Her introduction to music, as with most fellow blues legends, started in the Baptist church. The daughter of a minister, she and her six siblings began to sing at a very early age. While still a child, Willie Mae taught herself to play the drums and harmonica, and by the age of 14, she had run away from home to make her career in secular music.
She joined Sammy Green's "Hot Harlem Revue" and toured throughout the South in the 1940's, first beginning her musical career in 1947. While touring Texas in 1948, Thornton left the Revue in favor of the state's growing club scene, which she immersed herself in. It was during this time that she was discovered by Don Robey, a black entrepreneur who owned several clubs and record stores in the Houston, TX area. Impressed by her massive size (6 ft, 350+ lb),formidable multi-instrument abilities, and fiery stage presence, Robey signed her to his Peacock Records label, where he began the task of translating the forceful belter's energy onto record.
Her big hit came, not from Robey's capable pen, but from the young songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was "Hound Dog," which she recorded in 1952 with the Johnny Otis band and released in February 1953. Big Mama Thornton always claimed to have written the song herself (a claim which may actually hold some validity), and her ferocious rendition of it ( complete with Big Mama's growl and a nasty guitar line by Pete Lewis) held the #1 spot in the Billboard rhythm and blues charts for nine weeks. Unfortunately for Thornton, Elvis Presley's smoother and bowdlerized version was a major pop hit in 1956 and successfully eclipsed her biggest claim to fame.
Thornton continued to tour the "chitlin' circuit" as fans began to favour newer R&B sounds over blues. For some years, Big Mama suffered in obscurity like most of her fellow bluesmen. Her name gained wider prominence and her career enjoyed a significant resurgence as her song "Ball and Chain" was covered by Janis Joplin, making it a regular number in her repertoire. From that point onward, Thornton would remain a headliner at blues festivals, colleges, and clubs throughout the country and even in Europe. She began recording again, and released albums for the Arhoolie, Mercury, and Vanguard labels. Years of hard drinking and living began to take their toll, however, and by the late 1970s her health (and her trademark girth) had declined greatly. She nevertheless performed until her death at the age of 57 on July 25, 1984 in Los Angeles, where she was found dead from natural causes in the boarding house room in which she had been living. Johnny Otis conducted her funeral services, and she was laid to rest in Inglewood Park Cemetery.
Ball And Chain
Big Mama Thornton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, looking at the rain.
S-sitting down by my window now now,
All around I felt it,
All I could see was the rain.
Something grabbed a hold of me, honey,
Felt to me honey like, lord, a ball and chain.
Yeah! hey! you know what I mean,
You cant hold it tomorrow.
Say, whoa, whoa, honey, it cant be
Just because I got to want your love
Please please please please, whoa please, please.
Whoa, honey it cant be
Just because I got to need you daddy.
Please don't you let me down, no, please, lord!
Here you gone today, but I wanted to love you,
I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die,
Till the day, till the day,
Yeah! hey! hey! all right!
Say, whoa, whoa, honey this cant be
Not anything I ever wanted from you daddy
Tell me now, now, now, now, oh, tell me now, yeah.
I say, whoa, whoa, honey this cant be
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, yeah yeah, hey!
And I want someone that could tell me, tell me why
Just because I got to want your love
Honey, just because I got to need, need, need your love
I said I don't understand, honey, but I wanna chance to try
Try, try, try, try try try try
Honey when everybody in the world wants the same damn thing
When everybody in the world will need the same lonely thing
When I wanna work for your love, daddy.
When I wanna try for your love, daddy.
I don't understand how come you're gone, man. I don't understand why half the
World is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still
Crying too, man, I cant get it together. I
If you got a cat for one day, man I mean, if you, say, say, if you want a
Cat for 365 days, right you ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one
Day, man. well I tell you that one da
N, better be your life, man. because, you know, you can say, oh man, you
Can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man,
And that's all you've got. you gotta call that man.
That's what it is, man. if you got it today you don't want it
Tomorrow, man, cause you don't need it, cause as a matter of fact, as we
Discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, m
Ts all the same fucking day, man.
So you gotta, when you wanna hold a sigh,
You gotta hold him like its the last minute in your life, baby.
You gotta hold, whoa, whoa, hold him
'Cause someday some weights gonna come on your shoulders, babe,
Its gonna feel too heavy, its gonna weigh on you,
Its gonna feel just like a ball, ball, ball, oh daddy,
And a chain.
