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.).
Truckin' My Blues Away
Blind Boy Fuller Lyrics
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I got a gal in this town, best lookin' brown around
She's a-strictly tailor-made, she ain't no hand-me-down
Catch you truckin' with her, I'm gonna sure shoot you down
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away
Truckin' my blues away
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' mama
Girl you truck my blues away
I got a gal she's little and neat
When she's starts to truckin', man it's so sweet
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' baby
Truckin' my blues away, yeah
Keep on truckin' baby
Truckin' my blues away
I know a gal she's long and tall
When she starts to truckin' make a little man squall
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away
I mean, truckin' my blues away, yeah
Keep on truckin' baby
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away
She has a dance she call biddle-um-b
Sure missin' somethin' if you don't truck some
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' baby
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away, yeah
You don't have to hurry, don't have to go
Wait a little while you might wanna truck some more
Keep on truckin' baby
Truckin' my blues away
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away, yeah
Keep on truckin' baby
Truckin' my blues away
Make a lame man run, make a blind man see
Sure gets good when she truckin' with me
Keep on truckin' baby
Truckin' my blues away
Blind Boy Fuller's "Truckin' My Blues Away" is a classic blues song that celebrates the pleasure of dancing with a specific kind of woman. Fuller sings about his love for a "brown" woman in his town who is "strictly tailor-made" and "ain't no hand-me-down." He warns other men to stay away from her, proclaiming that if he catches someone "truckin'" with her, he'll "sure shoot [them] down."
The phrase "truckin' my blues away" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the way dancing with this woman is a way for Fuller to escape his blues. He sings about several other women who "truck" with him and make him feel good, including a little and neat woman and a long and tall woman. The song ends with Fuller proclaiming that dancing with these women can make a lame man run and a blind man see, indicating the transformative power of their dance moves.
In summary, "Trucking' My Blues Away" is a joyful celebration of the power of dance to uplift and transform. Fuller's love for the specific type of woman he describes is clear, and he uses her as a symbol for the freedom and pleasure that comes from shedding one's worries and dancing away the blues.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a gal in this town, best lookin' brown around
I have a girl in this particular town, who is the best looking brown girl in the area
She's a-strictly tailor-made, she ain't no hand-me-down
She is custom made, not a hand-me-down
Catch you truckin' with her, I'm gonna sure shoot you down
If I catch you with her, I am going to shoot you
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' mama
Truckin' my blues away
Keep on truckin' mama
Girl you truck my blues away
Keep moving forward, girl, and take my problems with you
I got a gal she's little and neat
When she's starts to truckin', man it's so sweet
I have another girl who is neat and petite, and when she struts her stuff it's amazing
I know a gal she's long and tall
When she starts to truckin' make a little man squall
I also know a tall girl, whose moves make a man go weak in the knees
She has a dance she call biddle-um-b
Sure missin' somethin' if you don't truck some
She has a particular dance named biddle-um-b, and you're missing out if you don't get in on the action
You don't have to hurry, don't have to go
Wait a little while you might wanna truck some more
You don't have to rush, take your time and you might want to dance more
Make a lame man run, make a blind man see
Sure gets good when she truckin' with me
She can make a lame man run and a blind man see, and I love it when she dances with me
Writer(s): fulton allen, j.b. long
Contributed by Cooper G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.