These members played together since 1959, first as The Blue Velvets, then as The Golliwogs. Their musical style encompassed the roots rock, swamp rock, and blues rock genres. They played in a Southern rock style, despite their San Francisco Bay Area origin, with lyrics about bayous, catfish, the Mississippi River, and other popular elements of Southern United States iconography, as well as political and socially conscious lyrics about topics including the Vietnam War. The band performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York.
The group disbanded acrimoniously in late 1972 after four years of chart-topping success. Tom Fogerty had officially left the previous year, and his brother John was at odds with the remaining members over matters of business and artistic control, all of which resulted in subsequent lawsuits among the former bandmates. Fogerty's ongoing disagreements with Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz created further protracted court battles, and John Fogerty refused to perform with the two other surviving members at CCR's 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Creedence Clearwater Revival's music is still a staple of US radio airplay; the band has sold 26 million albums in the United States alone. Rolling Stone ranked them 82nd on its Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.
John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook met at Portola Junior High School in El Cerrito, California. Calling themselves the Blue Velvets, the trio began playing instrumentals and "juke box standards", as well as backing Fogerty's older brother Tom at live gigs and in the recording studio. Tom soon joined the band, and in 1964 they signed with Fantasy Records, an independent jazz label in San Francisco that had released Cast Your Fate To The Wind, a national hit for jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. The record's success was the subject of a National Educational Television special, which prompted budding songwriter John Fogerty to contact the label. For the band's first release, Fantasy co-owner Max Weiss renamed the group the Golliwogs (after the children's literary character, Golliwogg).
Bandmembers' roles and the instruments they played changed during this period. Stu Cook switched from piano to bass guitar and Tom Fogerty from lead vocals to rhythm guitar; John became the band's lead vocalist and primary songwriter. In Tom Fogerty's words: "I could sing, but John had a sound!".
Cotton Fields
Creedence Clearwater Revival Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My mama would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
Oh, when them cotton bolls get rotten
You can't pick very much cotton
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
When I was a little bitty baby
My mama would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
Oh, when them cotton bolls get rotten
You can't pick very much cotton
In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
When I was a little bitty baby
My mama would rock me in the cradleIn them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
In them old cotton fields back home
The lyrics to Creedence Clearwater Revival's song Cotton Fields paint a nostalgic picture of the singer's childhood memories of growing up in the southern United States. The opening lines of the song evoke a sense of comfort and safety, with the singer reminiscing about how his mother would rock him in his cradle in the old cotton fields back home. The repetition of this line throughout the song emphasizes the singer's deep connection to his roots and local community.
As the song progresses, the lyrics take a more melancholic turn, with the singer reflecting on the harsh realities of life for those working in the cotton fields. The line "Oh, when them cotton bolls get rotten, you can't pick very much cotton" speaks to the difficult and often backbreaking work that was required to harvest the cotton crop. This line also highlights the precarious nature of agricultural work, where success or failure depends on factors beyond one's control, like weather and crop yields.
Overall, Cotton Fields is a poignant tribute to the hardworking farmers and laborers who made their living in the southern U.S. cotton fields. The song's bittersweet tone captures the complex mix of emotions associated with growing up in a place that is both deeply loved and deeply flawed.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was a little bitty baby
I was just an infant in my mother's arms
My mama would rock me in the cradle
My mother would comfort me by gently swaying me back and forth in a bed-like structure made for infants
In them old cotton fields back home
These memories took place in the familiar fields of cotton that were once our home
It was down in Louisiana
This memory specifically happened in the state of Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana
The exact location of our cotton fields was close to the city of Texarkana, probably around a mile away
Oh, when them cotton bolls get rotten
When the cottons are past their prime and become spoiled
You can't pick very much cotton
It's hard to harvest much cotton if they've all gone bad
In them old cotton fields back home
This difficulty was something we experienced firsthand from the fields we used to work on
When I was a little bitty baby
Again, I'm reminiscing about my infancy and how we used to live in the cotton fields
My mama would rock me in the cradle
My mother's soothing care and nurturing ways were what I cherished growing up
In them old cotton fields back home
These beautiful memories all took place in the familiar territory of our cotton fields
It was down in Louisiana
And I can't forget it was all thanks to our Louisiana home
Just about a mile from Texarkana
And a small distance from the bustling city of Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home
Where we worked tirelessly but found happiness in each other's company
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Bluewater Music Corp., T.R.O. INC.
Written by: Huddie Ledbetter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@helenepelletier894
Back about seven years ago, I took my mother on a trip, which was about 700 miles total. this song came on my CD and my mother loved it so much she made me play it on repeat all the way home which is about 250 miles
@jrbear888
Right On
@mariamercedeslineiro4777
A nice song. We listened to it long time ago...
@jeromebukam1235
Yes, a beautiful and memorable song indeed ❤😊
@MorganHuntOffroad
I don’t blame her! It’s a great song!
@HydrixCooper
And you're still listening to it!
@calvinflamand8965
Been listening since the seventies will be her another 40 years
@WayneCardinal-yg1ch
Me still here Wayne cardinal jr 93’ was a great year
@jaredduran2307
02 41
@jaredduran2307
old cotton field back home