The lyrics of Big Mama Thornton's "Ball n' Chain" is all about longing and the weight of a relationship. Right from the beginning of the song, we see the singer sitting by the window looking at the rain, contemplating her life. She feels hopeless and trapped in her situation. She then speaks about something that has taken hold of her, and it feels like a ball and chain. This can be taken as representing the weight of her relationship or the baggage she is carrying. She is aware of the burden but is unable to break free of it.
The singer then pleads with her lover, not to let her down and tell her why she feels the way she does towards him. She wants to understand the reason behind the longing and the pain in her heart. At the end of the song, she draws a parallel between holding onto love and holding onto life. She stresses how crucial it is that one holds onto love like it's the last minute of their life. The lyrics suggest that every day counts, and relationships should be held as precious.
Line by Line Meaning
S-sitting down by my window,
I was sitting by my window, looking outside.
Oh, looking at the rain.
I was watching the rain fall.
S-sitting down by my window now now,
I'm still sitting by my window.
All around I felt it,
I could feel something all around me.
All I could see was the rain.
All I could see was the rain coming down.
Something grabbed a hold of me, honey,
Something got a hold of me.
Felt to me honey like, lord, a ball and chain.
It felt heavy, like a ball and chain.
Yeah! hey! you know what I mean,
You know what I'm talking about.
But its way too heavy for you,
It's heavier than you can handle.
You cant hold it tomorrow.
You won't be able to hold it tomorrow.
Say, whoa, whoa, honey, it cant be
I'm saying, it can't be true.
Just because I got to want your love
Just because I want your love.
Please please please please, whoa please, please.
Please, please, please.
Whoa, honey it cant be
It can't be true.
Just because I got to need you daddy.
Just because I need you.
Please don't you let me down, no, please, lord!
Please don't disappoint me.
Here you gone today, but I wanted to love you,
You left today, but I wanted to love you.
I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die,
I wanted to hold you forever.
Till the day, till the day,
Forever.
Yeah! hey! hey! all right!
Yeah, everything's alright!
Say, whoa, whoa, honey this cant be
I'm saying, it can't be true.
Not anything I ever wanted from you daddy
This is not what I wanted from you.
Tell me now, now, now, now, oh, tell me now, yeah.
Please tell me now.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, yeah yeah, hey!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
And I want someone that could tell me, tell me why
I want someone to explain why.
Honey, just because I got to need, need, need your love
I need your love, that's all.
I said I don't understand, honey, but I wanna chance to try
I don't get it, but I want to try.
Try, try, try, try try try try
I want to keep trying.
Honey when everybody in the world wants the same damn thing
Everybody wants the same thing.
When everybody in the world will need the same lonely thing
Everybody needs the same thing.
When I wanna work for your love, daddy.
When I want to earn your love.
I don't understand how come you're gone, man.
I don't understand why you left.
I don't understand why half the World is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still Crying too, man, I cant get it together.
I don't understand why people are still sad.
If you got a cat for one day, man I mean, if you, say, say, if you want a Cat for 365 days, right you ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one Day, man.
If you have a cat for one day, that's all you have.
Well I tell you that one day better be your life, man.
Make that one day count, make it your life.
Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you Can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, And that's all you've got. you gotta call that man.
You can cry about the other days, but that one day is important.
That's what it is, man. if you got it today you don't want it Tomorrow, man, cause you don't need it, cause as a matter of fact, as we Discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, Mts all the same fucking day, man.
You don't want it tomorrow because tomorrow might not come.
So you gotta, when you wanna hold a sigh,
You have to cherish what you have.
You gotta hold him like its the last minute in your life, baby.
Hold on tightly like it's the last moment.
You gotta hold, whoa, whoa, hold him
You have to hold on tight.
'Cause someday some weights gonna come on your shoulders, babe,
Because one day you might face something heavy.
Its gonna feel too heavy, its gonna weigh on you,
It's going to be too much for you.
Its gonna feel just like a ball, ball, ball, oh daddy,
It will feel heavy, like a ball and chain.
And a chain.
