Bix Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was a notable jazz cornet… Read Full Bio ↴Bix Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was a notable jazz cornet player.

It was widely believed, for many years, that Beiderbecke's real name was Leon Bismark Beiderbecke. It is now known that this — like so many other myths about Beiderbecke — is untrue. His real name was Leon Bix Beiderbecke. Bismark was a family name, reflecting the family's German origins, but it was not given to Beiderbecke. "Bix" was a family nickname of his father and older brother, given him as a proper name.
Leon Bix Beiderbecke was born in Davenport, Iowa to a middle-class family. As a teenager he would sneak off to the banks of the Mississippi to listen to the bands play on the riverboats that would come up from the south.

Partially due to frequent absences due to illness, Beiderbecke's grades suffered. His parents felt that sending him to the exclusive Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois, just northwest of Chicago, would provide the attention and discipline needed to improve his schooling.

Beiderbecke's schooling there soon suffered when the only subjects he showed avid interest in were music and sports. Bix soon began going into Chicago as often as possible to catch the hot jazz bands of the day at clubs and speakeasies around Chicago, and too often didn't return in time or was found out the next day.

Beiderbecke was soon asked to leave the Academy due to his academic failings and extra-curricular activities in Chicago, and began his musical career in earnest.

Beiderbecke first recorded with his band "The Wolverine Orchestra" (usually called just The Wolverines, named for "Wolverine Blues" by Jelly Roll Morton because they played it so often) in 1924, then became a sought-after musician in Chicago, Illinois and New York City, New York. He made innovative and influential recordings with Frankie Trumbauer ("Tram") and the Jean Goldkette Orchestra. When the Goldkette Orchestra disbanded after their last recording ("In My Merry Oldsmobile"), in May 1927, Bix and Trumbauer, a 'C' Melody and alto saxophone player, briefly joined Adrian Rollini's band at the Club New Yorker, New York, before moving on to the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the most popular and highest paid band of the day.

Beiderbecke suffered health problems from an early age, though the relentless schedule of the road and heavy drinking leading to alcoholism began to contribute to and exacerbate a decline in his health. Bix suffered from severe pain in his legs and other ill effects of prohibition era alcohol and with declining work around the New York City area, he took a turn for the worse.

Though his death certificate described the cause of death as pneumonia, and he was in seriously ill health, the circumstances immediately surrounding his death are still unclear. He died at the age of 28, in his apartment at 43-30 46th Street, Sunnyside, Queens, within the confines of the City of New York on August 6, 1931.

Rockin' Chair
Bix Beiderbecke Lyrics

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Old rockin' chair's got me, my cane by my side
Fetch me that gin, son, 'fore I tan your hide
Can't get from this cabin, goin' nowhere
Just set me here grabbin' at the flies round this rockin' chair

My dear old aunt Harriet, in Heaven she be
Send me sweet chariot, for the end of the trouble I see
Old rockin' chair gets it, Judgement Day is here

Chained to my rockin' chair

Old rockin' chair's got me, son, (Rocking chair got you, father)
My cane by my side, (Yes, your cane by your side)
Now fetch me a little gin, son (Ain't got no gin, father)
What? 'fore I tan your hide, now, (You're gonna tan my hide)

You know, I can't get from this old cabin (What cabin? joking)
I ain't goin' nowhere (Why ain't you goin' nowhere?)
Just sittin' me here grabbin' (Grabbin')
At the flies round this old rockin' chair (Rockin' chair)

Now you remember dear old aunt Harriet, (Aunt Harriet)
How long in Heaven she be? (She's up in Heaven)
Send me down, send me down sweet (Sweet chariot) chariot
End of this trouble I see (I see, Daddy)

Old rockin' chair gets it, son (Rocking chair get it, father)

Judgement Day is here, too (Your Judgement Day is here)
Chained to my rockin', old rockin' chair

Overall Meaning

The song "Rockin' Chair" by Bix Beiderbecke is a melancholic tune that deals with the theme of aging and the fatalistic acceptance of one's mortality. The singer is an old man who is confined to his old cabin, in which he sits in his rocking chair, unable to move or go anywhere. He asks his son to fetch him a little gin as he wistfully contemplates his life, his past, and his future. He reminisces about his dear old Aunt Harriet, who has already passed away and imagines her sending a sweet chariot to take him away from this world and end his troubles. The singer is chained to his old rocking chair, a metaphor for his physical incapacity and emotional detachment from the world around him.

The song is a powerful reflection on the passage of time and the inevitability of death. The singer's world is limited to the confines of his cabin, and the rocking chair is his only companion. The lyrics capture the bittersweet nostalgia that accompanies old age and the hope for an afterlife. However, the use of the line "Chained to my rockin' chair" seems to suggest that the singer has accepted his fate and is no longer fighting against his limitations.

Line by Line Meaning

Old rockin' chair's got me, son,
The rocking chair has taken hold of me, my son.

My cane by my side,
I keep my cane by my side for support.

Now fetch me a little gin, son
Please bring me some gin, my son.

What? 'fore I tan your hide, now,
Hurry up, or I will punish you (in jest).

You know, I can't get from this old cabin
I am unable to leave this cabin.

I ain't goin' nowhere
I have nowhere to go.

Just sittin' me here grabbin' (Grabbin')
I am idly swatting at the flies.

At the flies round this old rockin' chair
The flies are disturbed by the rocking chair.

Now you remember dear old aunt Harriet,
Do you recall my late aunt Harriet?

How long in Heaven she be?
How long has she been in Heaven?

Send me down, send me down sweet (Sweet chariot) chariot
Take me away, Heavenly transport.