“My name is Doug; my formal name is Douglas,” MacLeod yarns, telling about when his mentor George “Harmonica” Smith recorded a spoken intro for “It’s the Blues,” (from MacLeod’s 1984 debut No Road Back Home). “He couldn’t—wouldn’t—say ‘Doug.’ I don’t know why. He always called me ‘Dubb.’ And then when he got mad at me, he called me ‘Dubblass.’ “[For the recording] I would say, “Hello, George” and he would say, “Hello, Dubb.” And I’d say, “We’d sure like to hear you play some blues,” and he’d say, “Okay, I’ll blow some blues for ya.”
When they hit the button, what came out of Smith’s mouth shocked everyone. “Everyone stopped and said, ‘What?! What did you say, George?’ And he said, ‘I called him Doug.’” Asked why, Smith replied, “Well that’s his name, isn’t it? And his mama’s gonna hear this record, and every mama should be able to hear her son’s name called right.”
That was Smith’s last recorded performance, and stories like these make up MacLeod’s own tale. (Ask him about the compliment he laid on Big Mama Thornton back in ‘72!) Befitting of a storytelling troubadour Doug isn’t entirely sure where he spent his first nine years. Alas, he knows how they were spent.
As a youth, MacLeod overcame inexpressible abuse and a crippling stutter by turning to the blues. “I had it really rough,” he says. “I don’t remember much, but the product of that was a terrible stutter. Honestly, I couldn’t speak two words. I felt that I wasn’t gonna be able to speak. And then I picked up the guitar, and I just tried to sing—and this voice came out. I really haven’t stuttered much since.” Healing music indeed!
While he developed his rich, soulful voice MacLeod also worked out a unique, unorthodox and powerfully rhythmic acoustic guitar style. Tempered by his early years as a blues bass player and honed by his subsequent journeys into jazz and electric blues. His distinct style of playing was a byproduct of pent-up rage from his turbulent childhood and the segregation drama in his new home of St. Louis. From childhood, early adulthood and into his Navy years, MacLeod picked fights to purge hostility. Eventually he channeled it through his National guitar, using his relentless right hand to pound out an insistent, churning beat to complement his intricate bottleneck and fingerstyle technique.
MacLeod’s playing landed him sideman gigs with Smith, Big Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, Lowell Fulson and Big Mama Thornton. Under their tutelage, he learned how to thrill and enrapture a crowd. As he began playing shows solo and with the Doug MacLeod Band, he became a master at moving crowds to dance as much as stop short to soak up his songs and the engaging, entertaining stories behind them—which, as MacLeod says himself, “Make ya think I been reading your mail.”
Over 24 years, 12 studio albums, several live records and two DVDs, MacLeod has consistently earned raves, with the likes of Honeyboy Edwards saying, “Now there’s a man who can really play the blues.” His songs have been covered by Albert King, Albert Collins, Coco Montoya, Joe Louis Walker and Eva Cassidy, and featured in many TV movies and the hit show In the Heat of the Night. Blues luminaries Charlie Musselwhite, Carey Bell and Janiva Magness have graced his albums.
In every note he performs and records, MacLeod subscribes to the mantra learned from legendary country bluesmen Ernest Banks who instilled in him to “Never play a note you don’t believe” and “Never write or sing about what you don’t know about.”
From 1992 to 1994, he hosted The Blues Highway, a weekly four-hour radio show for EuroJazz. From 1999 to 2004 he hosted Nothin’ But The Blues, a marathon 10-hour weekend blues show on Los Angeles’ KLON-KKJZ. He has also been the voice for The Blues Showcase on Continental Airlines and contributed his soulful slide playing to the Los Angeles opening of the August Wilson play Gem of the Ocean. And for the past nine years, he’s penned “Doug's Back Porch,” a regular feature in Blues Revue Magazine in which he shares his humorous and insightful stories with thousands of blues fans.
