The band’s disagreement over which version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” to record symbolizes the tension in the play surrounding power and creative control. Levee wants to record his own arrangement of the song, which he insists is more “exciting” and modern than Ma’s traditional style. Ma, however, insists that because she’s the leader of the band, she doesn’t have to take Levee’s artistic opinions into consideration. The rest of the band follows whatever Ma says, frustrating Levee with their attempts to show him that Ma—and only Ma—has the power to make decisions about how the music ought to be played. To complicate things, though, Levee tries to circumvent Ma’s authority by appealing to the white studio executives, who agree that the song would be better if the band played it Levee’s way. Because there’s so much disagreement over how to play “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the song itself comes to represent the inherent difficulties of creative collaboration, highlighting how different artistic visions can lead to messy power struggles.
The Song (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) Quotes in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
LEVEE: See, I told you! It don’t mean nothing when I say it. You got to wait for Mr. Irvin to say it. Well, I told you the way it is.
CUTLER: Levee, the sooner you understand it ain’t what you say, or what Mr. Irvin say...it’s what Ma say that counts.
SLOW DRAG: Don’t nobody say when it come to Ma. She’s gonna do what she wants to do. Ma says what happens with her.
LEVEE: Hell, the man’s the one putting out the record! He’s gonna put out what he wanna put out!
SLOW DRAG: He’s gonna put out what Ma want him to put out
TOLEDO: See, now...I’ll tell you something. As long as the colored man look to white folks to put the crown on what he say...as long as he looks to white folks for approval...then he ain’t never gonna find out who he is and what he’s about. He’s just gonna be about what white folks want him to be about. That’s one sure thing.
IRVIN: Ma, that’s what the people want now. They want something they can dance to. Times are changing. Levee’s arrangement gives the people what they want. It gets them excited…makes them forget about their troubles.
MA RAINEY: I don’t care what you say, Irvin. Levee ain’t messing up my song. If he got what the people want, let him take it somewhere else. I’m singing Ma Rainey’s song. I ain’t singing Levee’s song. Now that’s all there is to it.
MA RAINEY: I’m gonna tell you something, Irvin...and you go on up there and tell Sturdyvant. What you all say don’t count with me. You understand? Ma listens to her heart. Ma listens to the voice inside her. That’s what counts with Ma. Now, you carry my nephew on down there...tell Cutler he’s gonna do the voice intro on that “Black Bottom” song and that Levee ain’t messing up my song with none of his music shit. Now, if that don’t set right with you and Sturdyvant...then I can carry my black bottom on back down South to my tour, ‘cause I don’t like it up here no ways.
The Song (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) Symbol Timeline in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
