His nickname came from the fact that he was a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of Bob show him playing his guitar while wearing a full length white apron and cook's hat.
He and his brother, Charlie Hicks, together with Curley Weaver, were taught how to play the guitar by Curley's mother, Savannah "Dip" Weaver. Bob began playing the 6-string guitar but picked up the 12-string guitar after moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 1923–1924. He became one of the prominent performers of the newly developing early Atlanta blues style.
In Atlanta, Hicks worked a variety of jobs, playing music on the side. While working at Tidwells' Barbecue in a north Atlanta suburb, Hicks came to the attention of Columbia Records talent scout Dan Hornsby. Hornsby recorded him and decided to use Hicks's job as a gimmick, having him pose in chef's whites and hat for publicity photos and dubbing him "Barbecue Bob".
During his short career he recorded 68 78-rpm sides. He recorded his first side, "Barbecue Blues", in March 1927. The record quickly sold 15,000 copies and made him the best selling artist for Columbia up to that date. Despite this initial success, it was not until his second recording session, in New York during June 1927, that he firmly established himself on the race market. At this session he recorded "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues", a song inspired by the major floods taking place in Mississippi at that time. This song, as well as his other blues releases, gained considerable popularity, and his records sold much better than those of other local blues musicians.
The two part duet with crosstalk, "It Won't Be Long Now" was recorded with his brother Charlie (a/k/a Charlie Lincoln, or Laughing Charlie) in Atlanta on November 5, 1927. In April 1928 Bob recorded two sides with the female vocalist Nellie Florence, whom he had known since childhood, and also produced "Mississippi Low Levee Blues", a sequel to "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues". In April 1930, he recorded "We Sure Got Hard Times Now", which contains bleak references to the early effects of The Depression. Although Barbecue Bob remained predominantly a blues musician, he also recorded a few traditional and spiritual songs including "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Poor Boy, Long Ways from Home" and "Jesus' Blood Can Make Me Whole".
Barbecue Bob also recorded as a member of The Georgia Cotton Pickers in December 1930, a group that included guitarist Curley Weaver and harmonica player Buddy Moss. As a group they recorded a handful of sides including their own adaptation of Blind Blake's "Diddie Wa Diddie" (recorded as "Diddle-Da-Diddle") and the Mississippi Sheiks' "Sitting on Top of the World" (recorded as "I'm On My Way Down Home"). These were the last recordings that Bob recorded.
He died in Lithonia, Georgia, of a combination of tuberculosis and pneumonia brought on by influenza, at the age of 29, on October 21, 1931. His recording of "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" (about the 1927 flood) was apparently played at his graveside before burial.
Bob developed a "flailing" or "frailing" style of playing guitar more often associated with the traditional clawhammer banjo (as did his brother, and, initially, Curley Weaver). He used a bottleneck regularly on his 12-string guitar, playing in an elemental style that relied on an open Spanish tuning reminiscent of Charley Patton. He had a strong voice that he embellished with growling and falsetto, and a percussive singing style.
Bob had some influence on Atlanta blues musicians such as the young Buddy Moss (who played harmonica with him on The Georgia Cotton Pickers recordings), but his way of playing was quickly overshadowed by the finger-picked Piedmont blues style that rose in popularity by the late 1920s/early 30s as can be heard in the development of the recordings of Curley Weaver.
Bob's elder brother, Charley, also played blues and was recorded by Columbia under the name "Laughing" Charley Lincoln. However, he never received the same acclaim as his brother.
Robert Hicks was an extrovert young man of 24 when Columbia's Dan Hornsby arranged his first recording session in March 1927, and had only moved into Atlanta from the countryside a few years before. When he recorded He had learned guitar, along with their friend Curley Weaver, from Curley's mother; all three played in a similar style, favouring the big, booming sound of the 12-string guitar, and relishing the contrast of pulsing bass riffs with the whine of a bottleneck on the treble strings. Barbecue Blues was a good seller, but it was at his second session, in New York in June 1927, that Bob firmly established himself with black record buyers, and thus with Columbia; Mississippi Heavy Water Blues, inspired by the catastrophic floods that had occurred that very month, was a considerable seller, and as a result Robert became Atlanta's most-recorded blues singer of the 20s. It was probably his success that persuaded Columbia to record both his brother Charlie and, in 1928, Curley Weaver.
From the first, Barbecue Bob's music was instantly recognisable, both for the characteristic guitar style and for his warm, nasal singing voice. He could sound fiercely involved with his material, as on Barbecue Blues, ironically detached, as he did when performing Mama You Don't Suit Me!, or crushed by rejection, alike on Crooked Woman Blues and the traditionally based How Long Pretty Mama. The two-part It Won't Be Long Now, in crosstalk and duet with Charlie, is probably an example of the kind of material Robert performed on the medicine show with which he is known to have visited the small town of Waycross, in southwest Georgia, about which he made up a blues.
Barbecue Bob's lyrics are remarkable for their blending of traditional formulae with a wry originality that is all his own. He was well acquainted with traditional songs; the content of Barbecue Blues and Motherless Chile Blues is almost proverbial, and the session where he cut versions of two well-known gospel songs also produced Easy Rider Don't You Deny My Name and a stunning account of Poor Boy A Long Ways From Home. Barbecue Bob rapidly impressed himself on his fans' minds as sharp, clever and original.
