Bessie Smith: Due 11/11
Listen to the song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" performed by Bessie Smith
by following the link, http://www.zapkolik.com/video/bessie-smith-nobody-knows-you-when-youre-down-and-out-576280 and answer the following prompt:
In a well-structured paragraph, discuss the extent to which the message of the song is true. You may use any literature or articles you have read over the course of your high school career as evidence to support your position.
"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"
Bessie Smith
Once I lived the life of a millionaire,
Spent all my money, didn’t have any cares.
Took all my friends out for a mighty good time,
Bought bootleg liquor, champagne and wine.
Then I began to fall so low,
Lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go.
I get my hands on a dollar again,
I’ll hang on to it till that eagle grins.
Because, nobody knows you
When you're down and out.
In your pocket, not one penny,
And as for friends, you don't have any.
When you get back up on your feet again,
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend.
I Said it's strange, without any doubt,
Nobody knows you when you're down and out.
Ooooh, nobody knows you
When you're down and out.
In your pocket, not one penny,
And as for friends, you don't have any.
When you get back on your feet again,
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend.
I Said it's strange, without any doubt
Nobody knows you,
Nobody knows you,
Nobody knows you when you're down and out.
well i dont really understand alil bit but im going to try
ReplyDeletewell as i listen and see what bessie smith is saying. it reminds me of like hardship after happy times. like when she talks about how she lives the millionaire life living good and then everything crashes. when she states
Then I began to fall so low,
Lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go.
I get my hands on a dollar again,
I’ll hang on to it till that eagle grins.
Because, nobody knows you
When you're down and out.
In your pocket, not one penny,
And as for friends, you don't have any.'
she pretty much stating the hardship after her millionaire life .she looses her friends and fall slowly. it kind of reminds of the book son of a snitch. a boy name jessie lives without his dad in a top gang but then his dad snitches on everyone and then jessie loses his friends his money his fame his family and his gang/lifestyle he lives and soon hits rock bottom. after a while he then gets up and stands on his feet tall and start to learn that life is not whats given its how you make it. relating to bessie smith she believes that everyone changes and all of a sudden wants to be your so called long lost friend supposedly. everyone chooses not to know you when your down and out and they decide not to help nor notice you when you in the cracks but when your well they then decide to be your friend. so yes this lyric of bessie smith is true on all perspectives.
In life there's people of different statuses, poor and wealthiness are the two major ones.Some people was born in wealth while others work and strive hard to achieve wealth.In the Song " Nobody knows you when you're down and out" by Bessie Smith is saying that when you're wealthy and hold a high position or standard in society, you'll find that people are going to show you a lot of importance more than others and give you the best treatment, there going to be by your side enjoying with you."Once I lived the life of a millionaire,
ReplyDeleteSpent all my money, didn't have any cares.
Took all my friends out for a mighty good time,
Bought bootleg liquor, champagne and wine."
But if you're an individual who's middle class not as wealthy as others, you'll find that you won't have the same treatment as the wealthy would and you won't have as much friends. Or if you were once wealthy but to some misfortune, you lost everything, then you'll see who your real friends are and who's going to help you and stick by your side in tough times. "Then I began to fall so low,
Lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go.
I get my hands on a dollar again,
I’ll hang on to it till that eagle grins.
Because, nobody knows you
When you're down and out.
In your pocket, not one penny,
And as for friends, you don't have any."
But if you're an achiever and wont give up and strive to get back on your feet, you'll see those people who were once your friends again. " When you get back on your feet again,
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend.
I Said it's strange, without any doubt
Nobody knows you"
Everybody deserves a loyal friend, someone who helps you in a time of need and someone who is always there for you. Successful people may not always have loyal friends, but rather have "fair-weather friends". A "fair-weather friend" is a friend who is only there for you when they are benefited from it, but when times get hard they bail on you and are no where to be found. Bessie Smiths song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" depicts how "fair-weather friends" work.
ReplyDelete"Once I lived the life of a millionaire,
Spent all my money, didn't have any cares . . . "
"Then I began to fall so low,
Lost all my good friends, had nowhere to go. . . . "
"Because nobody knows you when you're down and out.
In your pocket, not one penny,
And as for friends, I don't have any."
These Lyrics show how a millionaire (or better known as a "successful person") who had many "fair-weather friends" because they had lots of money, and (in the individuals perspective) good friends, but when they became broke they had nobody to lean on.
"When you get back on your feet again,
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend."
These last two lines of lyrics further prove how "fair-weather friends" act. They are only around when they benefit from your success.
