Patton was born in Hinds County, Mississippi, near the town of Edwards, and lived most of his life in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta. Some sources say he was born May 1, 1891, but there is some debate about this, and the years 1887 and 1894 have also been suggested.
Patton's parentage and race have been the subject of debate. Although born to Bill and Annie Patton, locally he was regarded as having been fathered by former slave Henderson Chatmon, many of whose other children also became popular Delta musicians both as solo acts and as members of groups such as the Mississippi Sheiks. Biographer John Fahey describes Patton as having "light skin and Caucasian features." Though Patton was considered African-American, because of his light complexion there have been rumors that he was Mexican, or possibly a full-blood Cherokee, a theory endorsed by Howlin' Wolf. In actuality, Patton was a mix of white, black, and Cherokee (one of his grandmothers was a full-blooded Cherokee). Patton himself sang in "Down the Dirt Road Blues" of having gone to "the Nation" and "the Territo'"—meaning the Cherokee Nation portion of the Indian Territory (which became part of the state of Oklahoma in 1907), where a number of Black Indians tried unsuccessfully to claim a place on the tribal rolls and thereby obtain land.
In 1900, his family moved 100 miles (160 km) north to the legendary 10,000-acre (40 km2) Dockery Plantation sawmill and cotton farm near Ruleville, Mississippi. It was here that both John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf fell under the Patton spell as well as Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, and Fiddlin' Joe Martin. It was also here that Robert Johnson played and was given his first guitar. At Dockery, Charley fell under the tutelage of Henry Sloan, who had a new, unusual style of playing music which today would be considered very early blues. Charley followed Henry Sloan around, and, by the time he was about 19, had become an accomplished performer and songwriter in his own right, having already composed "Pony Blues," a seminal song of the era.
Robert Palmer describes Patton as a "jack-of all-trades bluesman" who played "deep blues, white hillbilly songs, nineteenth-century ballads, and other varieties of black and white country dance music with equal facility". He was extremely popular across the Southern United States and also performed annually in Chicago, Illinois and, in 1934, New York City. In contrast to the itinerant wandering of most blues musicians of his time, Patton played scheduled engagements at plantations and taverns. Long before Jimi Hendrix impressed audiences with flashy guitar playing, Patton gained notoriety for his showmanship, often playing with the guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back. Although Patton was a small man at about 5 foot 5,[8] his gravelly voice was rumored to have been loud enough to carry 500 yards without amplification. Patton's gritty bellowing was a major influence on the singing style of his young friend Chester Burnett, who went on to gain fame in Chicago as Howlin' Wolf.
Patton settled in Holly Ridge, Mississippi with his common-law wife and recording partner Bertha Lee in 1933. He died on the Heathman-Dedham plantation near Indianola on April 28, 1934 and is buried in Holly Ridge (both towns are located in Sunflower County). Patton's death certificate states that he died of a mitral valve disorder. Bertha Lee is not mentioned on the certificate, the only informant listed being one Willie Calvin. His death was not reported in the newspapers. A memorial headstone was erected on Patton's grave (the location of which was identified by the cemetery caretaker C. Howard who claimed to have been present at the burial) paid for by musician John Fogerty through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund in July, 1990. The spelling of Patton's name was dictated by Jim O'Neal, who also composed the Patton epitaph.
Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton (2001) is a boxed set collecting Patton's recorded works. It also featured recordings by many of his friends and associates. The set won three Grammy Awards in 2003 for Best Historical Album, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, and Best Album Notes. Another collection of Patton recordings, released under Catfish Records, is titled The Definitive Charley Patton.
Charley Patton's song "Pony Blues" (1929) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2006. The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
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.
The Mississippi Blues Trail placed its first historic marker on Charley Patton's grave in Holly Ridge, Mississippi, in recognition of his legendary status as a bluesman and his importance in the development of the blues in Mississippi. It placed another historic marker at the site where the Peavine Railroad intersects with Highway 446 in Boyle, Mississippi, designating it as a second site related to Patton on the Mississippi Blues Trail. The marker commemorates the original lyrics of Patton's "Peavine Blues" that describe the railway branch of Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad, which ran south from Dockery Plantation to Boyle. The marker emphasizes that a common theme of blues songs was riding on the railroad which was seen as a metaphor for travel and escape.
Tributes
"Blind Owl" Alan Wilson & Canned Heat covered Patton songs "Pony Blues", "Shake It and Break It" and "Yellow Bee".
Bob Dylan dedicated his song "High Water (For Charley Patton)", on his 2001 album "Love and Theft", to Patton.
The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band internationally touring American country blues recording/touring artists, fronted by Kentucky Colonel, The Reverend Peyton, produced a tribute recording to Charley Patton: Peyton on Patton, which was released July 19, 2011. The album entered the Billboard Blues Album chart at #7.
French singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel refers to Charley Patton in the song "Cent Ans de Plus" on his 1999 album Hors-Saison.
Indie rock band Gomez recorded a song on their 2006 release How We Operate, entitled "Charley Patton Songs".
There is a picture of Charley Patton in the recording studio used for The White Stripes' album Icky Thump. It can be seen in the background of the short demo video on their website
Jule Brown recorded an updated arrangement of Patton's "Green River Blues", on their 2006 release Smoke and Mirrors.
Robert Crumb narrated Patton's life in a comic book.
The 1980s NYC Punk/Blues band Hi Sheriffs of Blue (which included visual artists Mark Dagley, George Condo and Elliott Sharp) was named after the Patton song "High Sheriff Blues".
