This article addresses the blues poetry of Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, who recorded with Canned Heat in the 1960s. The song analyzed here, "Shake It and Break It", is a variation on an old barrelhouse theme and can be found on Canned Heat's Future Blues album.

Introduction

In order to understand Al Wilson, it helps us to consider the emotions projected in his music. This can be considered when analyzing the lyrics themselves, but emotional meaning can also be considered integral to the lyrical arrangement, that is, the order of verses, symmetry, any repetition, and so forth. These aspects of a song can express meanings that might not be totally explicit otherwise.

Wilson composed his songs very carefully and deliberately, in the latter stages of his career only singing words that directly applied to himself. This is known from recorded and well-documented interviews with Wilson. Some of his songs contain lyrics that were highly personal and might best be described as “enigmatic”. However, a listener who is reasonably informed of Wilson’s life can, after careful consideration and meticulous study, comprehend these enigmatic songs to some extent.

One of Wilson’s more enigmatic songs is “Shake It and Break It”. In this case, it is the lyrical structure of the song more than the singing or the musical arrangement that reveals underlying layers of meaning. While it contains certain traditional phrases and musical elements, the piece as a whole is presented in a novel manner. Furthermore, the traditional elements used by Wilson were always chosen very carefully; each was selected as a representation of some intensely personal meaning.

It is interesting that Wilson chose to do “Shake It and Break It” at all. This song is, after all, traditionally known as a ragtime tune for dancing, a bouncy, lightweight piece of fluff that he might have at one point derided. He had never been shy about his general distaste for ragtime. However, as John Fahey noted, perhaps it was not the ragtime structure itself so much that he despised, but, rather, its poor application by the common artist. Wilson ended up transforming this ragtime song, lifting it above the shallow waters of vapidity and imbuing it with deep shades of meaning as only he could.

This author would like to note that this study was influenced in part by the work of David Evans, whose book, Big Road Blues: Tradition and Creativity In Folk Blues, was the inspiration for the examination of verse structure and the principles of contrast in Wilson’s songs. It is recommended that the reader seek out Big Road Blues for study, and, furthermore, listen to all recordings referred to in this study.

Blues Predecessors of Wilson’s “Shake It and Break It”

For the purposes of this discussion, one might consider the verse using the “shake it and break it” line (sometimes with minor variations) to be the textual “core” of the song. This constitutes the primary overt lyrical similarity between all the various versions of the song. However, there have been changes to this verse. A “generic” rendering of the verse might go something like this:

You can shake it, you can break it, you can hang it on the wall.
Throw it out the window, run and catch it [be]’fore it falls.

The word “shake” might occasionally be supplanted by “snatch”, though Wilson himself does not do this.

It is uncertain what “throw it out the window, run and catch it [be]’fore it falls” might refer to, or what it might represent as a traditional metaphor. However, one might imagine actually throwing an object out of a window, then attempting to run outside of the house and catch the object before it hit the ground. There is a rather dreamlike quality to such a series of actions. It might, however, more simply symbolize trying to achieve an impossible task.

One recording in this song family belongs to Louise Johnson, a barrelhouse piano player who recorded in 1930. She was an acquaintance of Charley Patton and Son House, and had accompanied them to a Paramount Records recording session in Grafton, Wisconsin. Her “On the Wall” is basically a “Shake It and Break It” variation, though she uses the word “snatch” exclusively and never actually sings the word “shake”, insofar as I have been able to determine. Wilson was familiar with her recording but did not find it interesting. Following is a portion of her lyric:

Now you can snatch it you can break it you can
Hang it on the wall;
Throw it out the window and
Catch it ‘fore it falls.

Here are the lines sung in Geechie Wiley and Elvie Thomas’s 1930 song, entitled “Over To My House”:

Well you can shake it, you can break it, you can hang it on the wall;
Throw it out the window, run and catch it ‘fore it falls.