The message given from the song “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” is true. In the lyrics “Once I lived the life of a millionaire, Spent all my money, didn`t have any cares, Took all my friends out for a mighty good time” Bessie Smith expresses that when you are rich or have an abundant amount of money, you will spend it like you will always have a supply of money around. And from the lyrics, “Then I began to fall so low, Lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go. I get my hands on a dollar again, Ill hang on to it till that eagle grins.” She explains that now with no money and nowhere to go, hold on to what you have, because you never know how important something is, until its gone.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in life people tend to give more than they received. In the song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" performed by Bessie Smith it states that, "Once I lived the life of a millionaire, spent all my money, didn't have any cares. Took all my friends out for a mighty good time,Bought bootleg liquor, champagne and wine". This shows the way Bessie describes her life during the time she was a millionaire. "Then I began to fall so low, Lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go". This shows how Bessie's friends impacted her financial state. The message that this song conveys is true because sometimes people are taken advantage of by their "friends" when they have lots of money to offer.
ReplyDeletePeoples desire to have power can lead them to do horrible things which makes it hard for them to find real friends and endure constant betrayal. The song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" reflects on the short lasting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it. When the songs says, "Nobody knows you when you down and out
ReplyDeleteIn my pocket not one penny
And my friends I haven't any
But If I ever get on my feet again
Then I'll meet my long lost friend
It's mighty strange, without a doubt
Nobody knows you when you down and out", it means that when an individual has money he finds himself with friends but once that money is gone he finds himself alone again. The lyrics are talking about the love humans have for material things and how easy it is for them to betray a person. Sometimes a persons greediness for power can lead them to hurt the ones they love without noticing. In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a mans greediness for power leads him to hurt the ones he loves. When Macbeth is presented with an opportunity to get more power he and his wife are blind sided by the idea. This leads them to committing horrible murders and in the end their destruction.
The message of the song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" by Bessie Smith is true in how friends come when there is money but aren't there when they are needed the most. She sings:
ReplyDelete"Once I lived the life of a millionaire,
Spending my money, I didn't care
I carried my friends out for a good time,
Buying bootleg liquor, champagne and wine
Then I began to fall so low,
I didn't have a friend, and no place to go"
Here she is explaining how when she had money she would go out with all her friends and buy bootleg liquor, champagne, wine and have a good time but then when she was financially unstable, there were no friends and she had no one to go to or a place to stay at. She explains how when she makes money soon and gets back on her feet, she will hold on to that money and wont keep friends as close to her money. As a result the message of the song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" by Bessie Smith is true because this situation does exist and there are gold diggers out there.
Sometimes in life, friends stay during your good times, and are no where to be found during your bad times. In Bessie Smith’s song “ Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” , she mentions “Then I began to fall so low, lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go” meaning, that when she began to lose all of her money, she began to lose all of her friends as well. This is true because, people usually tend to want money and fame therefore they hang out with people who have both those things. When Bessie Smith says, “Spent all my money, didn’t have any cares. Took all my friends out for a mighty good time, bought bootleg liquor, champagne and wine”, it shows that she spent her money on her friends, and even though it was not spent on great things they still stood by her because they were using her for her money and fame. When Bessie mentions, “When you get back up on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long-lost friend”, she’s showing that now that she’s trying to get well again, her friends suddenly reappear, because they know that she will be getting money. In life, friends have to be chosen wisely because they might only be using you for your money.
ReplyDeleteIn the world of today betrayal is spreading so fast its almost considered normal and acceptable to be betrayed, this increasing rate of betrayal has led to the reasons why many people choose not to trust or rely on anybody in order to avoid getting hurt. An adage states “rely on no one, even your own shadow leaves you in the dark.” This clearly means that it is justified to not rely on or trust anyone, because when challenges and struggles consumes a person’s soul and all the happiness and light turns into sadness and night, nobody stays to be a shoulder to cry on, the only time you see everyone around is when you are happy wealthy and healthy which is what Miss Bessie Smith expresses in her song titled NOBODY KNOWS YOU WHEN YOU’RE DOWN AND OUT where she explains her life ups and downs and how the people around her reacted towards it. Her song quotes “In your pocket, not one penny,
ReplyDeleteAnd as for friends, you don't have any. When you get back up on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long-lost friend.” Bessie friends were only around her when she had no challenges its justified to conclude on the fact that no one wants to struggle with anyone, no one wants to suffer.
Everyone is in to achieve and gain the benefits of life.
Sometimes in life you may not be able to tell who your real friend is. In the song “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out it talks about how when you hit your slumps in life for example when you have no money they act as if you were never there friend. I disagree because according to the book homeboyz the guy lost his sister and as soon as he was sent to jail his family had his back and never left his side no matter what I also disagree because in the book lord of the flies when the plane crashed the boys bonded together and became closer this shows how when you hit slumps in life ppl stick together
ReplyDeleteLiving a life filled with wealth can be amazing, but it can also be dangerous. A lot of two-faced people start to enter your world and surround you. In "The Tragedy of Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, Duncan was a victim of the greed and hate that lived inside of Macbeth and his wife. Lady Macbeth says to her husband: "Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under't". She says this to Macbeth so that Macbeth can fool Duncan pretending to be an amazing friend, but really the enemy plotting his death in the inside. The song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" by Bessie Smith, talks about how certain people are hypocrites when you have money. But when you're "down and out", meaning when all of the sudden all the success you once had has crashed and you're now in need of help, they act like they don't know you.
ReplyDelete"Then I began to fall so low,
Lost all my good friends and nowhere to go..."
They pretended to be your friend when you once had this rich and fame, but it was all pretend. They were trying to benefit from your success. Then when you get back up on you feet again, they act like nothing happened.
"When you get back on your feet again,
Everybody pretends to be your long-lost friend."
-Wendy Miguel
When your rich and have everything you have always desiered you will face many two faced people. People who toyou will seem friends but in reality they are only using you to get what you have. Nothing is true in the wprld of rich and fame. In the book "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare this novel mostly shows how to much power within a men can either change him for the best or the worst. When Macbeth wanted power he didnt let anything stop him not even his closest people. To be king Macbeth invited Duncan the king at that time to make Duncan believe he was a good person as well as freind. While Macbeth and his wife were planning Duncan's death all along just so they can have the power and authority to rule the country. There greed got to them so much that no one can stop them.During all this Macbeth had lost those closest to him. In the song "Nobody knows you when your down and out". This song shows how people judge you on who or what you are when you have no wealth or power,but once you have somthing they want you will always find them near you. In the song when Bessie says " Then I began to fall so low,Lost all my good friends nowwhere to go ......" once you fall out of power and run out of all the wealth the friends you once thought were dear to you will act as if they were strangers. They already got what they wanted from you which was popularity,fame but when they have all that and you have nothing they could care less. To them your nothing and mean zero to them because in a way they used you to achieve somthing. Also the song says "When you get back on your feet again,Everybpdy pretends to be your long lost friend". When you needed them most they betrayed you but once you get all the wealth and power back those so called "froends" will come running back. They will act as nothing happened just so they can feed of what you currently have for themselve they are never true. So you should make wise decisions on who you want to allow to share the happiest at times in your life and those people may stand by you in your difficult time as well.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone is who they say they are. You may encounter with somebody who claims to be your "friend" but in reality they are the biggest hypocrites. Which is why when you are struggling with a certain problem, you have to pay attention to who is actually there for you. In the song " Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" by Bessie Smith is about how she was very wealthy and spent her money carelessly. Bessie spoiled her friends a bit as well and when she became broke and had no where to stay, nobody was there for her. When Bessie finally got back in her feet and became wealthy again everyone who claimed they were her "friend" comes back into her life all of a sudden. Bessie phrases " Because nobody knows you when you're down and out. In your pocket, not one penny and as for friends, you don't have any. When you get back on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long lost friend. I said its strange, without any doubt, nobody knows you when you're down and out" Bessie is saying is when you are rich and then you have financial issues, nobody helps you or even wants to be your friend and when you overcome your situation, everybody comes back in your life.
ReplyDeletesometimes in life people tend to go after desire then the more important things in life. What she saying is that when you become a millionaire you lose this you need to make life better like friends. Friends tend to come and go and some might even say they your friend when there really not your friend at all. Here she talking about how when she had money she would always take her friend out buy beer etc but now that she strugglinf with money her friends seem to have dissappered on her. Sometimes people may not even know whos a real friend or not till something bad happens to you."Then I began to fall so low, Lost all my good friends, had no nowhere to go.
ReplyDeleteI get my hands on a dollar again, I’ll hang on to it till that eagle grins" This verse from her song is an example what I have mentioned earlier when your at your low youll see people true colors.
What the song ''Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out'' is trying to say, is that once you lose fame, you'll be nobody and will be left alone. This can also relate to the alcohol problems in Reservations. In the song, she says she bought liquor, champagne and wine, then after that, says she began to fall so low. Its similar to the problems Native Americans have, drinking alcohol, then losing everything they once had. This song could also relate to Prohibition, how the rich had a good time, were rich, but were then just outcasts once everything was out of their reach. The song says, " I get my hands on a dollar again,
ReplyDeleteI’ll hang on to it till that eagle grins. "
Earlier, the singer says she wasted money with no cares, now maybe that she has none, she wants to grasp money again and hold onto it forever.
