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Poppa Jazz talks Heaven and Hell

Considering the content and form of the stories, toasts, dozens, auctions and religious sermons and what they reveal about Southern Culture.

From small farms to urban neighborhoods, from the region itself to the more distant worlds of the southern diaspora, we discover the stories, music, and art of the American South.

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Dr. William Ferris
Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History; Senior Associate Director of CSAS; Adjunct Professor in the Curriculum in Folklore

腳本

[MUSIC]

Shelby Poppa Jazz Brown tells an amazing story,

about two brothers named Heaven and Hell.

That really embraces the worlds of the blues,

the secular worlds, and the world of the church, the religious world.

And in this story, these two brothers, bring together,

both heaven and hell in a way that's really unforgettable.

>> So it's two brothers, you know?

One of them, [INAUDIBLE] that doesn't mean [INAUDIBLE] that's what you call

boy shoot some crab [INAUDIBLE].

He's a sinner.

So, we're all sitting down one day and we're studying saying,

hey brother, say, look!

Said, you go to church all the time.

Said, why you go to church, said, I go to church to pray to go to heaven.

He said, why don't you pray, brother?

He knows I ain't going to pray.

He says, I'll tell you what you do.

He says, let's make a bet.

Which one is going to die here first?

He made the bet.

He said, brother, you going to die.

And that's what, that's what this,

this boy told you, you, wa-wa-wa, was, was, in Heaven.

Hm.

Now, he didn't die first.

The other one died and went to Hell.

So they all told you, well, I'm going to ask the Lord if I die,

then I'm ask him to let me come down see you in Hell.

[LAUGH].

So, soon enough, this old boy, you know, he died.

And he got up in Heaven and he thought about his brother died in front of him.

And he's, you know, me and

my brother talked and said, I'm going to ask the good Lord.

Could I go see my brother?

Mm-hm. Heaven is a good place, because he, he,

he got honey, he got honey in that milk and stuff.

Come down and good wine and stuff.

[LAUGH]. You know?

Hey. You know, Heaven's a good place.

But this boy, he went on to Hell.

He wouldn't pray.

He got up there and so yeah he called Jonas.

He said what.

Come here, Jonas.

He said go get the Lord and tell him,

he said, what you want to know, see the Lord for?

I want the Lord go get him here.

Jonas went over and got the Lord and brought him up there.

He said Lord, is I just want to ask you one question.

He said, will you please,

give me a pal while I can go down to Hell to see my brother?

He said, well, look.

Well look, I'll give you someone else.

He said but I'm going to give you the same time to get back here.

Said, if you don't be back in that time said you can't get back in.

Said that's all right Lord, said I'll be back here on time.

He gave him the wings, he just let him stretch them out and he went on down into the hell.

When he got in there, he don't know what to do.

Guy on the big horse there, you know, he said that's the devil's. What do you want?

I want to see my brother.

Come on in,

he want everybody to get in hell in the. He went on in there with those big wings,

flopping on him you know, he went in there, and said, who you looking for?

Say I'm looking for my brother.

He died a few years ago and told me, to come to see him.

Come to see me, if I dies, and I'm here to see him.

Say, why you ask if I'm out of heaven?

He said, don't you see my wings, they flopping?

He say, what your brother's name?

He say, Ennis.

He went on that cold, then he wouldn't say nothing.

He said, wait a minute, said come here, don't you know him when you see him?

He said, yeah, I know my brother's been dead 11 years.

I know, I know him.

Went on back in there looking.

He look, he look.

There's a plane crash here.

They're shooting cars over here.

It, it doesn't [INAUDIBLE].

Here comes the lonely ass women here.

He says, wait a minute.

He says, Ennis!

He said that's my brother right there and the women head over there and

hold him and kiss him and they all over me, y'know.

[LAUGH]. He said They allow you to

do that in here?

He's my man, he say yeah, we's fixing to bitch, yeah.

[LAUGH].

And we's fixing to bitch, yeah, he say, what?

[INAUDIBLE] God bless, hear that?

Ennis? He say, this is your brother?

He say, yeah, and he say and he put his arm around him, and hit him up in

the hair, and he say, yeah, I never had this good of treatment up in here.

[LAUGH]. >> He said to the manager, you been,

don't be no fool.

That's what the brother told him.

He said, when he looked around, where the brother,

he was going, the cat had him in going in the room.

He said, [LAUGH].

When they hit on him, hey, brother, so you staying to the law so

you know you got to be back up in heaven the second time.

That's all right I'll be there at [LAUGH].

He get a room.

Yeah, I'll get a room.

Woow, you got to stay.

Yeah, I got more.

He woke up and looked at his watch.

It's 5 o'clock, he said, I supposed to be back the air.

He started, [SOUND].

Hey open the door.

Devil said, what you want?

Said man, give me my wings.

Let me get out, let me get back to heaven.

Say, I gotta go back to heaven.

Say, I've overstayed my time.

Say, here take you damn wings and get outta here.

[LAUGH]. >> He got his wings and

flew on back to heaven.

When he got to heaven, he had to ring the bell.

[NOISE] Wasn't nobody said nothing, [NOISE], then he shook the bar.

He said ain't nobody in this son of a gun they,

they not lettin' me back up in there.

Move! He kept up so

much noise a guy rolled over and said, who is that?

He said, you know who I is, this is the man that you sent to hell on the wings.

Who you want to see?

I want to see the Lord.

He said the Lord sleepin' you can't see him, this time of the night.

[LAUGH]. >> Praise deliverance Steve.

And I didn't cry governor.

But please let me see the Lord!

He said well, your keeping so

much noise waking everybody up by yourself I'm going to get the Lord.

So he got the Lord and brought the Lord back there.

Lord walk up and said What do you want?

He said Lord, I just want to let you know one thing.

See, I brought these damn wings back to you.

[LAUGH]. Yeah,

I'm going back to damn Hell where I come from.

[LAUGH]. >> So you

can take these sum bitches over here.

And we'll go on back to Hell.

[LAUGH].

>> No bullshit.

[LAUGH].

>> I ain't lying, either.

I ain't lying.

>> Shelby Poppa Jazz Brown was the blues patriarch of Leland, Mississippi.

And in his home on Kent's Alley, every Saturday night in the back room,

James' son Thomas, would play the blues.

And Poppa Jazz would serve corn liquor and sandwiches.

And his friends from all over the neighborhood, would come to dance and

to share stories, and it was really, what I later called the Blues Family.

People joined together by a love for the music and for

each other's company, and it was under Ppoppa Jazz's roof.

That the blues was heard every weekend, with Son Thomas playing it.

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