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.
Driftin Blues
Chuck Berry 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
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.
Chuck Berry's Driftin' Blues is a heartfelt, mournful tune about the lovelorn protagonist's feelings of loneliness and desperation. The singer is drifting aimlessly through life, much like a ship lost at sea, without a clear direction or purpose. He expresses how he feels lost in the world without anyone to care for him, highlighting his deep sense of isolation and isolation.
The singer is pleading for forgiveness and requesting another opportunity to be with his loved one, but sadly, his request is met with a stone-cold response. He suggests he is so lonely that he cannot enjoy life without his significant other, and hence the only way he can find solace is by being with her. Despite the singer's claim that he will be lost without his love and that he has nothing to offer her, it is evident that he loves her more than anything else and will do anything to be reunited with her.
In essence, the song is a moving portrayal of a man who has lost his way in life and is desperate for companionship, specifically that of his lover. Whether he is ever reconciled with his girlfriend remains ambiguous, but the song's emotional poignancy is undeniable.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm drifting and drifting,
Like a ship out on the sea.
I'm in a constant state of aimless wandering, like a ship lost at sea
Well I ain't got nobody
In this world to care for me.
I have no one who cares for me in this world
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.
If my lover were to forgive me, I'm no good for anything and I have no friends
I give you all of my money,
Tell me what more can I do.
I've given you all my money, what else can I do to show my affection
Well you just a good little girl
But you just won't be true.
You're a decent person, but you can't seem to stay loyal to me
Bye-bye baby, baby bye-bye bye-bye,
It's gonna be too late baby
I'll be so far away.
Goodbye, my love. By the time you realize what you've lost, I'll be long gone.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRONISLAW KAPER, KIM GANNON
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.