As a boy Fuller learned to play the guitar and also learned from older singers the field hollers, country rags, and traditional songs and blues popular in poor, rural areas. It is reported that around 1926 he suffered from ulcerated eyes and became partially blind. His vision continued to deteriorate until 1928, when he was completely blind.
He started playing at informal gatherings and as he grew older, the opportunities for a blind black man being limited, he turned to getting what employment he could as a singer and entertainer at dives, street corners, house parties, and dances for pay.
He became well known enough that in 1935 he received an offer to record. Over a period of five years, Fuller made over 120 sides and his recordings appeared on several labels.
His style of singing was rough and direct, and his lyrics explicit and uninhibited as he drew from from every aspect of his experience as an underpriviledged person on the streets -- pawnshops, jailhouses, sickness, death -- with an honesty that lacked sentimentality. Although he was not sophisticated, his artistry as a folk singer lay in the honesty and integrity of his self-expression. His songs contained desire, love, jealousy, disappointment, menace and humor.[1]
Blind Boy Fuller was one of the most popular of the Piedmont blues artists that counted Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake amongst its number. He was so popular that when he died, his protégé Brownie McGhee reluctantly began a short lived career as Blind Boy Fuller No. 2 so that Columbia Records could cash in on his popularity. His song, 'Trucking My Blues Away', also gave America the famous saying 'Keep On Trucking'. He was often accompanied on harmonica by Sonny Terry.
Blind Boy Fuller died from a severe bladder infection in 1942, when he was only 33 years old. Blind Boy Fuller was an expressive vocalist and a masterful guitar player, best remembered for his uptempo ragtime hits "Rag Mama Rag," "Trucking My Blues Away," and "Step It Up and Go." At the same time he was capable of deeper material, and his versions of "Lost Lover Blues", "Rattlesnakin' Daddy" and "Mamie" are as deep as most Delta blues. Because of his popularity, he may have been overexposed on records, yet most of his songs remained close to tradition and much of his repertoire and style is kept alive by North Carolina and Virginia artists today.
The location of the final resting place of Blind Boy Fuller is Grove Hill Cemetery, located on private property in Durham, North Carolina. State records indicate that this was once an official cemetery, and Fuller's interment is recorded. The only remaining headstone is that of Mary Caston Langey.
Blind Boy Fuller has been recognized on two different plaques in the City of Durham. The North Carolina Division of Archives and History plaque is located a few miles north of Fuller's gravesite, along Fayetteville St. in Durham. The City of Durham officially recognized Fuller on July 16, 2001, and the commemorating plaque is located along the American Tobacco Trail, adjacent to the property where Fuller's unmarked grave is located (several hundred feet east of Fayetteville St.).
Homesick and Lonesome Blues
Blind Boy Fuller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know my mind got a Ramblin like a wild geese in the west
Ain't but the one thing thats like to change my mind
I started in new york, l lived a holy crime
I sure cant sleep mamma, I sure can't rest at night
But when i think of my drinking woman, sure keeps my appetite
Im goin to tell my baby, love when im goin home
I'll be in the heart of New York only if l leave you alone
The lyrics to Blind Boy Fuller's song Homesick and Lonesome Blues describe a man struggling with his restless and unfulfilled life. He feels like his mind is constantly wandering like a wild goose in the west and he can't find peace. He contemplates taking his own life, but ultimately decides against it. The only thing that he thinks can change his state of mind is his love for a woman who he describes as a "drinking woman". The mere thought of her only keeps his appetite for life alive. He promises to tell her that he loves her, but he also knows that he has to leave her behind if he wants to go home to New York and find some peace.
The lyrics in this song are very emotional, giving insight into the struggles of everyday life for someone living in that era. The song captures the feelings of a man who is lost and lonely, who finds joy in thinking about the woman he loves but cannot be with. It also speaks to the idea that no matter how much we struggle in life, the love and affection of another person can help us pull through.
Line by Line Meaning
I lied down last night mama, I tried to take my red
Last night, I lay down and tried to sleep, but I couldn't.
I know my mind got a Ramblin like a wild geese in the west
My mind is wandering aimlessly, like a flock of geese that don't have a home.
Ain't but the one thing thats like to change my mind
There is only one thing that could change my state of mind.
I started in new york, l lived a holy crime
I left from New York and lived a life of crime that I regret.
I sure cant sleep mamma, I sure can't rest at night
I am having trouble sleeping and resting peacefully at night.
But when i think of my drinking woman, sure keeps my appetite
When I think of my woman who loves to drink, I get hungry for her companionship.
Im goin to tell my baby, love when im goin home
I am going to tell my loved one that I love them when I go back home.
I'll be in the heart of New York only if l leave you alone
I will only be happy in New York if I leave my loved one behind.
Writer(s): Fulton Allen
Contributed by Adeline J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@stacyblue1980
He was from my home state, North Carolina. I personally feel very proud. My youth was spent listening to blues and tinkering with guitar. Blues is life. Bless.
@davestruxstop
I lied down last nite, I tried to take my rest, my mind got to rambling like the wild geese in the west. There's only one thing about which I'd like to change my mind, when I started in new york, i left Cora mae crying. I cant sleep I cant rest at night, when I think about my little woman, it takes my appetite. Im going to tell my baby when I go home, these women in Harlem New York wont let her baby alone.
@biriyaniferrari165
Brilliant stuff thanks
@BirdyBlueDay
Thank you for posting :)