Joseph Amos Milburn, Jr., one of thirteen children, was playing tunes on the piano by the age of five years. He enlisted in the United States Navy when he was fifteen and earned thirteen battle stars in the Philippines, before returning to Houston and organizing a sixteen-piece band playing in Houston clubs and was Managed by William & Geneva Church. Milburn participated with the Houston jazz and blues musicians. He was a polished pianist and performer and during 1946 attracted the attention of a woman who arranged a recording session with Aladdin Records in Los Angeles, California. Milburn's relationship with Aladdin lasted eight years during which he produced more than 75 sides. His cover version of "Down the Road a Piece" (1946) was a blues song with a Texas boogie beat that was similar in many respects to rock music. However, none became popular until 1949 when seven of his singles got the attention of the R&B audience. "Hold Me Baby" and "Chicken Shack Boogie" landed numbers eight and nine on Billboard's survey of 1949's R&B Bestsellers. He became one of the main performers associated with the Central Avenue music scene in Los Angeles. He was also a popular touring artist, and won awards from both Down Beat magazine (Best Blues and Jazz Star) and Billboard magazine (Top R&B Artist). Among his best-known songs was "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer". During 1950 Milburn's "Bad, Bad, Whiskey" scored the top of the R&B record chart and began a series of drinking songs (none written by Milburn, but several composed by Rudy Toombs). However, there is not any evidence that Milburn had an alcohol problem.
Milburn continued his successful drinking songs through 1952 ("Thinking and Drinking", "Trouble in Mind") and was by now touring the country playing clubs. While touring the Midwest that summer, he announced that he would disband his combo team and continue as a solo act and that autumn he joined Charles Brown for a Southern concert tour. For the next few years each of his tours was composed of a series of one-nighters. After three years of solo performing he returned to Houston during 1956 to reform his band. During 1957 Milburn's releases with Aladdin Records did not sell well, and the record label, having its own problems, terminated. He tried to regain commercial success with a few more releases with Ace Records but his time had passed. Radio airplay was emphasizing on the teenage market.
Milburn contributed to the R&B Yuletide canon twice. The first was in 1949, with "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby", on Aladdin Records, and then again during 1960 with "Christmas (Comes but Once a Year)" for King Records. The song appeared as the b-side of Brown's holiday classic "Please Come Home for Christmas".
Milburn's final recording was for an album by Johnny Otis. This was during 1972 after he had been incapacitated by a stroke, so much so that Otis had to play the left-hand piano parts for his enfeebled old friend. His second stroke resulted in amputation of a leg because of circulatory problems. He died soon after at the age of 52 years from a third stroke.
The Texan boogie-woogie pianist and singer was an important performer of blues music during the years immediately after World War II. Milburn was one of the first performers to switch from sophisticated jazz arrangements to a louder "jump" blues. He began to emphasize rhythm and technical qualities of voice and instrumentation second. His energetic songs, about getting "high", were admired by fellow musicians, such as Little Willie Littlefield, Floyd Dixon and his prime disciple, Fats Domino.
He was a commercial success for eleven years and influenced many performers. Fats Domino credited Milburn consistently as an influence on his music.
One commentator noted, "Milburn excelled at good-natured, upbeat romps about booze and partying, imbued with a vibrant sense of humour and double entendre, as well as vivid, down-home imagery in his lyrics."
Trouble in Mind
Amos Milburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bet you I won't be blue always
'Cause that ol' sun's gonna shine
On Jerry Lee Lewis's back door step someday
I'm gonna lay my head
On somebody's lonesome railroad line
Let that ol' midnight special
Well, they tell me that old graveyard
Is a mighty lonesome place
Lord they put you six feet under
Shovellin' mud directly in your face
Well, goodbye baby, may God bless you
And may He bless ol' Killer a little bit too
Oh, don't meet you over yonder, baby
When they throw that Jerry right over you
Troubled in mind, when I'm little blue
Bet you I won't be blue always
'Cause the sun's gonna shine
On, on my back door step
Some lowdown, lonesome, mother humpin' day
The song "Trouble In Mind" by blues singer Amos Milburn talks about feeling down and troubled, but having hope that things will get better. The lyrics express a sense of resignation to the hardship of life, but also a determination to persevere. Milburn sings that he is "troubled in mind" and "little blue", but he bets that he won't feel that way forever because eventually, the sun will shine on his back door step. This line seems to express his belief that there is always hope, even when things seem bleak.
To ease his troubled mind, Milburn says that he will lay his head on somebody's lonesome railroad line and let the "midnight special" (a train) take him away. He also alludes to the loneliness and finality of death, but wishes his loved ones well and hopes for a bit of blessing for himself and the rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis (whom he refers to as "Killer"). In the final verse, Milburn repeats the idea that he won't be "blue always" and that someday, the sun will shine on his back door step.
Overall, the song is a mix of sadness and hopefulness, expressing the common human experience of feeling down and struggling, but also holding onto the belief that things will get better eventually.
Line by Line Meaning
Troubled in mind, I'm little blue
Feeling unhappy and distressed
Bet you I won't be blue always
Expressing hope that the feeling won't last forever
'Cause that ol' sun's gonna shine
The singer is optimistic about the future
On Jerry Lee Lewis's back door step someday
Referring to a specific place where good things will happen
I'm gonna lay my head
The artist plans to rest
On somebody's lonesome railroad line
The place where the singer will rest is lonely
Let that ol' midnight special
The singer is referring to a train that runs at night
Ease my troubled mind
The train will help him feel better
Well, they tell me that old graveyard
A bleak location that people often talk about
Is a mighty lonesome place
A place where one feels very alone
Lord they put you six feet under
A reference to being buried after death
Shovellin' mud directly in your face
A vivid description of the burial process
Well, goodbye baby, may God bless you
The singer is saying goodbye and hoping for blessings
And may He bless ol' Killer a little bit too
The singer is also wishing for the sinners to receive blessings
Oh, don't meet you over yonder, baby
The singer doesn't want to meet his loved one in the afterlife (yet)
When they throw that Jerry right over you
A reference to the burial of Jerry Lee Lewis
Troubled in mind, when I'm little blue
Repeating the first line to emphasize the feeling of distress
Bet you I won't be blue always
Repeating the second line as a hopeful refrain
'Cause the sun's gonna shine
Repeating the third line to reinforce optimism
On, on my back door step
Repeating the fourth line as a hopeful reminder
Some lowdown, lonesome, mother humpin' day
Using colorful language to express the hope for a better future
Writer(s): Amos Milburn
Contributed by Isabelle B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.