Buddy Guy, "Skin Deep"

"Skin Deep": In class, I showed the video from the Waterfront Blues Festival I attended in 2011 in Portland, Oregon. That's where I took those pictures (above).

That video is no longer available on YouTube, so I substituted Buddy Guy's television performance of this same song (below). On the television program, Buddy doesn't tell the story of his mother and the broken mirror, but at least you have the song. He's using the same electric Jerry Jones Sitar that he used in the video I showed you.

First, here is the audio version I used in some of our classes. It features Buddy Guy and Derek Trucks, two of the best guitarists on the planet. Then, the TV video and lyrics are below.



Questions for listening comprehension: (for those who saw the video I showed in class)

1. Did Buddy Guy’s mother live long enough to hear him play as a famous musician?
2. Where did he grow up? In what kind of neighborhood?
3. How old was he when he first experienced “running water”? (What is “running water”?)
4. Did his family have electricity?
5. One day, while his mother was combing her hair in a broken mirror, what did Buddy Guy say to her?
6. Without “cracking a smile” (changing her expression), how did she respond to him?
7. Does Buddy Guy agree with what she said? How do we know?

Lyrics: (Buddy Guy) (according to the audio version)

I've been around a while
I know wrong from right
I learned a long time ago
Things ain't always black and white
Just like you can't judge a book by the cover
We all gotta be careful
How we treat one another
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
We all, all are the same

A man in Louisiana,
He never called me by my name
He said "boy do this and boy do that"
But I never once complained
I knew he had a good heart
But he just didn't understand
That I needed to be treated
Just like any other man
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
We all are the same

I sat my child down
when he was old enough to know
I said out there in this big wide world
You're gonna meet all kinds of folks
I said son it all comes down to just one simple rule
That you treat everybody just the way
You want them to treat you
Yeah
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
We all are the same
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we're all the same
We all are the same
Yeah