Born in the town of Thomson, Georgia, McTell learned how to play guitar in his early teens. He soon became a street performer around several Georgia cities including Atlanta and Augusta, and first recorded in 1927 for Victor Records. Although he never produced a major hit record, McTell's recording career was prolific, recording for different labels under different names throughout the 1920s and 30s. In 1940, he was recorded by folklorist John A. Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax for the Library of Congress's folk song archive. He would remain active throughout the 1940s and 50s, playing on the streets of Atlanta, often with his longtime associate, Curley Weaver. Twice more he recorded professionally. McTell's last recordings originated during an impromptu session recorded by an Atlanta record store owner in 1956. McTell would die three years later after suffering for years from diabetes and alcoholism. Despite his mainly failed releases, McTell was one of the few archaic blues musicians that would actively play and record during the 1940s and 50s. However, McTell never lived to be "rediscovered" during the imminent American folk music revival, as many other bluesmen would.
McTell's influence extended over a wide variety of artists, including The Allman Brothers Band, who famously covered McTell's "Statesboro Blues", and Bob Dylan, who paid tribute to McTell in his 1983 song "Blind Willie McTell"; the refrain of which is, "And I know no one can sing the blues, like Blind Willie McTell". Other artists influenced by McTell include Taj Mahal, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Ralph McTell, Chris Smither and The White Stripes.
Born William Samuel McTier in Thomson, Georgia, blind in one eye, McTell had lost his remaining vision by late childhood. He attended schools for the blind in the states of Georgia, New York and Michigan and showed proficiency in music from an early age, first playing harmonica and accordion, learning to read and write music in Braille, and turning to the six-string guitar in his early teens. His family background was rich in music, both of his parents and an uncle played guitar; he is also a relation of bluesman and gospel pioneer Thomas A. Dorsey. His father left the family when McTell was still young, and, when his mother died in the 1920s, he left his hometown and became a wandering musician, or "songster". He began his recording career in 1927 for Victor Records in Atlanta.
McTell married Ruth Kate Williams, now better known as Kate McTell, in 1934. She accompanied him on stage and on several recordings before becoming a nurse in 1939. Most of their marriage from 1942 until his death was spent apart, with her living in Fort Gordon near Augusta and him working around Atlanta.
In the years before World War II, McTell traveled and performed widely, recording for a number of labels under many different names, including Blind Willie McTell (Victor and Decca), Blind Sammie (Columbia), Georgia Bill (Okeh), Hot Shot Willie (Victor), Blind Willie (Vocalion and Bluebird), Barrelhouse Sammie (Atlantic), and Pig & Whistle Red (Regal). The "Pig 'n Whistle" appellation was a reference to a chain of Atlanta barbecue restaurants, one of which was located on the south side of East Ponce de Leon between Boulevard and Moreland Avenue, which later became a Krispy Kreme. McTell would frequently played for tips in the parking lot of this location. He was also known to play behind the nearby building that later became Ray Lee's Blue Lantern Lounge. Like his fellow songster Lead Belly, who began his career as a street artist, McTell favored the somewhat unwieldy and unusual twelve-string guitar, whose greater volume made it suitable for outdoor playing.
In 1940 John A. Lomax and his wife, Ruby Terrill Lomax, Classics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, interviewed and recorded McTell for the Library of Congress's Folk Song Archive in a two-hour session held in their hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia. These recordings document McTell's distinctive musical style, which bridges the gap between the raw country blues of the early part of the 20th century and the more conventionally melodious, Ragtime-influenced East-Coast Piedmont blues sound. Mr. and Mrs. Lomax also elicited from the singer a number of traditional songs (such as "The Boll Weevil" and "John Henry") as well as spirituals (such as "Amazing Grace"), which were not part of his usual commercial repertoire. In the interview, John A. Lomax is heard asking if McTell knows any "complaining" songs (an earlier term for protest songs), to which the singer replies somewhat uncomfortably and evasively that he does not. The Library of Congress paid McTell $10, the equivalent of $154.56 in 2011, for this two-hour session. The material from this 1940 session was issued in 1960 in LP and later in CD form, under the somewhat misleading title of "The Complete Library of Congress Recordings", notwithstanding the fact that it was in fact truncated, in that it omitted some of John A. Lomax's interactions with the singer and cut out entirely the contributions of Ruby Terrill Lomax.
Postwar, McTell recorded for Atlantic Records and Regal Records in 1949, but these recordings met with less commercial success than his previous works. He continued to perform around Atlanta, but his career was cut short by ill health, predominantly diabetes and alcoholism. In 1956, an Atlanta record store manager, Edward Rhodes, discovered McTell playing in the street for quarters and enticed him with a bottle of corn liquor into his store, where he captured a few final performances on a tape recorder. These were released posthumously on Prestige/Bluesville Records as Last Session. Beginning in 1957, McTell occupied himself as a preacher at Atlanta's Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
McTell died in Milledgeville, Georgia, of a stroke in 1959. He was buried at Jones Grove Church, near Thomson, Georgia, his birthplace. A fan paid to have a gravestone erected on his resting place. The name given on his gravestone is Eddie McTier. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1981, and into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1990.
