Chuck Berry remains an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music who first began performing in 1953. Cub Koda wrote, "Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers." John Lennon was more succinct: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a "class" with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone's Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of All Time.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry's songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.
Chuck Berry held a special place, in terms of sound development, in the formation of, Mersey-Beat at Liverpool.
The finest exponent of Chuck Berry, guitar, sound at Liverpool during 1959 to 1963, was Vincent Tow/Ismail, who in turn passed on many of the learned skills to Lennon & McCartney, his friends and colleagues during that period--1959 to 1962/3.
Chuck Berry also influenced many of the great rock 'n' roll bands that we know today including The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
Back To Memphis
Chuck Berry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody wants to take, nobody like giving
I wish I was in Memphis back home there with my Mama
The only clothes I got left that ain't rags is my pajamas
No brotherly love, no help, no danger
Just a great big town full of cold hearted strangers
I went hungry in New York and Chicago was no better
Son, come back to Memphis and live here with your Mama
You can walk down Beale Street, honey, wearing your pajamas
You know home folks here, we let do just what you want to
And I born you and raised you right here on the corner
I'm going to leave here in the morning and walk down to the station
I've got just enough money to pay my transportation
I'm going back to Memphis, back home with my Mama
If I have to ride that bus barefooted in pajamas
Back home in Memphis, no moaning and groaning
I know everything will be all right in the morning
In Chuck Berry's song Back To Memphis, the singer tells a story of his struggles in a big city, where he has been trying to make a living. He complains about how everyone wants to take, but nobody likes giving. He longs to return to his hometown and be with his mother, where he believes he will find a warm and welcoming home. He compares the cold-hearted strangers in the big city to the people back home who will let him do what he wants to do. He mentions that the only clothes he has that are not rags are his pajamas. He has been struggling and going hungry in New York and Chicago, and he longs to be back in Memphis. At the end of the song, he finally decides to leave the big city and go back to Memphis, even if he has to ride the bus barefooted in his pajamas.
The song is a reflection of Berry's own experiences as a musician on the road. He began playing in St. Louis in the 1950s and became a popular performer throughout the United States, often facing racism and discrimination as a black musician in a white-dominated industry. The song speaks to the struggles and hardships that many musicians faced during this time, as they traveled from city to city, trying to make a living and find success.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been struggling up here, child, trying to make a living
I have been facing great hardships here, my dear, trying to earn a livelihood
Everybody wants to take, nobody like giving
People are more inclined to take from me than offer me any help
I wish I was in Memphis back home there with my Mama
I long to be in Memphis, back where I grew up, living with my mother
The only clothes I got left that ain't rags is my pajamas
My clothes are in tatters and the only decent one I have left is my pajamas
No brotherly love, no help, no danger
I receive no support, no love from anyone and am always in danger
Just a great big town full of cold hearted strangers
This city is filled with unfriendly, unempathetic people
I went hungry in New York and Chicago was no better
I experienced hunger in New York and found no respite in Chicago either
But today, my dear mother wrote and told me in her letter
However, today I received a letter from my beloved mother
Son, come back to Memphis and live here with your Mama
My mother is urging me to leave and return to Memphis to live with her
You can walk down Beale Street, honey, wearing your pajamas
She assures me that I will be welcomed and can roam around Beale Street in my pajamas
You know home folks here, we let do just what you want to
I have a supportive community back home who will let me live my life on my own terms
And I born you and raised you right here on the corner
After all, I gave birth to you and raised you right here in this very corner
I'm going to leave here in the morning and walk down to the station
I plan to leave at dawn and walk to the station to return home
I've got just enough money to pay my transportation
I have barely enough money to cover my travel expenses
I'm going back to Memphis, back home with my Mama
I am returning to Memphis to live with my mother
If I have to ride that bus barefooted in pajamas
Even if I have to travel on the bus in my pajamas and without shoes
Back home in Memphis, no moaning and groaning
Once I am back in Memphis, I will no longer have any reason to complain
I know everything will be all right in the morning
I have faith that my return to Memphis will bring me comfort and solace
Lyrics © ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP
Written by: Chuck Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jack
on Little Marie (Alternate)
Yes, oh yes, Long Distance, I'll accept the charge, I'll pay
Which love one is calling me, I did not hear you say.
Both are deep within my hearth, her Mom and my Marie
It so good to hear your voice from Memphis, Tennessee
Oh, you mean so much to me, more than you'll ever know,
Surely, you have not forgot how much I love you so
If you would remember, Dear, and sometimes talk to me
Maybe that would reunite our home in Tennessee.
Last time I saw you, just before I had to leave
You did not want to see me off and promised not to grieve,
My hearth was tore apart as I looked back at my Marie
And there the peace is still remain with you in Tennessee.
I guess I should stop talking, after all you placed the call
But anyway that I can help, you know I'll help you all
Then she spoke and asked me to come back and see Marie
And live together in our home in Memphis, Tennessee.