Mississippi Heavy Water Blues
Barbecue Bob Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looking for my sweet mama but she ain't here no more,
Thats why Im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
And im crying "how long for another pay day",
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
Im sitting here looking, at all of this mud,
And my girl got washed away in that Mississippi flood,
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
I hope she come back, some day kind and true,
Ain't no one satisfy her like her sweet papa do,
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
I think I heard a moan, on the Arkansas side,
Crying how long before sweet mama arrive,
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
Im in Mississippi, with mud all in my shoes,
My girl in louisiana with those high water blues,
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
Spoken: Lord send me a sweet mama
Got plenty of muddy water, dont need no water cold,
I need some sweet mama to send me daddy love,
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
Nothing but muddy water, as far as I could see,
I need some sweet mama, come shake that thing with me,
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
Listen here you men, one more thing I'd like to say,
Ain't no womens out here, for they all got washed away
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
Lord, Lord, Lord,
Mississippi shakin',
Louisiana sinkin',
The whole towns a shrinkin',
Robert Hicks is Singin',
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
//I took these lyrics directly from the song, if there are any errors post a comment.
In Barbecue Bob's song "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues," the singer expresses a sense of loss and despair as result of the devastating floods that ravaged the Mississippi River region in the early 20th century. He begins by walking along the levee, searching for his "sweet mama," only to realize that she is gone. The repeated refrain of "Mississippi heavy water blues" serves as a lament for the destruction and hardship caused by the floods.
The singer's grief is amplified by the loss of his home, his girl, and his desire for another pay day. He hopes that his girl will return to him someday, acknowledging that no one can satisfy her like her "sweet papa." The floods have forced him to face the devastation around him and the scarcity of resources, conveying the need for a "sweet mama" to care for and comfort him. In the final verse, the singer acknowledges the fact that the floods have taken a toll on everyone, leaving a shortage of women for the men of the region.
Overall, "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" offers a powerful and poignant portrayal of the struggles faced by those affected by the floods. The singer's sense of loss and despair is conveyed through emotive language and a mournful melody.
Line by Line Meaning
I was walking down the Levee with my head hanging low,
I was walking down the levee with a heavy heart and feeling down.
Looking for my sweet mama but she ain't here no more,
I'm searching for my lost love, but she's gone forever.
Thats why Im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
My sadness is overwhelming, and the floods only make it worse.
Lord, Lord, Lord, Im so blue, my house got washed away,
I'm feeling very sad - my home has been destroyed by the flooding.
And im crying "how long for another pay day",
I'm worried about my financial future and when I'll be able to earn money again.
Im sitting here looking, at all of this mud,
I'm taking in the devastation of the floodwaters and feeling overwhelmed.
And my girl got washed away in that Mississippi flood,
My love has been taken by the floodwaters and lost forever.
I hope she come back, some day kind and true,
I remain hopeful that my love will one day return to me, still kind and faithful.
Ain't no one satisfy her like her sweet papa do,
I know that I was the only one who could truly make her happy.
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
Even as I try to find hope and humor in the situation, my sadness still weighs me down.
I think I heard a moan, on the Arkansas side,
I thought I heard a cry of pain and sorrow coming from the state of Arkansas.
Crying how long before sweet mama arrive,
They were calling out for their lost loves, just like I was.
Im in Mississippi, with mud all in my shoes,
I'm stuck in Mississippi, with nowhere to go and my feet full of mud.
My girl in louisiana with those high water blues,
My love is in Louisiana, with the same flooding problems I'm facing.
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
My sadness only grows as I see the depth of the destruction around me.
Got plenty of muddy water, dont need no water cold,
I have more than enough of muddy water - I don't want any more trouble coming my way.
I need some sweet mama to send me daddy love,
I require the love, care, and attention of a good partner to get through this hard time.
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
My need for a loving partner intensifies as the destruction continues around me.
Nothing but muddy water, as far as I could see,
The floodwaters seem endless in all directions.
I need some sweet mama, come shake that thing with me,
I crave a partner who is both loving and fun - someone who can dance with me and help me forget my troubles.
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
My need for my lost love, and for any love in this dire situation only grows stronger.
Listen here you men, one more thing I'd like to say,
I have a message for the other men in this situation.
Ain't no womens out here, for they all got washed away
There are no women left here, because they've all been lost to the floods.
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
My loneliness and isolation only grow more severe as I realize I'm the only one left without love.
Lord, Lord, Lord,
A repeated expression of longing, anguish, and desperation.
Mississippi shakin',
A reference to the devastation being caused by the floods.
Louisiana sinkin',
Another reference to the dangerous flooding throughout the region.
The whole towns a shrinkin',
An observation that the population of the area is shrinking as people are forced to abandon their homes and belongings.
Robert Hicks is Singin',
A reference to Barbecue Bob himself, who is using his music to express the pain and sadness he feels.
Thats why im crying Mississippi heavy water blues.
The floods and loss of love are the central themes of this song, and they are the source of the singer's deepest sorrow.
Contributed by Liam M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mr. Lamar
Wicked powerful