In April 2006, MacLeod released his third album for Black and Tan Records, Where I Been, as well as the instructional DVD 101* Blues Guitar Essentials on Solid Air/Warner Bros. In April 2007, Black and Tan released the live concert DVD The Blues in Me. This summer, the label releases his lucky 13th album, The Utrecht Sessions. Recorded in the Netherlands over three days in February 2008, is largely just MacLeod, his trusty National Delphi guitar—affectionately called “Spook,” an old 12-string Stella on its last legs, and a creaky chair. Absent all else, save spare percussion and double bass (courtesy Arthur Bont and Jasper Mortier, respectively), the record resonates with MacLeod’s essence, stories and playing, punctuated by his tireless right hand and tappin’ left foot.
Like the old masters who taught him, MacLeod's music expresses life and times via an intangible, elusive quality that may simply be a keen sense of what matters most. By telling the stories of his life, MacLeod also mythologizes our own existences, allowing us to live vicariously through folks who’ve done extraordinary things but are really no different from us—even legends get the blues. Which, MacLeod is likely to say, is “a whole other story.”
One Good Woman
Doug MacLeod Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been to school, now baby, I didn't need no book
You see, it was one good woman
I said, "Lord, that's all it took"
She say, "I don't know about no fishing
I'm gonna teach you how to drop your line"
She say, "I don't know about no fishing
It's the motion of the lure
It makes a catch most every time"
She say, "I don't know about no horses
But I still believe you could ride"
She say, "I don't know about no horses
But I still believe you could ride
I want you to ease up in my saddle
I want you to move from side to side"
She say, "I don't know about no farming
I will teach you how plow"
She say, "I don't know about no farming
I will teach you how plow"
She said, "A fool can plant a seed
But a wise man knows how"
I've been to school, I didn't need no book
I've been to school, now baby, I didn't need no book
You see, it was one good woman
I said, "Lord, that's all it took"
In Doug MacLeod's song "One Good Woman," the singer reflects on the lessons he's learned from a special woman in his life, who has taught him everything he needs to know about life, love, and survival. The verses describe a series of tasks that he has learned to manage, thanks to the guidance of this wise and supportive woman. The lyrics are full of powerful metaphors and vivid imagery, allowing the listener to feel and experience the emotions of the singer.
For instance, when she teaches him how to fish, he says "It's the motion of the lure/ it makes a catch most every time." This can be interpreted as a metaphor for how the singer has been "caught" by this woman's charm, wit, and wisdom, and how he's benefited from her tutelage. Similarly, when she helps him ride a horse, he says "I want you to ease up in my saddle/ I want you to move from side to side." Here, the "saddle" represents the singer's life, and the woman's guidance is what allows him to navigate his life's journey with ease and grace.
Overall, "One Good Woman" is a powerful tribute to the loving and supportive women in our lives, who help us grow, learn, and succeed. It's a song that reminds us of the importance of kindness, empathy, and compassion in the human experience, and how we can all benefit from the guidance of a wise and loving mentor.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been to school, I didn't need no book
I've learned my lessons from life experiences, not just from books
I've been to school, now baby, I didn't need no book
I've already learned enough from my experiences, there's no need for me to study
You see, it was one good woman
The reason for my success is due to one insightful woman's guidance
I said, "Lord, that's all it took"
I thanked my lucky stars for bringing that woman into my life
She say, "I don't know about no fishing
She told me she had no experience with fishing
I'm gonna teach you how to drop your line"
But, she was willing to teach me how to fish properly
It's the motion of the lure
She taught me that the lure's movement was important for catching fish
It makes a catch most every time"
And, that technique has resulted in successful catches most of the time
She say, "I don't know about no horses
She informed me that she had no experience with horses
But I still believe you could ride
Yet, she remained confident in my ability to ride them
I want you to ease up in my saddle
She invited me to slow down and relax
I want you to move from side to side"
And, she showed me how to ride horses with grace and balance
She say, "I don't know about no farming
She explained that she wasn't knowledgeable about farming
I will teach you how plow
But, she was willing to teach me how to plow the fields
She said, "A fool can plant a seed
She told me that planting seeds is easy enough for a beginner
But a wise man knows how"
But, it takes wisdom and experience to know how to farm effectively
Contributed by Liam C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.