Careless Love

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Careless Love" is a traditional song of obscure origins. W.C. Handy wrote a modernized version under the title "Loveless Love".

The lyrics, in many versions, recount the dangers of careless love, from pregnancy to death, with loss of silver and gold and mother and father thrown in.

The song is addressed directly to love itself:

Love, oh love, oh careless love,

You fly to my head like wine,

You've ruined the life of many a poor boy,

and you nearly wrecked this life of mine

You worried my mother until she died

You caused my father to lose his mind

Now damn you, gonna shoot you, shoot you four five times

And stand over you until you finish dying.

"Careless Love" was one of the best known pieces in the repertory of the Buddy Bolden band in New Orleans, Louisiana at the very start of the 20th century, and has remained a jazz standard and blues standard. Hundreds of recordings have been made in folk, blues, jazz, country, and pop styles; some of the more notable versions include those by Bessie Smith, Marilyn Lee, Ottilie Patterson, Pete Seeger, and George Lewis. Big Joe Turner recorded it several times over his long career. Fats Domino made a recording of it in 1951, and it has also been sung by Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Lonnie Johnson, Dave Van Ronk, Leadbelly, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Ray Charles, Dr. John, Madeleine Peyroux, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, Frankie Laine, and Harry Connick Jr.

[edit] W. C. Handy's "Loveless Love"

W. C. Handy's song "Loveless Love" uses the familiar melody of "Careless Love", but unlike the raw emotion of the older song, the lyrics are lighter and topical, comparing loveless love to synthetics and adulterated food:

Oh love oh love oh loveless love

Has set our heart on goal-less goals

From milkless milk and silkless silk

We are growing used to soul-less souls

Such grafting times we never saw

That’s why we have a pure food law

In everything we find a flaw

Even love oh love oh loveless love