The song is trying to portray the hardships of wealth statuses in real life. When you are rich, everyone wants to be your friends, when you're poor nobody wants to be your friend. It talks about how once you fall, no one is there to pick you up. This can be related to life on the reservation where nobody really cares another till something bad happens. It can also be related to the book " Of mice and men" because of the way the singer describes the life style. For example; George and Lenny used to live a good life with friends and family, making money to one day make their own farm with chickens and bunnies, till Lenny screws up by grabbing onto lady's silk dress because it was soft, and they were kicked out of town and forced to run away. But they were able to start a new when no one knew who they really were till Lenny screwed up again by killing someone's wife due to his disorder. After that, they had nobody in life, not even each other. Over all, I think the message is just trying to say "Nobody sticks around forever" or that " You don't realize what you have till its gone. "
ReplyDeleteBessie Smiths song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"Once I lived the life of a millionaire,Spent all my money, didn’t have any cares.......
ReplyDeleteThen I began to fall so low,Lost all my good friends, had nowhere to go. . . . ""Because nobody knows you when you're down and out.In your pocket,
not one penny,And as for friends, I don't have any." These Lyrics Mean that bessie smith was once a millionaire who had many friends who had money and they cared about their self and when they all went broke they diWhen you get back on your feet again,Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend."n't have no one to run to and lean on and that you need to choose your friends wisely because everyone only your friend when your doing good and when you only have money in the bessie smith song it shows how everyone pretended to be her friend and they all was using her for her money when she says" When you get back on your feet again,Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend."
The song is expressing the idea that you are always going to be left alone when you have nothing. The composer is speaking on behalf of those who once had it all and for some reason ended up with nothing and lost their friends as well. There is a Spanish omg that gives the listeners the same message. It is called "Amigos" and to be quite honest both composers are correct. When I transferred my life changed drastically. I was no longer this star player on the volleyball and softball team. I was no longer involved in teams and clubs around my school because I was the new girl. When I was in Bronx Prep I had a million "friends." As soon as I did not benefit them around school I no longer had any friends. The message that Bessie is trying to convey is very much true.
ReplyDeleteThe song "Nobody knows you when your down and out" is saying that friends just use you when your the benefit. she saying once you lose everything only your real friends would stick around and the ones that were using you slowly try to break themselves away from you. "Ooooh, nobody knows you When you're down and out. In your pocket, not one penny, And as for friends, you don't have any." She is saying once money left so did friends so she doesnt really need friends when she gets her money back. she would be the one benefiting because once you see whole your real friends are or people that would bring you up in life it doesnt matter how much money you get your friends would always be there."Once I lived the life of a millionaire,
ReplyDeleteSpent all my money, didn’t have any cares. Took all my friends out for a mighty good time, Bought bootleg liquor, champagne and wine." she gave all her friend her money and attention they pretended they cared but once she was broke probably asking for money they all turned her back on her. thats life you gain/lose friends through everything you do.
The song nobody knows you when your down and out'' means when ever your living large some friends will use you because your the person with all the attention. This is true because most friends will use you for their image.this quote also means when you lose everything you have people interact with you less because their use to seeing you wealthy.
ReplyDeleteThe song is about friendship and knowing who your real friends are. In the song Bessie Smith said ''nobody knows when your down and out'' what she means is that when you're broke and have nothing there isn't one person that is there for you and assuming that when you have money then people wants to be friend .So this is a song about reality check, it is helping people to take notice of the people around them and pick their real friends from the fake . Having a lot money meant that a lot of people will try to be friendly with you so you could spend that money on them. In the song Bessie Smith wrote ''when your back on your feet again everybody wants to be your long lost friend'' this means that when your broke nobody is there for you but when you have it everyone wants to be your best friend . The only way to your real friends is if you are broke and they are around you and willing to help then you can classify them as your friends.
ReplyDeleteIn life you'll never know who your true friends are , the ones who claim they'll be there are always the first to go. In the song performed by Bessie the writer is saying how your so called "friends" will be there for you when your going through sucess or good times in your life. But when something goes wrong everyone will forget about you and leave your side.This can be related to the rez life , because no one really cares about one another until someone dies on the rez then all of a sudden everyone gets sentimental.