One of McTell's most famous songs, "Statesboro Blues," was frequently covered by The Allman Brothers Band and is considered one of their earliest signature songs. A short list of some of the artists who also perform it includes Taj Mahal, David Bromberg, The Devil Makes Three and Ralph McTell, who changed his name on account of liking the song. Ry Cooder covered McTell's "Married Man's a Fool" on his 1973 album, Paradise and Lunch.
Jack White of The White Stripes considers McTell an influence, as their 2000 album De Stijl was dedicated to him and featured a cover of his song "Southern Can Is Mine". The White Stripes also covered McTell's "Lord, Send Me an Angel", releasing it as a single in 2000.
In 2013 Jack White's Third Man Records teamed up with Document Records to reissue The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order of Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell and The Mississippi Sheiks.
Bob Dylan has paid tribute to McTell on at least four occasions: Firstly, in his 1965 song "Highway 61 Revisited", the second verse begins with "Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose", referring to one of Blind Willie McTell's many recording names; later in his song "Blind Willie McTell", recorded in 1983 but released in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3; then with covers of McTell's "Broke Down Engine" and "Delia" on his 1993 album, World Gone Wrong; also, in his song "Po' Boy", on 2001's "Love & Theft", which contains the lyric, "had to go to Florida dodging them Georgia laws", which comes from McTell's "Kill It Kid".
Also, Bath-based band "Kill It Kid" is named after that song.
A blues bar in Atlanta is named after McTell and regularly features blues musicians and bands. The Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival is held annually in Thomson, Georgia.
Searching the Desert for the Blues
Blind Willie McTell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But mama, you'll never find another hot shot like me
I followed my baby from the station to the train
And the blues came down like night and showered me
I left her at the station wringing her hands and crying
I told her, she had a home just as long as I had mine
I've got two women and you can't tell them apart
I've got one in my bosom and one I got in my heart
The one in my bosom, she's in Tennessee
And the one in my heart, don't even give a darn for me
I used to say a married woman was the sweetest thing that ever been born
But I've changed that thing, you better leave married women alone
Take my advice, let these married women be
'Cause their husbands'll grab you, beat you ragged as a cedar tree
When a woman say, she love you 'bout good as she do herself
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
I really don't believe no woman in the whole round world do right
Act like an angel in the daytime, mess by the ditch at night
I'm going, pretty mama, please don't break this rule
That's why I'm searching these deserts for the blues
I'm going, pretty mama, searching these deserts now
That's why I'm walking my baby home anyhow
Lord, oh Lord
Lordy, Lordy, Lord
Oh Lordy Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord
When a woman say, she love you 'bout good as she do herself
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
Lord, Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord
Blind Willie McTell's “Searching the Desert for the Blues” is a melancholy tune that highlights the struggles of a wandering bluesman as he searches for meaning and connection to his music through the backdrop of loveless relationships. The tune starts by addressing the futility of finding someone as talented as himself through the lines “you may search the ocean, you might go 'cross the deep blue sea, but mama, you'll never find another hot shot like me.” He laments the failure of his relationship as he leaves his lover at the station, acknowledging the downpour of emotions that hit him similar to the night rain. McTell also explains his predicament of having two women in his life, one in his bosom and one in his heart with their different emotional perspectives towards him.
McTell speaks of the consequences of getting involved with married women in the subsequent stanzas. He warns of the violent outrage of some husbands, advising men to "leave married women alone" to avoid beatings from a jealous husband. He also opines that women are fickle and unreliable; their love is never genuine, so he doesn't pay attention to their words. The last two stanzas aptly describe the bluesman's situation; he is searching the desert for the blues because what he needs is an emotional connection which he cannot find. McTell's portrayal of the bluesman's wandering nature can be interpreted to a larger extent to those feeling disconnected from their world, not just limited to the blues world.
