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.
The Sky Is Crying
Earl Hooker Lyrics
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Can you see the tears roll down the street.
The sky is crying,
Can you see the tears roll down the street.
I've been looking for my baby
And I've been wondering where can she be
I my baby early one morning
I my baby early one morning
She was walking on down the street
You know it hurt me, hurt me so bad
It made my poor heart skip a beat
I got a real, real fine feeling
That my baby she don't love me no more
I got a real, real fine feeling
That my baby she don't love me no more
You know the sky's been crying
Can see you see the tears roll down my door
The lyrics to Earl Hooker's "The Sky Is Crying" speak of heartbreak and loss. The metaphor of the sky crying is used to describe the singer's emotional state, as he searches for his lost lover. He describes seeing tears roll down the street, which could be interpreted as his own tears, or a personification of the weather reflecting his emotions. The ongoing motif of tears captures the sadness and heartache the singer is experiencing.
The second stanza continues the theme of heartbreak as the singer remembers the morning he last saw his lover. He remembers watching her walk down the street without him and the pain that it caused him. He describes the feeling as making his heart skip a beat, which demonstrates how deeply he was affected by the loss of his lover. The imagery of him watching her walk away, coupled with the sky crying, paints a vivid picture of sadness, loss, and despair.
In the final stanza, the singer reflects on his current emotional state. He has a "real, real fine feeling" that his baby no longer loves him. The use of this phrase is somewhat ironic, as it contradicts his previous expressions of sadness and despair. The central irony of the song is that the sky crying is a physical manifestation of his sadness, but the person he is lamenting is the one who caused him this pain. The image of the sky crying again serves as a potent metaphor for his emotions, as he imagines the tears rolling down his door.
Line by Line Meaning
The sky is crying,
The weather is gloomy and depressing
Can you see the tears roll down the street.
The rain is pouring down and creating pools on the street
I've been looking for my baby
The singer is desperately searching for their significant other
And I've been wondering where can she be
The artist is pondering the whereabouts of their significant other
I met my baby early one morning
The artist saw their significant other in the morning
She was walking on down the street
The significant other was casually walking down the street
You know it hurt me, hurt me so bad
The singer experienced emotional pain upon seeing their significant other
It made my poor heart skip a beat
The artist experienced physical symptoms of distress upon seeing their significant other
I got a real, real fine feeling
The artist is sensing a change in their love life
That my baby she don't love me no more
The artist suspects that their significant other no longer loves them
You know the sky's been crying
The weather reflects the singer's sadness
Can see you see the tears roll down my door
The artist's tears are falling down their face and onto their doorstep
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Elmore James
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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