Dr. John began making his own idiosyncratic music in the 1960s. Along with Professor Longhair, Dr. John is heir to the rich New Orleans tradition. He is perhaps best known for "Right Place, Wrong Time", an international hit in 1973, reissued and used on soundtracks many times since.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, his professional musical career began as a session musician in New Orleans in the 1950s. Early on he also played guitar and was often known as Mac Rebennack. He switched to the bass ("the lowest time of my life"), and then the piano after his index finger was nearly shot off protecting his bandmate and longtime friend Ronnie Barron. He gained fame beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with music that combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock and stage shows that bordered on voodoo religious ceremonies, including elaborate costumes and headdress. For a time he was billed as Dr. John, The Night Tripper. The name "Dr. John" came from a legendary Louisiana voodoo practitioner from the start of the 19th century.
Dr. John has also done vocals for Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits' "Luv dat chicken..." jingle, as well as the theme song ("My Opinionation") for the early-1990s television sitcom Blossom. His movie credits include Martin Scorsese's documentary The Last Waltz (in which he joins The Band for a performance of his song "Such a Night") and Blues Brothers 2000 (in which he joins the fictional band The Louisiana Gator Boys to perform the song "New Orleans"). In the 2009 Disney film The Princess and the Frog, Dr. John sings the opening tune, "Down in New Orleans".
In January 2008 Mac Rebennack, Dr. John, was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
I'm The One
Dr. John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He sounds too blue to fly
This midnight train is whining low
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
That moon just went behind the clouds
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves began to die?
Like me, he's lost the will to live
I'm so lonesome I could die
The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
As I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I'm so lonesome I could cry
The lyrics to Dr. John's song "I'm the One" convey a deep sense of melancholy and loneliness. The opening lines introduce the sound of a lonesome whippoorwill, a bird known for its sad and mournful call. The whippoorwill's cry is described as "too blue to fly," implying a sense of sadness and stagnation. The mention of a midnight train whining low adds to the atmosphere of despair and longing.
The singer reflects on the passing of time, describing a night that feels incredibly long and slow. The moon disappearing behind the clouds further emphasizes the darkness and solitude that the singer is experiencing. The following verse draws a poignant comparison between a robin weeping as autumn arrives and the singer losing the will to live. This imagery symbolizes the profound sadness and despair the singer is feeling, mirroring nature's cycles of life and death.
The lyric that speaks of the silence of a falling star lighting up a purple sky adds another layer of longing and contemplation. The falling star represents a fleeting moment of beauty amid the vastness of the universe, as the singer ponders the whereabouts of a loved one. Ultimately, the repeated line "I'm so lonesome I could cry" encapsulates the overwhelming sense of loneliness and emotional distress that the singer is experiencing throughout the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
Listen to the sound of that lonely whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
His melancholy tonalities indicate his inability to take flight
This midnight train is whining low
The train, under the cover of darkness, emits a mournful wail
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I am overwhelmed with an immense feeling of loneliness, to the point of tears
I've never seen a night so long
I have never encountered a night that seems to stretch on endlessly
When time goes crawling by
The passage of time feels agonizingly slow
That moon just went behind the clouds
The moon has hidden itself behind a shroud of clouds
I'm so lonesome I could cry
My loneliness is so overwhelming that it brings me to the brink of tears
Did you ever see a robin weep
Have you witnessed a robin shedding tears?
When leaves began to die?
At the onset of leaf decay?
Like me, he's lost the will to live
Similar to myself, the robin has lost all motivation to continue living
I'm so lonesome I could die
My profound loneliness is so overwhelming that it seems unbearable
The silence of a falling star
The absolute stillness accompanying the descent of a shooting star
Lights up a purple sky
Illuminates a sky painted in shades of purple
As I wonder where you are
While I ponder and speculate on your whereabouts
I'm so lonesome I could cry
My loneliness has reached such an intensity that I could weep
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I am plagued by such debilitating loneliness that it is capable of making me shed tears
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hank Williams, Sr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@robertkennett4622
Not a lot to say, I just love this song. It has such a good feel, you can just put everything else aside and jam.
@MichaelGarrone-cv7hr
Who the fuck is Dr Snuggles?
@user-gj7oq1el7w
Back when I smoked pot, this was it.
@mbfg-mobettafitnessgenerat6058
So this Jizzie just pops into my head and immediately I'm ushered back to the early 70s where myself, Yvette Wright Gauff , Tshlene Henreid , Carole Burgess and many more girls in Sheila Sweet's Dance Troupe would practice to master all our routines- and We Did, then we took it across the city, even to Shelton & McNeil Island: and that's all omma say about that part‼️ We were good. Each of us had our own unique & special thing and as a group- Hey BaeBae💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾‼️
Thanks for pouring into us, Sheila👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤗
@armchairgravy8224
Early '70s funk is some of the most fun you'll ever have in music. Stank face and body moving all on its own.
@KarenStokes-wo1yf
Yep! There was a rich variety of music in the 70s, and funk is my favorite!😊
@JohnBrownsBody64920
Born in 1998. Love this music. Such a fun sound!
@knifelyfe6565
The Meters backing up Mac on this.They are the NOLA King's of Funk.
W H O D A T
@knifelyfe6565
@@JohnBrownsBody64920 Mac turned me onto Melinda's Habanero Sauce.I still have a gri gri charm of the Superdome he gave me.
@d.pinit7796
This is one of those songs that stops me dead in my tracks to listen and bust a smile. Great tune !