Otis Blue is composed mainly of cover versions of contemporary R&B hits, covering themes from the blues and love ballads, among others. Three of the LP's eleven songs were written by Redding, and three others were written by fellow soul singer Sam Cooke, who had died several months before the album was made. Except for one track, Otis Blue was recorded in the span of 24 hours from July 9 to 10, 1965, at the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee. As with Redding's previous records, he was backed by the Stax house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a horn section featuring members of The Mar-Keys and The Memphis Horns, and pianist Isaac Hayes, providing a rhythmic Southern soul accompaniment for the singer's exuberant and forceful performances.
Otis Blue was a crossover success for Redding and proved one of his best-selling LPs with more than 250,000 copies sold. It was his first to top the US R&B LPs chart and also reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart, while three of its singles became top 40 hits: the Redding original "I've Been Loving You Too Long", the Rolling Stones cover "Satisfaction", and "Respect" (later repopularized by Aretha Franklin). Released at the beginning of the album era, Otis Blue is considered by critics to be Redding's first fully realized LP and the definitive soul album of its period. It ranks frequently and highly on professional listings of the best albums, including Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (at number 78) and Time magazine's "All-Time 100 Greatest Albums" (at number 92). A two-disc collector's edition of Otis Blue was released in 2008 by Rhino Records.
Ole Man Trouble
Otis Redding Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Go find you someone else to pick on
I live my live and now you see now
Ole man trouble
Please stay away from me, oh now
Ooo oh yeah,
Yeah
Oh I look like I'm down in my luck
Please send faith to just help pick me up
I've lived this way for so many years, ah ah
Ole man trouble
Please wash away all my fears, oh now
God almighty, help me
Sometimes
Sometime I get I get a little worried
Ole man trouble
Please
Please
Stay away from me
Ole man trouble, ole man trouble, oh na, oh na na na
Stay away, stay away
You cause nothing but trouble
Just stay away, stay away
Just stay away, nothin' nothin' nothin' but trouble
Please, old man trouble, leave me alone
In Otis Redding’s song “Ole Man Trouble,” the artist addresses his struggles, particularly with an unnamed force that he labels “Ole Man Trouble.” In the opening lines, Otis pleads with the trouble-causing entity to leave him alone, suggesting that he should go find someone else to burden. Otis asserts that he is living his life, prompt Ole Man Trouble, in the chorus, to stay away from him. However, Otis believes that he looks like he is down on his luck, and thus he begs for faith to pick him up. Otis has lived with the trouble “for so many years,” and he appears anxious for it to go away. Thus, he pleads with God Almighty to help him overcome his struggles.
In the second verse, Otis specifically addresses Ole Man Trouble, telling it to stay away from him. His worry is clear in his voice, and he begs several times for the force to leave him alone. In the repeated chorus, Otis continues his plea for the entity to stay away, emphasizing that it causes him nothing but trouble. The powerful, soulful voice of Otis reflects the depth of his struggle, which he vaguely defines as being caused by Ole Man Trouble. It is open-ended so listeners can relate to their own conflicts and struggles which are personified as an entity in the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Ole man trouble leave me alone
Please, old man trouble, stay away from me
Go find you someone else to pick on
Don't bother me, go bother someone else
I live my live and now you see now
I've been through enough, leave me alone
Ole man trouble Please stay away from me, oh now
I'm tired of your problems, stay away from me
Oh I look like I'm down in my luck
I may look like I'm struggling, but I'm doing my best
Please send faith to just help pick me up
I need some hope to keep me going
I've lived this way for so many years, ah ah Ole man trouble Please wash away all my fears, oh now
I've been dealing with your troubles for too long, please give me some peace
God almighty, help me
I need divine intervention to get me through this
Sometimes Sometime I get I get a little worried Ole man trouble Please Please
I get anxious about your problems, so please leave me alone
Stay away from me Ole man trouble, ole man trouble, oh na, oh na na na
I don't want your problems, I need you to stay away from me
Stay away, stay away You cause nothing but trouble
You bring nothing but problems, so stay away from me
Just stay away, stay away Just stay away, nothin' nothin' nothin' but trouble Please, old man trouble, leave me alone
I'm done with your problems, please leave me alone
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OTIS REDDING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind