Level: 2
Tuning: Standard

In 1965 I took Mississippi John Hurt up to Rev. Davis's Bronx home. We spent a wonderful afternoon together. I just sat there while these two legends told stories and played guitars. It was truly an amazing afternoon.

The next day I returned to Rev. Davis's home for a lesson. He immediately asked if I liked John's playing. I replied that I did. Rev. Davis was a very competitive musician. He remarked that John played "old fashion music". I had never heard Rev. Davis use this term. I asked him if he could play "old fashion music" and he then proceeded to play "You Got The Pocketbook I Got The Key".

As always, Rev. Davis was full of surprises. His playing in this style had a unique approach. He used an alternating bass but instead of the usual playing of hitting the root note first, the C on the fifth string, he hit the G on the sixth string. He never touched the root note while playing phrases in the C first position. Instead he fingered the C chord with his ring finger on the third fret/sixth string, middle finger on the second fret/fourth string and index finger on the first fret/second string.

The resulting sound and texture, though played in the key of C, as many of Mississippi John Hurt's arrangements, is totally different in feel and sound. Rev. Davis used the same approach for his "Cocaine Blues" and "People That Use To See, Can't See No More". He told me this was how folks played around 1905.

This is a beautiful arrangement using first position chords. I tried and tried to get Rev. Davis to sing the song in order to discover the lyrics but he never did.