First things first...
This Icon will appear on every page and will bring you back here.
It is to help you move easily through this site. This icon is also in place to assure
that you do
not fall through the net, that is miss anything.
This Tool Bar will appear on most pages to ensure an ease of mobility. The italicized links are the song titles and link to the Lyrics page of that particular song. The "Statement of Purpose" link takes you back to the "Statement of Purpose" page. The "Biography" bar links you to Bessie Smith's Biographical Information and the "Bibliography" bar links you to a comprehensive list of sources and places to go from here.
This Icon will appear at the bottom of each Lyrics page. If your terminal will support this medium, it links to an audio version of a portion of the song whose Lyrics Page you are viewing. These files are each roughly 1-1.5 mega bytes and are "Sun.au" files. They are all between 45 seconds and a hair over a minute long.
This Icon will appear on every page next to the HOW TO Icon. It links back to my home page, just in case at any point you would like to exit this site.
The way this site is set up, from the Table of Contents you, the active viewer, have 5 intial choices:
The first 2 choices are relatively simple, you can link to the Biography page for the biographical information of Bessie Smith, and/or you can link to the Bibliography page for full source citations. Once at these pages you have the choices presented by the "tool bar," as well as the "how to"/"homepage" icons.
The other 3 initial choices are Lyrics pages of three songs released by Bessie Smith in 1923. Down-Hearted Blues, Jailhouse Blues, and 'Taint Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do. These three pages work in identical fashion to one another.
The Lyrics to the song you choose will appear on the screen. In the body of these Lyrics are links to "Special Topics" pages, like Domestic Violence and The Politics of Sex, 1923, etc. These Special Topics pages will present a concise analysis.
From these Special Topics pages you have the choice to move on to more detailed information sources and/or to link to places in the other two songs where this specific special topic appears. You also have the option to go back to the Lyrics page of the song from where you originally entered, as well as the "how to"/"homepage" icons in the case that you are lost or confused.
If you decide to move on to the "Detailed Information Sources," you are presented with only two further choices, (aside from the "how to"/"homepage" icons.) You can either go back to the Special Topics page from where you entered, and/or you can link to the Bibliography page for the full citation of the source.
Once back at the Lyrics pages, beneath the body of the lyrics is a link to the sheet music for that particular song. The "Sheet Music" links are circular in that they bring you right back to where you started, the Lyrics page. If your machine supports the medium, the "sound" icon is also at the bottom of each Lyrics page. By clicking on this Icon you can hear approximately a minute of the song whose Lyrics page you are currently at.
Once again, the tool bar and "how to"/"homepage" icons will appear on the bottom of all 3 Lyrics pages. Please Enjoy Yourself