This entire song, in a musical sense, is somewhat removed from the mainstream of the “Shake It and Break It” variations, being distinctly darker in mood and tone. It certainly isn’t a bouncy dance tune. Wiley even threatens violence, singing “Gonna grab me a picket off of my back fence, gonna whip ya ‘round the head until you learn some sense.” According to John Fahey, Wiley was one of Wilson’s favorite early blues musicians.

The most significant blues influence on Wilson’s “Shake It and Break It” was probably Charley Patton, who recorded versions under the titles of “Shake It and Break It (But Don’t Let It Fall Mama)” in 1929 and “Hang It On the Wall” in 1934. However, Wilson’s version is ultimately quite original and distinctive in many ways.

A great deal of the text of Patton’s songs is taken up with repetitions of the “core” verse. He sings it a total of six times in “Shake It and Break It” and five times in “Hang It On the Wall”. There are some minor variations in some of these repetitions. What follows, however, is fairly representative of his rendition of the verse:

You can shake it, you can break it, you can hang it on the wall;
Out the window, catch it ‘fore it falls.
You can break it, you can hang it on the wall;
I don’t wanna catch it ‘fore it falls.
Sweet jelly, my roll, sweet mama don’t you let it fall.

Patton also frequently sings a similar verse beginning, “You can snatch it, you can grab it, you can break it, you can push it, any way that a fellow can get it.” He then goes on to describe how he is leaving town, standing in town, going back to town, feeling blue, or spending time with his girl friend. Patton’s text is generally disorganized, giving the impression that he might have been spontaneously improvising verses or singing them randomly from memory.

There are a few other artists who have done this song, including some in the New Orleans ragtime tradition. The sample I have given here should, however, be enough to display the sort of minor textual variations that occur.

Wilson’s “Shake It and Break It”

With the exception of the Wiley and Thomas recording, the versions of “Shake It and Break It” and closely related songs that preceded Wilson’s were all more or less bawdy barrelhouse songs. The subject – casual sex – remained the same from song to song, and there was little or no deep emotional meaning apparent. Perhaps the bawdiest is Louise Johnson, who promises “I’m gonna show all you women, honey, how to cock it on the wall!” This is the most explicit of the “on the wall” euphemisms, all of which likely refer to the practice of having sex standing up in the back of or behind a barrelhouse or juke joint.

Wilson’s version of “Shake It and Break It” can also be seen as explicit, though in a very different way. Some basic knowledge of Wilson’s history allows us greater insight into how he might have re-interpreted these traditional elements. Wilson’s text is unique in several lyrically definable ways traceable to his own life.

Most obviously, Wilson does not mention anything about “out the window”, whereas that phrase seems ubiquitous in versions by other artists. More important, however, is the fact that Wilson’s song has a definite lyrical structure, conveying a subtle underlying message that is not apparent in the songs of his predecessors.

As can be seen from the lyrics, Wilson’s “Shake It and Break It” is composed largely of three-line verses, all ending with either the line “Don’t you let me down” or “Give me one more chance”, alternately. Otherwise, they are lyrically distinct.

The subject of sex is inherent throughout this song due primarily to the repetition of the “core” verse. The other verses are divided into pairs by their topics, as well as by actual aural separations in the form of instrumental sections of one kind or another. The subjects, though divergent, combine to evoke the emotional uncertainty and turbulence of Wilson’s inner life at the time.

Three distinct topics are covered by the three-line verses. The song begins with two verses that express love for a woman, followed by a brief instrumental section. The next two verses describe weariness and introduce the subject of death; then Wilson sings the “core” verse which gives the song its title and relates it textually to the verses recorded by the other artists. This is followed by a guitar solo, after which there are two verses explaining that he will not settle down, but will continue to “move it down the road”. He then concludes the song with a repetition of the “core” verse.

The mood created by this song is one of uncertainty combined with desire for sex and/or romantic love. The expression of love in the first pair of three-line verses contrasts with the more somber topic of weariness and death found in the second pair. A profound uncertainty begins to find overt expression there as Wilson sings a line from Son House: “There ain’t no heaven, no burning hell; where I go when I die nobody can tell.” Then, the occurrence of the “core” verse and the immediately following guitar solo help to separate and distinguish the final pair of three-line verses from the rest of the text. They are explicit in their depiction of instability, explaining that he will not settle down and may be leaving at any time. The sexual orientation of the song is then reaffirmed in the final verse, which is a repetition of the “core” verse.

