Big Maceo Merriweather (March 31, 1905 - February 23, 1953) was a blues pia… Read Full Bio ↴Big Maceo Merriweather (March 31, 1905 - February 23, 1953) was a blues pianist and singer active in Chicago in the 1940s.

Born Major Merriweather (or Merewether) in Atlanta, Georgia, he was a self-taught pianist. In the 1920s he moved to Detroit, Michigan and began playing parties and clubs. In 1941, a desire to record led him to Chicago where he met and befriended Tampa Red. Red introduced him to Lester Melrose of Bluebird Records, who signed him to a recording contract.

His first record was "Worried Life Blues" (1941), which promptly became a blues hit and remained his signature piece. Other classic piano blues recordings such as "Chicago Breakdown", "Texas Stomp", and "Detroit Jump" followed. His piano style developed from players like Leroy Carr and Roosevelt Sykes, as well as from the Boogie-woogie style of Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons. He in turn influenced other musicians like Henry Gray, who credits Merriweather to helping him launch his career as a blues pianist.

His career was cut short in 1946 by a stroke. Poor health and a lifetime of heavy drinking eventually led to a fatal heart attack. He died on 23 February 1953 in Chicago.

However, he was an influential blues piano players of the 1940s and his style had an impact on practically every post World War II blues pianist of note. His most famous song, "Worried Life Blues" is a staple of the blues repertoire, with artists such as Eric Clapton featuring it regularly in concert. Big Maceo's "Worried Life Blues" was in the first batch of songs inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame "Classic Blues Recordings - Singles or Albums Tracks" along side "Stormy Monday," 'Sweet Home Chicago," "Dust My Broom," and "Hellhound On My Trail."

His sparse recordings for Bluebird were released in a double LP set as Chicago Breakdown, in 1975. They have since been reissued on a variety of labels.

In 2002 he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

On Wikipedia: Big Maceo Merriweather

Big Maceo Merriweather is also on Last.fm as Big Maceo.

Bye Bye Baby
Big Maceo Merriweather Lyrics

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Bye Bye Baby 2:55 Trk 10
(M. Merriweather)
Big Maceo
Big Maceo - vocals & piano
w/Tampa Red - guitar, Alfred Elkins - im. bass
Recorded: Friday Dec. 15, 1941
Chicago, ILL. RCA Studio A
Album: Bluebird Recordings Big Maceo 1941-1942

RCA #66715-2

My baby treat me so mean
I don't know right from wrong
My baby treat me so mean
I don't know right from wrong
I'm here, today
But tomorrow I may be gone

I had so much trouble
Until I don't know what to do
I had so much trouble

Until I don't know what to do
The way you treat me, baby
Is comin' home to you

Because I'm dogged around
Baby, and drivin' from do' to do'
Yeah-ay
Baby, an driven from do' to do'
But I raise my hand
I won't be dogged no mo'

'Now boy, let's get this thing'

(slow piano boogie & guitar)

So good-bye, baby
Yes, I'm leavin', now
So, bye-bye, baby
Babe, I'm leavin' now
Because you done me
Me, no good, now how.

Overall Meaning

In the song "Bye Bye Baby," Big Maceo Merriweather is lamenting the mistreatment he has received from his baby. He explains how she treats him meanly, leaving him confused about what is right and wrong. Maceo is filled with so much trouble that he doesn't know what to do. He compares the way his baby treats him to the consequences of the mistreatment, which are reflected back to her. Even though he has been dogged around and driven from door to door, he decides to take control of his life and establish boundaries. He is saying goodbye to his baby; he has had enough.

In "Bye Bye Baby," Big Maceo Merriweather uses the blues to express his emotions effectively. The song's slow piano boogie and guitar enhance its melancholic tone. The song was recorded during a blues revival in the 1940s, a period when many African-American blues artists found mainstream success. The song features Tampa Red on the guitar, Alfred Elkins on the bass, and Big Maceo on the piano and lead vocals. "Bye Bye Baby" is a classic blues piece that captures the essence of the genre's early days.

Line by Line Meaning

My baby treat me so mean
My significant other is so unkind to me

I don't know right from wrong
I'm confused about proper behavior

I'm here, today
I am currently present

But tomorrow I may be gone
But tomorrow I may have disappeared

I had so much trouble
I experienced a great deal of difficulty

Until I don't know what to do
Until I felt uncertain about my actions

The way you treat me, baby
The manner in which you treat me, my darling

Is comin' home to you
Will eventually come back to you

Because I'm dogged around
Because I'm constantly being belittled and mistreated

Baby, and drivin' from do' to do'
Darling, roaming from house to house

But I raise my hand
But I'll put an end to this