Line by Line Meaning
You may search the ocean, you might go 'cross the deep blue sea
No matter how far you search, you won't find someone like me
But mama, you'll never find another hot shot like me
I am a talented individual who cannot be replicated
I followed my baby from the station to the train
I walked with my lover from the station to her train
And the blues came down like night and showered me
A feeling of sadness overwhelmed me like a storm
I left her at the station wringing her hands and crying
I departed from my lover at the station as she wept
I told her, she had a home just as long as I had mine
I promised her stability as long as our relationship lasted
I've got two women and you can't tell them apart
I am involved with two women and they are very similar
I've got one in my bosom and one I got in my heart
One woman is physically close to me while the other resides only in my emotions
The one in my bosom, she's in Tennessee
The physically close woman lives in Tennessee
And the one in my heart, don't even give a darn for me
The emotionally close woman does not reciprocate my feelings
I used to say a married woman was the sweetest thing that ever been born
I once believed that a married woman was the most desirable of all
But I've changed that thing, you better leave married women alone
I have revised my opinion and advise others not to pursue married women
Take my advice, let these married women be
I recommend that people avoid becoming involved with married women
'Cause their husbands'll grab you, beat you ragged as a cedar tree
If you pursue a married woman, her husband could harm you severely
When a woman say, she love you 'bout good as she do herself
If a woman claims to love you as much as she loves herself
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
I don't believe her and advise her to find someone else who will
I really don't believe no woman in the whole round world do right
I have lost trust in all women and their ability to do right by me
Act like an angel in the daytime, mess by the ditch at night
Women may appear virtuous during the day, but act inappropriately at night
I'm going, pretty mama, please don't break this rule
I'm leaving, my dear, but I hope you won't break my rules
That's why I'm searching these deserts for the blues
My sadness and despair is leading me to wander aimlessly
I'm going, pretty mama, searching these deserts now
I'm leaving, my dear, and embarking on a journey through the deserts
That's why I'm walking my baby home anyhow
Despite my sorrow, I'm still accompanying my lover home
Lord, oh Lord
An expression of exasperation or desperation
Lordy, Lordy, Lord
An expression of exasperation or desperation
Oh Lordy Lord
An expression of exasperation or desperation
Lord, Lord, Lord
An expression of exasperation or desperation
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: WILLIE MCTELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shane-O
You may search the ocean, you might go 'cross the deep blue sea
But mama, you'll never find another hot shot like me
I followed my baby from the station to the train
And the blues came down like night and showered me
I left her at the station wringing her hands and crying
I told her, she had a home just as long as I got mine
I've got two women and you can't tell them apart
I've got one in my bosom and the other one in my heart
The one in my bosom, she's in Tennessee
And the one in my heart, don't even give a darn for me
I used to say a married woman was the sweetest woman that ever been born
But I've changed that thing, you better leave married women alone
Take my advice, let these married women be
'Cause their husbands'll grab you, beat you ragged as a cedar tree
When a woman say, she love you 'bout good as she do herself
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
I really don't believe no woman in the whole round world do right
Act like an angel in the daytime, mess by the ditch at night
I'm going, pretty mama, please don't break this rule
That's why I'm searching these deserts for the blues
I'm going, pretty mama, searching these deserts now
That's why I'm walking my baby home anyhow
Lord, oh Lord
Lordy, Lordy, Lord
Oh Lordy Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord
When a woman say, she love you 'bout good as she do herself
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
Lord, Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord
Matthew Cannata
This has to be one of the best pieces of music I've ever heard. Truly.
adrock1011
Realistically... since i first heard it (12-15 years ago?). Ive listened to this 500 times...
Dennis Rash
Be hard pressed to find music better than this.
Dennis Rash
The one of many things I like about Blind Willie Mctell is his abstract style of lyrics. It tend to always make sense but hard to decipher. Great blues man.
Shane-O
You may search the ocean, you might go 'cross the deep blue sea
But mama, you'll never find another hot shot like me
I followed my baby from the station to the train
And the blues came down like night and showered me
I left her at the station wringing her hands and crying
I told her, she had a home just as long as I got mine
I've got two women and you can't tell them apart
I've got one in my bosom and the other one in my heart
The one in my bosom, she's in Tennessee
And the one in my heart, don't even give a darn for me
I used to say a married woman was the sweetest woman that ever been born
But I've changed that thing, you better leave married women alone
Take my advice, let these married women be
'Cause their husbands'll grab you, beat you ragged as a cedar tree
When a woman say, she love you 'bout good as she do herself
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
I really don't believe no woman in the whole round world do right
Act like an angel in the daytime, mess by the ditch at night
I'm going, pretty mama, please don't break this rule
That's why I'm searching these deserts for the blues
I'm going, pretty mama, searching these deserts now
That's why I'm walking my baby home anyhow
Lord, oh Lord
Lordy, Lordy, Lord
Oh Lordy Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord
When a woman say, she love you 'bout good as she do herself
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
Lord, Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord
Brian Durrans
@Feral Productions thanks for your thoughts. Maybe I'll try the Library of Congress or the Governor of Alabama. One of those high-ups is bound to know.
Brian Durrans
@Chess1458 Well I always heard that as "ragged as a cedar tree", but I never grasped the idea of a cedar being "ragged" until I saw a swamp cypress (?cedar) up close - there's a small stand of them in the botanical gardens at Kew in West London, UK, near where I live. The tree has soft and kind of mashed up bark like someone beat it with a baseball bat in the possibly deluded suspicion that it was having an affair with his wife.
Feral Productions
@Brian Durrans I agree with you, it's not "mess by the ditch at night". I think it's "mess 'bout the H at night", but I'm not sure what that means either, it just sounds like a believable expression for what he's saying.
primus chah
Thanks my brother
Brian Durrans
I've been listening to this song for decades but have never understood the second half of the line transcribed above as "Act like an angel in the daytime, mess by the ditch at night". Mess by the ditch? Really? It sounds to me more like "misboteach" but what on earth does that mean, unless some synonym of misbehave? And why oh why can't the lyrics recorded here or anywhere else include the great lines added to this performance by Kate McTell?