ReplyDeletethis song is a very sad song to me and its saying that once u have a mested up life when u just had a wonderful one people start to not be your friend ignore u and all that even your family because Bessie Smith used to be rich until she lost everything and once she asked for help everybody ignored her which is mest up but when u a rich person your whole life change u dont count on friends and family u just count on money on your side but people have to understand that money is not always gonna be on your side u always have to have a back up plan and count on friends and family because they are there for u no matter what but then Bessie Smith starts getting back on her feet working hard and all that and now people always want something from her but when she needed help no one gave it to her so she gonna treat them the same way they treated her it is hard but thats how it is Bessie Smith had a hard life but she learned how to face it and worked hard for everything back no she is regular
ReplyDeleteThis song portrays the idea of how when you have money, your able to go out without a care in the world, spend as much as you want, have many friends and party, but when your money is gone, nobody is really there for you. In the article : Why successful people leave their loser friends behind, they talk about how how to become rich and successful, you have to find new friends. In one paragraph they state, "If someone could improve his life, he spent as much time around them as possible. If someone could drag him down, he never spent more than five minutes around them. After following his “make or break” list, the man was able to become a millionaire within three years." The idea of leaving your friends, the people that were always there for you, to be richer, makes you even worse than anyone else. What if you lost all your money one day? Your old friends might not be there for you because you left them in the dust. Your new friends wont be there for you because your penniless, and then you'll have no one.
ReplyDeleteBessie Smith wrote this song so that ''Nobody knows when your down and out'' so that the readers can see how when Bessie all of a sudden had nothing all her so called "Friends" were not there anymore. A line that caught my eye was when Bessie said "When you get back up on your feet again,
ReplyDeleteEverybody wants to be your long-lost friend.
I Said it's strange." which mean when she was broke her friends did not want anything to do with her,Once she got back on her feet her so called friends all of a sudden had a change of heart . This song i feel everyone can connect with even some of us as kids in the first grade only wanted to be friends with certain people who had the good snacks .The point of the story is some people only care about what you have and not about you .
In life you may not know who your real friends are, there are people who like you because of your money and there are people who are loyal and are there for you through the good and bad times. Bessie Smith wrote this song "Nobody knows when your down and out" so that the reader can know her point of view of how she thought her friend were "real". Until it came a time when she had no more money and she needed her friends support, but they were not there for her when she had no money because Bessie was not completing there needs.
ReplyDeletethis song means that in life most people that are around you and that you think are your friends are just their for the sweets and the benefits they can get from you. they will always be around you when averything is good and well then disapper when you are broke and down and not even care for you. most of them wont even return the favor. in life you should live for you and not to please other people because sometimes by doing that you will go broke and have noting and no one in the end
ReplyDelete"Because, nobody knows you
ReplyDeleteWhen you're down and out.
In your pocket, not one penny,
And as for friends, you don't have any.
When you get back up on your feet again,
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend.
I Said it's strange, without any doubt,
Nobody knows you when you're down and out."
The message of "Nobody Knows When You're Down and Out" by Bessie Smith is true to a certain extent. When you live a fast life filled with materialistic joy, you don't really pay attention to things with more purpose until its too late. Or if you're rich and you put up a facade that only comes down when you drink alcohol or do drugs.. When that's the only time you can deal with the person you are. Bessie feels as if people (so-called friends) don't really care and they don't want to know whats happening. I agree with her because maybe those people are hiding something too and are too scared to confront their demons.
i feel like this lyrics is so true in many ways cause it be like that sometimes when your broke out of no where you loose your fake friends but only your real friends stay but are mad at you for wasting your money on someone that does not deserve it.But once you get back up they act like they know you again like ......Oh i know you now ........ they just intrested in you when you have money or fame but forget you when your old or broke.................. in they book the great gatsby everyone goes to gatsby parties and they do not even know him they are driking his liqour and making a mess at his house and they do not know him. they did not know him when he was poor but now hey know him since hes rich
ReplyDeleteWhen you live a fast life filled with happiness, you don't really pay attention to things with more purpose until the last minute. On the other hand, if your rich and you put up a facade that comes down when you drink or smoke. Maybe those people are also hiding something and afraid to confront themselves about it..
ReplyDeleteThe message of the of the song is a fact , because when you have money and everything else everyone wants too be your friend. But soon as your money is gone and you have nothing too give to them anymore they don't want too be around you cause they have nothing else to offer them, they would move on too someone else but as soon as you have more money again they are oh how are you doing. For example at Gastby parties they would go hang out and stuff and be around his house but soon as he died they went back too partying and didn't even cared that he died
ReplyDelete