And you'll feel chained to it.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Willie Mae Thornton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheFoolintherainn
@@Pulsonar yep. That's what I'm trying to get across. Why you're not hearing Mama Thornton's original recording of this in the USA
And that's why singers like Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, The Stones, even Willie Nelson were important in bringing this music to the general public
If you go to Europe, you can still see & hear their influence. That's where the music is now. Not North America
One of my favorite videos and footage of Janis is when she's in Frankfurt, those kids didn't know how to dance - very depressed culture. Germany 25 years after world war II ended
She brings them up on stage and shows them how it's done. And there's more footage of his Frankfurt concert
-enjoy!
https://youtu.be/I2x1yo8Ztdw?feature=shared
@smokinjz
Sitting down by my window
Honey, looking out at the rain
Sitting down by my window, looking out at the rain
All around that I felt it
All I can see was the rain
Something grabbed a hold of me
Feel to me, oh, like a ball and chain
Hey, you know what I mean that's exactly what it felt like
But that's way too heavy for you, you can't hold them all
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, oh, that cannot be
Just because I got oh, your love, please
Why does every
Oh, this can't be just because I got to need you, daddy
Please don't you knock it down now, please
Here you've gone today
What I wanted to love you and I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die
Yes, I did, yes, I did, yeah, hey, hey, alright
Say, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey
This can't be anything I've ever wanted from your daddy tell me now
Oh, tell me, baby
Oh, say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey
This can't be, no, no, no, no, no
Yeah, yeah
I hope there's someone out there who could tell me
Tell me why just because I got to want your love
Honey, just because I got to need, need, need, need your love
I said I understand
Honey, what I'm wanna trying to say hi
Trying, try, try, try, try, try, try
Honey, everybody in the world, also same, baby
When everybody in the world what needs, seem lonely
What I wanted work for your love, daddy
What I wanted trust your love, daddy
I din't understand how come you're gone
I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man
And the other half of the world is still crying too, man
I can't get it together
I mean if you go to ? Oneday, man
I mean, so baby, you want ? Three and sixty five days, right
You ain't gonna within sixty five days, you gonna for one day, man
I tell you, that one day, man, better be your life, man
Because you know, you can stay oh man, you can cry about the other three and sixty four, man I said whoa, whoa, whoa
But you gonna lose that one day, man
That's all you got, you got to call it love, man
That's what it is, man
If you got today, you don't worry about tomorrow, man
Because you don't need it
Because the matter of the fact, as we discovered tat's rain, tomorrow never happens, man
It's all the same fucking day, man
So you gotta when you want to hold someone
You gotta hold them like it's the last minutes of your life
You gotta hold, hold, hold and I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now babe, tell me why
Hold, baby, 'cause some come on your shoulder, baby
It's gonna feel too heavy, it's gonna weigh on you why does every thing, every thing
It's gonna feel just like a ball
Oh, daddy and a chain
@Pulsonar
Janis made her name with a stunning performance of this song at Monterey 1967. I hear Big Mama singing this for the first time and it’s like Ive been born again. I’m left wondering how on earth did Big Mama not earn the recognition she clearly deserved?
@natef1212
race
@edsonfrancisco9042
Destruidor ou construtor de carreiras : mídia, indústria, imprensa, pode crer!!!
@TheFoolintherainn
Black female singers actually had to go to Europe to get venues. They became popular in the USA because Americans wanted everything French from food to fashion to music.
They had to go overseas to get recognition in order to get venues within their own country.
Yep.
@Pulsonar
@@TheFoolintherainn Yep, I don't doubt it, not just the women like Big Mama, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, but men too like Paul Robeson, Jimi Hendrix, and legions of black entertainers, like Howlin Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, ..., the English loved them all. The famous 1920s dancer Josephine Baker and legendary singer Paul Robeson were amongst the first to try the foreign soil path to fame and recognition in the 1920s and 1930s for other talented black artists to follow. They got famous outside the US before Americans even knew who they were, its a damned shame how back then talented black folks needed to get praised on foreign soil before white America started taking them seriously on their own soil.
@TheFoolintherainn
@@Pulsonar yep. That's what I'm trying to get across. Why you're not hearing Mama Thornton's original recording of this in the USA
And that's why singers like Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, The Stones, even Willie Nelson were important in bringing this music to the general public
If you go to Europe, you can still see & hear their influence. That's where the music is now. Not North America
One of my favorite videos and footage of Janis is when she's in Frankfurt, those kids didn't know how to dance - very depressed culture. Germany 25 years after world war II ended
She brings them up on stage and shows them how it's done. And there's more footage of his Frankfurt concert
-enjoy!
https://youtu.be/I2x1yo8Ztdw?feature=shared
@johnthehuman2740
i don't have to pick between Janis and Big Mama, I can love 'em both.
@user-io5fq3jv8q
Janis loved Big Mama and took her chance to do her own version. She helped bring fame to Big Mama again.
@um22w22
*************** pretty sure Janis got paid more fairly than Big Mama. Read about the withheld royalties of this unreleased version until Joplin sang it. Broke my heart.
@willieclark1967
I love them both