The repetition of “Don’t you let me down” and “Give me one more chance” throughout the song appears extremely significant, and is not duplicated in earlier artists’ recordings of this song. It communicates a desire for a stable romantic relationship despite Wilson’s feeling that his situation was very uncertain. Sadly, this desire would never see fulfillment.

The meaning of the phrase “don’t let it fall” can be explored at greater length. In the early barrelhouse song tradition, it seems likely that this phrase could refer to the difficulty of having sex while standing up, and the need to maintain some kind of balance lest a couple literally fall over. However, Wilson was not having standing sex with the groupies backstage at his Canned Heat shows. It is likely that he sang this line in reference to other difficulties he had experienced in intimate relationships.

According to John Fahey and other friends, Wilson was plagued by an inability to perform sexually, which reduced an already low self-confidence and hampered any degree of success he might have experienced with the opposite sex. It seems quite likely that, given this context, Wilson sang the line in reference to his own problems. Perhaps it expresses some kind of hope that he would find a woman so fulfilling that she would not let “it” fall, “it” in this case being his own sexual performance.

In his lyrics, Wilson indicates an inability to tell when he will be leaving to “move it down the road”. This should not be seen as an unwillingness to emotionally commit, but, rather, is probably related to the demands of his career that he was beginning to resent. His frequent desire to leave Canned Heat clashed with the frequent touring, rehearsals, and recording sessions that he felt obligated to endure. The “move it down the road” reference could be connected to this matter.

This particular line also deserves special mention for the relative lack of coherent pronunciation; this is unusual for Wilson, who was normally quite articulate. The words open themselves up to several potential layers of interpretation. As sung, the words are: “I’ve got a home on the place I’ve gonna move it down the road,” insofar as this author has determined upon intensive study. The meaning of the words themselves, in the order he presents them, is enigmatic. Perhaps he meant that his home would be forever on the road, that is, perpetual travel.

Alternately, it is possible that Wilson was referring to his van, which he used for camping and was the only home he ever owned. It literally was a home that he could move down the road. With this line, he might have been expressing a wish to get in his van and drive away from Canned Heat, along with all his other problems, into the redwood forest he loved so well.

On a darker level, this mysterious line might refer to thoughts of suicide and an uncertainty as to how long he would remain alive. The “home” he sings of might have been not of this world.

Wilson’s uncertainty reaches a deep spiritual level as he sings that he does not believe in heaven or hell, and does not know what will be his fate after death. It is possible that this reflects some kind of spiritual crisis on his part. Close friend John Fahey recalls that in the mid-1960s, Wilson was an avid practitioner of Yoga and Hinduism; apparently, however, this did not bring him sufficient contentment. It is possible that by this 1970 recording, given increasing depression, Wilson had become dissatisfied with his spiritual path.

The song ends with a repetition of the “core” verse, superficially about sexual satisfaction, but no doubt reflecting a deeper need for intimacy and affection. Despite all of his uncertainties, including those about his life itself (for it is certain that Wilson had experienced thoughts of suicide by this time), he wanted to be loved.

Wilson’s desire for love and intimacy, in the face of profound personal and spiritual uncertainty, is the defining theme of this song. On some deeply troubled level, in this song as with so many others, he seemed to feel that the love of a woman would save him from his inner torment. But intimacy was, throughout Wilson’s life, the one thing he could not achieve. And while there is no evidence to support the myth that Wilson committed suicide in the end, the situation leading up to his death might never have happened had he not been so lonely, so frustrated.

Looking back, we can see much of this foreshadowed in songs like “Shake It and Break It”. Sadly, it is too late now, for Wilson died less than a year after recording this song. Other potential layers of meaning, other emotional shades with which Wilson might have infused this song, will have to remain a mystery to us. But for our ears, to those who appreciate the aural beauty of a true musical genius, perhaps our appreciation is enough.