Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

Bessie Smith

That old adage about money, how it talks, doesn't bring happiness, but still people don't seem to come around as much when a person is broke.  So a song that tells that story is surely an eternal one, as this one, the anthem of those down on their luck, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out.

Now this song is not only relevant for today, but some things about it also tell the story of how not to believe everything you read on the Internet, as one source maintains the song was written by John Lennon in 1974 and that he wrote it during a separation from his wife.  It is said to be on his album Walls and Bridges, yet it was not Lennon who wrote the song.  Instead it is an old blues standard from the 1920's, but has been recorded by other singers as well, most relevantly for its beginning, Bessie Smith.  In the major citation, the one that is accurate about the song, no mention is made of John Lennon even recording the song.

The song was also recorded by Eric Clapton, Count Basie, Tom Jones, B. B. King, Katie Mehula, and Rod Stewart.

The song, as it came around in the 1920's, was a clear expression of the times.  Many people were indeed down and out.  We've heard those stories about rich people jumping out the window during the stock market crash, and this story does talk about the rich man and how no one knows him after he loses his money.

Bessie Smith was the voice of the blues at the time this song was written, and who better to give it that authentic sound than the Empress of the Blues, that folks have called the woman who made the song famous back then, so famous that some people have erred and credited others who just sang it with writing it as well.  It was written by Jimmy Cox in 1923.