His family considered it normal to play music, with his father playing guitar and harmonica, his mother playing piano, and a relative who was a one-man band. At the age of three, Musselwhite moved to Memphis, Tennessee. When he was a teenager, Memphis experienced the period when rockabilly, western swing, electric blues, and some forms of African American music were combining to give birth to rock and roll. The period featured legendary figures such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, as well as minor legends such as Gus Cannon, Furry Lewis, Will Shade, Royal Bell, Memphis Willie B., Johnny Burnette, Red Roby, Abe McNeal, and Slim Rhodes. Musselwhite supported himself by digging ditches, laying concrete and running moonshine in a 1950 Lincoln. This environment was Musselwhite's school for music as well as life, and he acquired the nickname "Memphis Charlie."[citation needed]
In true bluesman fashion, Musselwhite then took off in search of the rumored "big-paying factory jobs" up the "Hillbilly Highway", legendary Highway 61 to Chicago, where he continued his education on the South Side, making the acquaintance of even more legends including Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Big Walter Horton. Musselwhite immersed himself completely in the musical life, living in the basement of, and occasionally working at Jazz Record Mart (the record store operated by Delmark Records founder Bob Koester) with Big Joe Williams and working as a driver for an exterminator, which allowed him to observe what was happening around the city's clubs and bars. He spent his time hanging out at the Jazz Record Mart at the corner of State and Grand and the nearby bar, Mr. Joe's, with the city's blues musicians, and sitting in with Big Joe Williams and others in the clubs, playing for tips. There he forged a lifelong friendship with John Lee Hooker; though Hooker lived in Detroit, Michigan, the two often visiting each other, and Hooker serving as best man at Musselwhite's wedding. Gradually Musselwhite became well known around town.
In time, Musselwhite led his own blues band, and, after Elektra Records' success with Paul Butterfield, he released the classic[citation needed] Stand Back! album in 1966 on Vanguard Records (as "Charley Musselwhite"), to immediate and great success. He took advantage of the clout this album gave him to move to San Francisco, where, instead of being one of many competing blues acts, he held court as the king of the blues in the exploding countercultural music scene, an exotic and gritty figure to the flower children. Musselwhite even convinced Hooker to move out to California.
Since then, Musselwhite has released over 20 albums, as well as guesting on albums by many other musicians, such as Bonnie Raitt's Longing in Their Hearts and The Blind Boys of Alabama's Spirit of the Century, both winners of Grammy awards. He also appeared on Tom Waits' Mule Variations and INXS' Suicide Blonde. He himself has won 14 W. C. Handy awards and six Grammy nominations, as well as Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in San Javier, Spain, and the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.
In 1979, Musselwhite recorded The Harmonica According to Charlie Musselwhite in London for Kicking Mule Records, intended to go with an instructional book; the album itself became so popular that it has been released on CD.
Unfortunately, Musselwhite, as with many of his peers, fell victim to alcoholism; by his own admission[citation needed], he had never been on stage sober until after he stopped drinking entirely in 1987.
In 1990 Musselwhite signed with Alligator Records, a step led to a resurgence of his career.
Over the years, Musselwhite has branched out in style. His 1999 recording, Continental Drifter, is accompanied by Quarteto Patria, from Cuba's Santiago region, the Cuban music analog of the Mississippi Delta. Because of the political differences between Cuba and the United States, the album was recorded in Bergen, Norway, with Musselwhite's wife ironing out all the details.
Musselwhite believes the key to his musical success was finding a style where he could express himself. He has said, "I only know one tune, and I play it faster or slower, or I change the key, but it’s just the one tune I’ve ever played in my life. It’s all I know."[1]
His past two albums, Sanctuary and Delta Hardware have both been released on Real World Records.
No
Charlie Musselwhite Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'd say to the Lord?
And the last thing you would dream
If you couldn't dream no more?
Won't you please help me to understand
Is there no mercy in this land?
No mercy in this land?
Followed my lover 'til we said goodbye
Followed you through soldiers
Who fire on command
Is there no mercy in this land?
These days I speak in whispers
Travel only to and from
Come close you'll see the red
Of a well bitten tongue
The righteous and the wretched
The holy and the damned
Is there no mercy in this land?
No mercy in this land?
Father left us down here all alone
My poor mother is under a stone
With an aching heart and trembling hands
Is there no mercy in this land?
In Charlie Musselwhite's song No Mercy in This Land, the lyrics delve into the existential question of whether there is any mercy left in the world. The first verse poses the hypothetical question of what someone would say to God if they had the chance, emphasizing the universal desire for mercy and understanding. The second verse brings the focus down to personal experiences, including following a river until it ran dry and following a lover until the relationship ended. The third verse speaks of the division between the righteous and the wretched, the holy and the damned, and the pain of losing loved ones.
The overall tone of the song is one of desperation and despair, as the singer feels lost in a world where there seems to be no mercy. The use of repetition, with the refrain of "Is there no mercy in this land?" drives this point home. The fact that the song doesn't offer any clear answers or solutions only adds to the sense of hopelessness.
This song resonates with many listeners with its honest and relatable expression of pain and confusion. It is a plea for understanding and mercy, and highlights the importance of empathy and kindness in a world that can often seem cruel and unforgiving.
Line by Line Meaning
What would be the first thing
What initial statement would you make
You'd say to the Lord?
If you met God, what would you say first?
And the last thing you would dream
What would be your final dream
If you couldn't dream no more?
If you couldn't dream anymore, what would that last dream be?
Won't you please help me to understand
Could you kindly aid me in knowing
Is there no mercy in this land?
Does no compassion exist in this world?
Followed the river 'til the river ran dry
Chased the river to its end
Followed my lover 'til we said goodbye
Tracked my love till we parted ways
Followed you through soldiers
Trailed you past troops
Who fire on command
That shoot upon orders
Is there no mercy in this land?
Does no compassion exist in this world?
These days I speak in whispers
Presently, I talk softly
Travel only to and from
Only going back and forth
Come close you'll see the red
Approach me and observe the red
Of a well bitten tongue
Of a tongue that's been chewed over
The righteous and the wretched
The virtuous and the depraved
The holy and the damned
The sacred and the cursed
Is there no mercy in this land?
Does no compassion exist in this world?
Father left us down here all alone
Our dad abandoned us here by ourselves
My poor mother is under a stone
My unfortunate mother lies beneath a rock
With an aching heart and trembling hands
Suffering emotionally and physically
Is there no mercy in this land?
Does no compassion exist in this world?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Benjamin Harper, Charles Musselwhite, Jason Mozersky, Jesse Ingalls, Jimmy Paxson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind