Ain't Nobody's Business
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"Ain't Nobody's Business" is a blues standard, an eight-bar blues written in the 1920s by pianist Porter Grainger, who had been Bessie Smith's accompanist, and Everett Robbins[1].
Bessie Smith was the first to record the song, the theme of which is that what goes on between a romantic couple is their business and no one else's:
- If me and my baby fuss and fight
- And the next minute we're all right
- It ain't nobody's business if we do
The song has been recorded by numerous artists, including Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. In some versions, the theme of violence against women is made explicit. For example, Dinah Washington, specifically identifies her then-husband bandleader Eddie Chamblee in her version, "If me and Eddie fuss and fight . . ." and goes on to add the verse:
- If I should get beat up by my poppa
- That don't mean you should call no copper
- Cause it ain't nobdody's business if we do
The biggest hit on the number came with Jimmy Witherspoon's version in 1949, with the blues shouter booming out the opening line:
- One day, we got ham and bacon
- Next day, ain't nothing shakin'
- But it ain't nobody's business if we do
The song was a a career cornerstone for Witherspoon, but he received only limited royalties from his record company. Witherspoon later ruefully argued that losing those royalties was the price he paid for a long show business career.
