AIN’T NOBODY’S BUSINESS

“Ain’t Nobody’s Business” is a blues standard, an eight-bar blues written in the 1920s by

pianist Peter Grainger , who had been Bessie Smith’s accompanist, and Everett Robbins.

Alberta Hunter was the first to record the song in February of 1923, the theme of which is

that what goes on between a romantic couple is their business and no one else’s. The song

has been recorded by numerous artists, including Bessie Smith, 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

Chamblie 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 nobody’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 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.

There ain’t nothing I can do, or nothing I can say,

Some folks will criticize me.

So I’m gonna do just what I want to anyway,

And don’t care if you all despise me.

If I should take a notion

To jump into the ocean,

It ain’t nobody’s business if I do.

If I go to church on Sunday

And I shimmy down on Monday,

It ain’t nobody’s business if I do.

And if my friend ain’t got no money

And I say, “All right, take all of mine honey,”

It ain’t nobody’s business if I do.

If I lend her my last nickel

And it leaves me in a pickle,

It ain’t nobody’s business if I do.

Banjo Mountain