CD (2001), trk# 1
Silverman, Jerry. Folk Blues, Vol. 1, A-V A-V 101, LP (1959ca), trk# A.01
Tarriers. Tarriers, Glory PG 1200, LP (1957), trk# B.06
Tharpe, Sister Rosetta. Sister Rosetta Tharpe / Complete Recorded Works, Vol 2, Document DOCD 5335, CD (1995), trk# 11 [1943/08]
White, Bob; and Clyde Brewer. Seven Come Eleven, Stoneway STY 141, LP (197?), trk# A.02
Whitstein Brothers. Trouble Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, Rounder 0229, LP (1987), trk# 8
White, Josh. Josh White Stories, Vol. 2, ABC ABC-166, LP (196?), trk# A.05
White, Josh; Jr.. Treasures from the Folk Den, Appleseed CD 1046, CD (2001), trk# 15
Wills, Bob. Hill Billy Record Round-Up Song Folio, Leeds, Fol (1942), p 8 [1937]
Wills, Bob; and the Texas Playboys. Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 8. More of the Best, Kalidescope F-32, LP (1988), trk# 10
 

SOURCES:  Mudcat; Lomax-FSNA 313, "Troubled in Mind" (1 text, 1 tune)

NOTES: "Trouble in Mind" was written by Richard Jones in the mid-1920s (copyrighted 1926), and was first recorded by Bertha 'Chippie' Hill (see Version 3). It has since been recorded in one form or another by hundreds of artists. Jones' version employed a lot of traditional verses, lines and couplets, and many of the artists who have recorded it have added verses or dropped them or adapted them.

The arranger/composer of "Trouble in Mind," Richard M. Jones' main significance to jazz was as the leader of an interesting series of recording dates. He played alto horn and cornet with the Eureka Brass Band as early as 1902 and worked as a pianist in New Orleans during 1908-1917. After playing with Oscar Celestin (1918), Jones moved to Chicago where he worked for Clarence Williams' publishing company. He recorded as a piano soloist in 1923, accompanied Blanche Calloway and Chippie Hill on record dates (1925-1926), and led his Jazz Wizards on sessions of his own during 1925-1929. Jones' sidemen included Albert Nicholas, Johnny St. Cyr, Ikey Robinson, Roy Palmer, Omer Simeon, and some lesser-known musicians. Richard M. Jones stayed in Chicago for the rest of his life, leading further sessions during 1935-1936 and 1944, and working as a talent scout for Mercury in the 1940s.

The tune is associated as a fiddle tune through the fiddle playing of western swing giant Bob Wills, who recorded the song in 1936. It was a Wills favorite and remained in Wills repertoire. The song became a country standard and was recorded by Hank Snow for RCA Victor.

TROUBLE IN MIND- Sonny Terry; Brownie McGhee
Blowin' the Fuses (Rykodisc 1013); Po' Boys (Drive Archive 41005); Brownies Blues (Bluesville 1042)

Trouble in mind, I'm blue
But I won't be blue always
Sun's gonna shine, in my back door some day.

I'm gonna lay, my head
On some cold rolled railroad iron
Let that 2.19 train, passify my mind.

Trouble in mind, I'm blue
But I won't be blue always
Sun's gonna shine, in my back door some day.

Trouble in mind, I'm blue
I've almost lost my mind
Sometimes I feel like livin', and again I feel like dyin'

Trouble in mind, I'm blue
My poor heart it's beating slow, I ain't never had so much trouble
In my do gone, life before.

I'm goin' down, to the river
Gonna take me a rockin' chair
If this trouble don't leave me, gonna rock on away somewhere.

My good girl, she stuck with me
Sure don't leave my mind
Sometimes I feel like livin', and again I feel like dyin'