Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923, Deep Gap, North Carolina – May 29,… Read Full Bio ↴Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923, Deep Gap, North Carolina – May 29, 2012, Winston-Salem, North Carolina) was a guitar player, banjo player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music.

Doc played guitar in both flatpicking and fingerpicking style, but was best known for his flatpick work. His virtuosity combined with his authenticity as a mountain musician made him a highly influential figure during the folk music revival. He pioneered the fast and flashy bluegrass lead guitar style which has been adopted and extended by others such as Clarence White and Tony Rice. He was also an accomplished banjo player and in the past had accompanied himself on harmonica as well.

In 1986 he received the North Carolina Award and in 2000 he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. In 1997, Doc received the National Medal of the Arts from President Clinton.

He was generally joined on stage by his grandson and Merle's son Richard as well as his musical partner of twenty years, Jack Lawrence.

He was host to the annual MerleFest music festival held every April at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The festival features a vast array of acoustic style music focusing on the folk, bluegrass, blues and old time music genres. It's named in honor of Merle Watson and is one of the most popular acoustic music festivals in the world, drawing over 85,000 music fans each year.

In late May 2012, Watson was listed in critical condition but was responsive at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after undergoing colon surgery. Watson had fallen early in the week. Watson did not break any bones, but an underlying condition prompted the surgery. Watson died on May 29, 2012 at the medical center at the age of 89.

St. Louis Blues
Doc Watson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I hate to see that evening sun go down
I hate to see that evening sun go down
Cause my baby, he's gone left this town

Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
If I'm feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
I'll pack my truck and make my give-a-way

St. Louis woman with her diamond ring
Pulls that man around by her, if it wasn't for her and her
That man I love would have gone nowhere, nowhere

I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be
That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me

I love my baby like a school boy loves his pie

Like a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye
I love my man till the day I die

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Doc Watson's St. Louis Blues express a mournful lament for a lost love. The singer hates to see the evening sun go down because his lover has left town. He feels today and tomorrow the same way and plans to pack up his truck and leave. The St. Louis woman with her diamond ring, who can pull her man around, is blamed for the singer's lover leaving. The singer declares that he has the St. Louis blues as bad as they can be and that his lover's heart is like a rock in the sea. He loves his lover so much that it's like a schoolboy loves his pie or a Kentucky colonel loves his mint and rye, and this love will never die.

The song is an old Delta blues standard and has been covered by many artists over the years. One interesting fact about the song is that the St. Louis woman in the song is a reference to a specific person, St. Louis blues singer Bessie Smith, who first recorded the song in 1925. Another interesting fact is that the song was written by W. C. Handy, known as the "Father of the Blues," who wrote many other blues standards such as "Memphis Blues" and "Beale Street Blues." The song has been covered by blues legends such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and B.B. King. The song has also been featured in several films and TV shows, including "The Sting" and "Boardwalk Empire."

The chords for Doc Watson's version of St. Louis Blues are:

Verse:
C7 F7 C7
G7 C7 C7
F7 F7 C7 A7
D7 G7 C7

Chorus:
F7 F7 C7 A7
D7 G7 C7 A7

Line by Line Meaning

I hate to see that evening sun go down
I am saddened by the departure of daylight

Cause my baby, he's gone left this town
My significant other has departed from this locale

Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
I anticipate tomorrow will transpire similar to today

If I'm feelin' tomorrow like I feel today
Assuming my emotions persist, precisely identical to the present,

I'll pack my truck and make my give-a-way
then I will hastily gather my belongings and depart

St. Louis woman with her diamond ring
There's this particular woman in St. Louis adorned with a precious gemstone ring

Pulls that man around by her, if it wasn't for her and her
She inherently has great power over him, to the point where without her, he would not have succeeded

That man I love would have gone nowhere, nowhere
The man I hold in high esteem would not have accomplished anything without her

I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be
I am thoroughly despondent, affected by the St. Louis Blues

That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
He has a heart that is as unyielding as a rock submerged in an ocean

Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me
It's plausible that if his emotional disposition were dissimilar, he would not have separated from me to the distance he has

I love my baby like a school boy loves his pie
My fondness for my significant other is as intense and pure as a young boy's love for his pastry

Like a Kentucky colonel loves his mint 'n rye
My love for him is akin to the adoration a Kentucky colonel has for their liquor

I love my man till the day I die
I shall love my partner ad infinitum

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, HANDY BROTHERS MUSIC CO.,INC., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: William Christopher Handy

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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