In the late 1940s a rising demand for blues was driven by an increasing white teenage audience in the South which quickly spread north and west. Blues shouters got the attention, but also greatly influential was what writer Charles Keil dubbs "the postwar Texas clean-up movement in blues" led by stylists such as T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn and Charles Brown. Their singing was lighter, more relaxed and they worked with bands and combos that had saxophone sections and used arrangements.
As a child Brown demonstrated his love of music and took classical piano lessons. Early on, Brown moved out to Los Angeles, where the great influx of blacks created an integrated nightclub scene in which black performers tended to minimize the rougher blues elements of their style. The blues club style of a light rhythm bass and right-hand tinkling of the piano and smooth vocals became popular, epitomized by the jazz piano of Nat King Cole. When Cole left Los Angeles to perform nationally, his place was taken by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, featuring Charles Brown's gentle piano and vocals.
Brown signed with Aladdin Records and his 1945 recording on that label of the bestseller "Driftin' Blues" with a small combo was a typical club blues song. The single was on the R&B charts for six months, putting Brown at the forefront of a musical evolution that changed American musical performance. His style dominated the influential Southern California club scene on Central Avenue during that period and he influenced such performers as Floyd Dixon, Cecil Gant, Ivory Joe Hunter, Percy Mayfield, Johnny Ace and Ray Charles.
"Driftin'" was the first of several hits Brown subsequently released "Get Yourself Another Fool", "Black Night", "Hard Times" and "Trouble Blues", all major hits in the early 1950s on such labels as Modern Records as well as Alladin. He was unable to compete with the burgeoning rock and roll sound, though he maintained a small and devoted audience.
Brown's approach was too mellow to survive the transition to rock's harsher rhythms, and he faded from the national limelight. His Please Come Home for Christmas, a hit in 1960 on the King Records remained seasonally popular. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, he occasionally recorded and tried to regain some prominence. This continued until the 1980s, when Bonnie Raitt helped usher in a Charles Brown comeback tour.
He began a recording and performing career again, under the musical direction of guitarist Danny Caron, to greater success than he had achieved since the 1950s. Several records received Grammy Award nominations.
He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received both the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship and the W. C. Handy Award.
Brown died in 1999 in Oakland, California.
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Driftin' Blues
Charles Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a ship out on the sea
Well I'm drifting and drifting,
Like a ship out on the sea
Well I ain't got nobody
In this world to care for me
If my baby would only take me back again
No, I'm not good for nothin'
Well I haven't got no friends
I give you all of my money,
Tell me what more can I do
Go get some more, go get some more
Go get some more,
I give you all my money,
Tell me what more can I do
Go get some more, go get some more
Go get some more,
Well you just a good little girl
But you just won't be true
Bye-bye baby, baby bye-bye bye-bye,
Bye-bye baby, baby bye-bye bye-bye,
It's gonna be too late baby
I'll be so far away
The lyrics of Charles Brown's song "Driftin' Blues" paint a picture of a man who is lost and alone. He feels like he's out on the sea without a compass or direction, drifting aimlessly with no one to care for him. The repetition of the opening line "Well I'm drifting and drifting" emphasizes the hopelessness and inevitability of his situation. The man's despair is further punctuated by the fact that he has no one in the world to care for him.
The next stanza shows the man's desire to be reunited with his lover. He understands that he's not good for nothing and has no friends, but he knows that if his "baby" would only take him back, he'd have a reason to live. The repetition of the line "If my baby would only take me back again" shows the man's desperation for the love and companionship he's lost.
The last stanza shows the man's lack of trust in his lover. He gave her all of his money, but she still won't be true to him. The line "Well you just a good little girl, but you just won't be true" highlights the man's pessimism and lack of faith in others. The song ends with the man bidding his lover goodbye, hinting that he's given up on love and is ready to move on, even if it means he'll be far away from everything he's known.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm drifting and drifting,
The singer is wandering aimlessly, like a ship on the sea.
Like a ship out on the sea
The way the singer is wandering resembles a boat lost at sea.
Well I ain't got nobody
The singer is lonely with nobody to turn to.
In this world to care for me
Nobody in the world is willing to pay attention to or help the singer.
If my baby would only take me back again
The singer longs to reconcile with their former partner.
No, I'm not good for nothin'
The singer feels like they are worthless.
Well I haven't got no friends
The singer has no friends to talk to.
I give you all of my money,
The singer has given all their money to someone.
Tell me what more can I do
The singer is asking what else they can do to please the recipient of their money.
Go get some more, go get some more
The recipient of the singer's money is demanding they get more to give them.
Well you just a good little girl
The singer is talking to a woman they consider to be good.
But you just won't be true
The singer is accusing the woman of not being faithful to them.
Bye-bye baby, baby bye-bye bye-bye,
The singer is saying goodbye to their partner.
It's gonna be too late baby
The singer believes their partner will regret their actions.
I'll be so far away
The singer is leaving and will be out of reach for their partner.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Charles Mose Brown, Edward E Williams, Johnny Dudley Moore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
민턴TV
Well I'm drifting and drifting,
Like a ship out on the sea
Well I'm drifting and drifting,
Like a ship out on the sea
Well I ain't got nobody
In this world to care for me
If my baby would only take me back again
If my baby would only take me back again
Well you know I ain't good for nothin' baby
Well I haven't got no friends
I give you all of my money,
Tell me what more can I do
I give you all my money,
Tell me what more can I do
Well you just a good little girl
But you just won't be true
Bye-bye baby, baby bye-bye bye-bye,
It's gonna be too late baby
I'll be so far away
Barbara Richmond
Haven't heard this song in years, woke up about 3:45 this morning with it on my mind.
HendrixColtrane
What a cool song. You can still hear the jazz influence, yet it is recognizably the blues as well.
Elena T.
Love this song! Thank you for sharing it with us.
Brian Stocks
just learned the guitar solo to this by ear. Awesome lines.
trfesok
He performed it was the New York Rock and Soul Revue in 1991. I put both versions in my NYR&SR playlist. Thanks for the upload!
Dennisdread
This is just awesome..I mean, feel this, listen to this and feel it..goodness!! This will always be excellent. 400 years from now this will still be some of the best of the best.
BlackyLee88
There was one deleted scene in the movie "Ray" where Jamie Foxx, as Ray Charles, played this track in a lil blues bar, before he's running famous.
I love this scene also because Jamie Foxx sang and played it for real and he really does sound like Ray ❤
Ray Fitzgerald
Sublime,,,,,,,one of my all time fave's
beowulf3075
I've always listened to the John Lee Hooker version, which I love dearly. This, the original, is incredible. Just heard it on the radio here in the UK, thanks for the upload. ^_^
trfesok
Charles himself performed it live in 1991 on the "New York Rock and Soul Revue" album. Thanks for the upload...