Discography
Gennett Records, Richmond, Indiana, 1929
"Pony Blues"
"Mississippi Boweavil Blues"
"Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues"
"Down The Dirt Road Blues"
"Banty Rooster Blues"
"Pea Vine Blues"
"It Won't Be Long"
"Tom Rushen Blues"
"A Spoonful Blues"
"Shake It And Break It (But Don't Let It Fall Mama)"
"Prayer Of Death Part 1 & 2"
"Lord I'm Discouraged"
"I'm Goin' Home"
Paramount Records, Grafton, Wisconsin, 1929
"Going To Move To Alabama"
"Elder Greene Blues"
"Circle Round The Moon"
"Devil Sent The Rain Blues"
"Mean Black Cat Blues"
"Frankie And Albert"
"Some These Days I'll Be Gone"
"Green River Blues"
"Hammer Blues"
"Magnolia Blues"
"When Your Way Gets Dark"
"Heart Like Railroad Steel"
"Some Happy Day"
"You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die"
"Jim Lee Blues Part 1"
"Jim Lee Blues Part 2"
"High Water Everywhere Part 1"
"High Water Everywhere Part 2"
"Jesus Is A Dying-Bed Maker"
"I Shall Not Be Moved"
"Rattlesnake Blues"
"Running Wild Blues"
"Joe Kirby"
"Mean Black Moan"
"Farrell Blues"
"Come Back Corrina"
"Tell Me Man Blues"
"Be True Be True Blues"
Paramount Records, Grafton, Wisconsin, 1930
"Dry Well Blues"
"Some Summer Day"
"Moon Going Down"
"Bird Nest Bound"
Vocalion Records, New York City, New York, 1934
"Jersey Bull Blues"
"High Sheriff Blues"
"Stone Pony Blues"
"34 Blues"
"Love My Stuff"
"Revenue Man Blues"
"Oh Death"
"Troubled 'Bout My Mother"
"Poor Me"
"Hang It On The Wall"
"Yellow Bee"
"Mind Reader Blues"
I Will Turn Your Money Green
Charley Patton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would not let me be
Wouldn't rest content
'Till I came to Tennessee
If you follow me baby
I'll turn your money green
I show you more money
If the river was whiskey
Baby and I was a duck
I'd dive to the bottom
Lord and I'd never come up
Lord the woman I hate
I see her every day
But the woman I love
She's so far away
Talk about *sweetheart*
I declare I'm a honest man
Give my woman so many dollars
It broke her apron string
All she give me was trouble
I'm troubled all the time
I been troubled so long
Trouble don't worry my mind
I been down so long
It seem like up to me
Woman I love
She done quit poor me
What's the need of me hollering
What's the need of me crying
Woman I love
She don't pay me no mind
In "I Will Turn Your Money Green," Charley Patton tells a story through his lyrics about his journey from Missouri to Tennessee, and the women he encounters along the way. The song portrays a sense of loneliness, heartache, desperation, and poverty. The opening line, "When I was in Missouri, would not let me be, wouldn't rest content till I came to Tennessee," speaks to a longing to escape something or someone in Missouri, pushing him to travel to another state in search of a better life.
In the chorus, Patton promises a woman that if she follows him, he will "turn her money green" and show her more wealth than "Rochefeller ever seen." This line suggests that the musician knows how to hustle and make money, and he is willing to share his wealth with those who join him. In the next verse, he sings of his troubles with women, expressing his longing for a woman who is far away and frustration with a woman who gave him nothing but trouble, causing him to be "troubled all the time."
The final verse reflects his heartbreak, with a sense of resignation and acceptance that the woman he loves "don't pay me no mind." The song shows the resilience and the hardship of the musicians of the Mississippi Delta during the early twentieth century.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was in Missouri
During my time in Missouri
Would not let me be
I was unable to be left alone
Wouldn't rest content
They were not satisfied
'Till I came to Tennessee
Until I arrived in Tennessee
If you follow me baby
If you come with me, my dear
I'll turn your money green
I will make you rich
I show you more money
You will have more money
Rockerfeller ever seen
Than Rockefeller has ever seen
If the river was whiskey
If this were a perfect world
Baby and I was a duck
And we were carefree
I'd dive to the bottom
I would completely immerse myself
Lord and I'd never come up
I would never come out
Lord the woman I hate
The woman I despise
I see her every day
I run into her all the time
But the woman I love
However, the woman that I love
She's so far away
Is not here with me
Talk about *sweetheart*
Speaking of my beloved
I declare I'm a honest man
I am an honest person
Give my woman so many dollars
I have given so much money to my woman
It broke her apron string
It was too much for her to handle
All she give me was trouble
All she has caused me is problems
I'm troubled all the time
I am constantly worried
I been troubled so long
I have been in trouble for so long
Trouble don't worry my mind
Trouble no longer bothers me
I been down so long
I have been struggling for so long
It seem like up to me
It feels like things are looking up
Woman I love
However, the woman I love
She done quit poor me
Has left me, poor and alone
What's the need of me hollering
What is the point of me shouting
What's the need of me crying
What is the point of me crying
Woman I love
However, the woman I love
She don't pay me no mind
Does not give me any attention
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: FURRY LEWIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Justin Hammock
This is awesome positivity!
messiahsez
Hugs!!! Positivity is our purpose!!!! Thank you!!!
Tom Bell
Well, you've convinced me. So I've decided to do it. Thank you.
messiahsez
OH man you make my day!!! Thank you!!!
Evan Turner
you never fail to make my day with your songs!!! keep on playing brother!!!
messiahsez
Thanks so much!!!!
Caolan Flynn
i have actually just watched every video in the playlist i love this shit man!
messiahsez
Honored! Humble Thanks!
67fok
It's so poetic..... Sometimes i believe in human....
messiahsez
Old one!!!