I plat I Am So Lonely I Could Cry and am curious if it is classified as as blues tune. Seems to me it is but the note layout is middle of the harp play. I enjoy many types of music but never really learned what the definition of a blues tune is. It seems like this one should fit
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I think, and I could be wrong, that this is more of a traditional country song. Country and Blues music have a shared history, so there is some similarities
i agree but given the melody and rhythm what else could it be? I has that blues dad ring to it.
I guess the real way to determine if it is a blues tune would be to look at the Chord structure. I dont have the chord arrangement in front of me. Does it follow the 12 or 8 bar structure? I thought is was just a sad sort of country tune. But I am sure the blues had some influence on him when it was written, I would guess. Might want to see what was popular and playing at the time in 1949. His influence could have come from those items.
What confuses me is a tune can have a glues sound but like this one may be. he notes for yellow Rose Of Texas are what I thought would be a blues tune but its not. Ain”t No Sunshine is but the note layout does not look like a blues tune would be, Its the tone of the song that I hear that seems like blues song but my music knowledge is not extensive.
Ok, so I did a little research. What make a blues song fall into the blues genre is basically this:
Form: 12-bar blues progression (I-IV-V chords)
Scale: Blues scale with blue notes
Rhythm: Shuffle or swing feel, slow to moderate tempo
Lyrics: AAB pattern, (not always required)
I am sure there is a better more thorough way to explain it, but that is what I gathered. To those who know more please help with anything I may have missed. Like some other key points, please fill in what I missed. I am far from a blues expert.
Read this Wikipedia article to get a more detailed treatment. Everything said in this thread so far is far to simplistic.
I’m supposed to be an expert. Of course there are cultural and historic aspects to this. And some people may describe the blues with some of those considerations. As one example. If it’s originally written by a blues guy then it’s blues. (Or not). And musically if you listen to the Bach Gigue in C, there is a section that sounds like a part of “Saint Louis Blues” when you swear the cellist is playing the phrase; “my mama done told me” and repeated. It’s wild. i would have my cellist play the work as an opener to my Chamber Blues performances in the old days. I once did an explanation of this on WFMT a classical radio station here in Chicago. There are three places in the piece where it looks and sounds like blues. I hope that clears everything up. LOL!
It’s fun to try to fit a music piece into a genre. But it has its down side. When I was working with the blues masters in the mid 60s, Sam Lay would always want to play Johnny Cash tunes or other country tunes. So when he played it maybe it was a blues. And I also understood that Robert Johnson didn’t just play what we call Blues but also did jazz and country music. Correct me if I’m wrong
There are many ways to define a genre. But thinking about genre is very limiting. And all the music wants to do is uplift, unify, heal, and have fun. And we have to superimpose our own ideas on this innocent music and limit its power. LOL! We forget about the power of music to hold our attention and carry us away and bring people together. Any music can do this. There can be soul and wild expression in any form. And here’s something to think about. When we place special importance on genre we separate people. There is rarely a situation at a Blues show that all the people there only like Blues. Etc. I could go on for a long time with all this, But just consider it food for thought as I answer the question; is I’m so lonely I could Cry. A blues? The most accurate answer. Is. “Yes and No.” 
LOL! Love you guys. Keep playing no matter what. Corky
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Thank you Corky. We’ll said. In the end, it is all music, enjoy it.
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@Corky_Music Hey there’s the man! Good to see you again, dropping wisdom bombs as usual I see. 
YES “genre” was created by music BUSINESS men, not music men themselves I think! 
Genre, like money, divides us. Where as music, like trading products and services with each other, unites us!
@scott4 Hank certainly had the blues when he wrote and sang this! But, no, it’s not a 12-bar blues. It’s considered a country song (by the genre-makers. )
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Can a country tune like this one also be classified a a blues tune? Sure has that slow sad ring to it. The lyrics seem like it could not be anything but both. I have always like it and other H Williams music so I play what I enjoy but I need a bit more knowledge of what I play. But not much as it all about fun a occasional make progress. I am better than I was six months and even better than a year ago. As long as the slope is positive I am happy happy happy.