Earl Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was an American blues guita… Read Full Bio ↴Earl Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was an American blues guitarist.
Born Earl Zebedee Hooker in Quitman County, Mississippi, his impoverished family moved to Chicago, Illinois when he was still an infant. Influenced by parents and relatives who played music, he was a cousin of John Lee Hooker and began playing guitar as a teenager. An instrumentalist, within a few years Hooker put together a band that toured the United States and made some of his first recordings for Sam Phillips at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He eventually became an important part of the Chicago blues scene. Hooker played in the American Folk Blues Festival in England in 1969. Although he never received the public recognition to the same extent as some of his contemporaries, Jimi Hendrix proclaimed Earl Hooker as the "master of the wah-wah" and his talent was greatly respected by other notable musicians such as B.B. King, Ike Turner, Junior Wells, and Buddy Guy. Hooker played slide guitar on the 1962 Muddy Waters recording, "You Shook Me." He was the only slide player on a Muddy Waters recording besides Muddy himself. Hooker also helped popularized the double-neck guitar.
Earl Hooker died at the age of 40 after a lifelong struggle against tuberculosis, which is alluded to in the title of a 1972 compilation album of his work, "There's a Fungus Among Us." He was interred in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. His story was told in a 2001 book by author Sebastian Danchin titled Earl Hooker, Blues Master.

Driftin' Blues
Earl Hooker Lyrics

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Well I'm drifting and drifting,
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

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.

Overall Meaning

Earl Hooker's "Driftin' Blues" is a classic blues tune with a soulful sound and poignant lyrics. The song talks about the theme of loneliness, drifting aimlessly without any purpose, and the pain of being betrayed by loved ones. The lyrics paint a picture of a man adrift on the sea, lost and alone with nobody to call his own. He longs for his baby to take him back, but realizes that he isn't good for much and hasn't got any friends. He's even given her all his money, but she still won't be true to him. In the end, he resigns himself to the fact that he's drifting too far away and far from the things that matter most.

The song captures the essence of the blues and speaks to the struggles and hardships of African Americans in the early 20th century. With its smooth guitar licks and melancholic tone, "Driftin' Blues" is a testament to the enduring power of the blues to express human pain and emotion.

Line by Line Meaning

Well I'm drifting and drifting,
I'm wandering aimlessly, without a clear direction or purpose.

Like a ship out on the sea.
I'm lost and alone like a ship lost at sea.

Well I ain't got nobody
I'm alone without anyone to turn to.

In this world to care for me.
Nobody in my life cares about me.

If my baby would only take me back again
If only my significant other would come back to me.

If my baby would only take me back again.
I need my significant other in my life again.

Well you know I ain't good for nothin' baby
I'm not worth much without my significant other.

Well I haven't got no friends.
I don't have any friends to turn to.

I give you all of my money,
I've given you everything I have.

Tell me what more can I do.
What else can I possibly do to make you happy?

Well you just a good little girl
You seem like a wonderful person.