While commonly lumped together with Delta Blues singers, McDowell actually may be considered the first of the bluesmen from the 'North Mississippi' region - parallel to, but somewhat east of the Delta region - to achieve widespread recognition for his work. A version of the state's signature musical form somewhat closer in structure to its African roots (often eschewing the chord change for the hypnotic effect of the droning, single chord vamp), the north hill country blues style (or at least its aesthetic) may be heard to have been carried on in the music of such figures as Junior Kimbrough and R. L. Burnside, while serving as the original impetus behind creation of the Fat Possum record label out of Oxford, Mississippi.[6]
The 1950s brought a rising interest in blues music and folk music in the United States and McDowell was brought to wider public attention, beginning when he was discovered and recorded in 1959 by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins.[7] McDowell's records were popular, and he performed often at festivals and clubs.[8] McDowell continued to perform blues in the North Mississippi blues style much as he had for decades, but he sometimes performed on electric guitar rather than acoustic guitar. While he famously declared "I do not play no rock and roll," McDowell was not averse to associating with many younger rock musicians: He coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique,[8] and was reportedly flattered by The Rolling Stones' rather straightforward, authentic version of his "You Gotta Move" on their 1971 Sticky Fingers album[citation needed].
McDowell's 1969 album I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll was his first featuring electric guitar. It features parts of an interview in which he discusses the origins of the blues and the nature of love. (This interview was sampled and mixed into a song, also titled "I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll" by Dangerman in 1999.) McDowell's final album,[9] Live in New York (Oblivion Records), was a concert performance from November 1971 at the Village Gaslight (aka The Gaslight Cafe), Greenwich Village, New York.
McDowell died of cancer in 1972, aged 68, and was buried at Hammond Hill Baptist Church, between Como and Senatobia, Mississippi. On August 6, 1993 a memorial was placed on his grave site by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund. The ceremony was presided over by Dick Waterman, and the memorial with McDowell's portrait upon it was paid for by Bonnie Raitt. The memorial stone was a replacement for an inaccurate and damaged marker (McDowell's name was misspelled) and the original stone was subsequently donated by McDowell's family to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
You're Gonna Be Sorry
Fred McDowell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mississippi Fred McDowell
(previously unreleased)
Recorded Sept. 22, 1959, Como Mississippi
Fred McDowell - guitar & vocal
Fanny Davis (sister) - comb, Miles Pratcher - guitar.
Album: Portraits The First Recordings
Rounder CD 1718
Note: Background chorus verses are a variation of lines.
Chorus:
(Something is wrong)
(My baby's gone)
Lord, you gon' be sorry
Ever done me wrong
Say, you're gon' be sorry
Ever done me wrong
Might done be too late, baby
Honey, now I'll be gone
Chorus:
(Something is wrong)
(My baby's gone)
(Have her fun)
(Might be gone)
I'm goin' by the pawn shop
Put my watch in pawn
(Something is wrong)
(My baby's gone)
(Have her fun)
(Watch in pawn)
Lord, I'm goin' by the pawn shop
Put my watch in pawn
Chorus:
(Something is wrong)
(Watch in pawn)
(Have her fun)
(Might be gone)
(guitar & comb)
What you goin' do, baby
When your trouble get like mine?
(guitar)
Chrous:
(Have trouble like this)
(Try trouble like this)
What you goin' do, baby
When your trouble get like mine?
Lord, you can't do me
Honey, like you did wit' done, Po' Shine
Chorus:
(Like Po' Shine)
(Now he's gone)
(Like Po' Shine)
(Now he's gone)
Lord, you took his money, babe
But swear you can't take mine
(cue)
Chorus:
(My baby's gone)
(Something is wrong) 'I may'
(My baby's gone)
(My baby's gone)
Lord, I wonder
What's the matter now?
Chorus:
(What's the matter?)
(What's the matter?)
(What's the matter?)
(What's the matter?)
Lord, I wonder
What's the matter now?
Chorus:
(I wonder, I wonder)
(I wonder, I wonder)
(I wonder)
Lord, I wonder, baby
Wonder what's the matter, now?
Chorus:
(My baby's gone)
(Something is wrong)
(My baby's gone)
(My baby's gone)
(guitar & solo)
Chorus:
(I wonder, I wonder)
(I wonder, I wonder)
(I wonder, I wonder)
(I wonder, I wonder)
Lord, I'm still wondering'
I don't know what to do
(Nothin' to do)
(Nothin' to do)
(Nothin' to do)
(Nothin' to do)
Lord, I wonder, baby
What gonna 'come of me?
Chorus:
(Nothin' to do)
(Nothin' to do)
(Nothin' to do)
(Nothin' to do)
Lord, I wonder
What gonna 'come a-me?
(guitars)
(What come of me?)
(What come of me?)
(What come of me?)
(guitars)
Well, just come on, baby
Take a little walk wit' me
(Now just a walk)
(Now just a walk)
(Now just a walk)
(Now just a walk)
Well, just come on, baby
Take a little walk wit' me
(Now take a walk)
(Now take a walk)
(Now take a walk)
(Now take a walk)
Lord, just come on, baby
Take a little walk wit' me
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
(Come take a walk)
Lord, come on baby, Lordy
Take a little walk wit' me.
unk: 'Stop'
(guitars to end)
~
Mississippi Fred McDowell's song "You're Gonna Be Sorry" is about a woman who done him wrong and he warns her that she will regret it. The repetition of the chorus "Something is wrong, my baby's gone" emphasizes his pain and sorrow. The threats of the woman's regret are woven throughout the song. McDowell sings about taking his watch to a pawn shop to get rid of his belongings and he subtly reminds her of what she did to a man named Po' Shine who is now gone. McDowell's guitar and Fanny Davis' harmonica complement each other in the background, creating a haunting sound. The song ends with McDowell asking the woman to take a walk with him, perhaps indicating that he is willing to forgive her.
Line by Line Meaning
Something is wrong
There's a feeling of discomfort and unease
My baby's gone
My lover has left me
Lord, you gon' be sorry
Ever done me wrong
You'll regret the day you did me wrong
Say, you're gon' be sorry
Ever done me wrong
You will surely regret mistreating me
Might done be too late, baby
Honey, now I'll be gone
It may be too late to make amends, I'm leaving now
I'm goin' by the pawn shop
Put my watch in pawn
I'm so broke, I'm selling my belongings for cash
Watch in pawn
I pawned my watch
What you goin' do, baby
When your trouble get like mine?
How will you cope with challenges like mine?
Lord, you can't do me
Honey, like you did wit' done, Po' Shine
You can't treat me the way you did poor old Shine
Lord, you took his money, babe
But swear you can't take mine
You took his money, but you'll never take mine
I may
I might
Lord, I wonder
What's the matter now?
I'm curious about what's going on now
I wonder, I wonder
I'm still pondering what's happening
Lord, I'm still wondering'
I don't know what to do
I'm still wondering and clueless about what to do
Nothin' to do
There's nothing to be done
Lord, I wonder
What gonna 'come a-me?
What will happen to me?
Well, just come on, baby
Take a little walk wit' me
Let's just take a walk together
Now just a walk
Just a simple walk
Come take a walk
Come on, let's go for a walk
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The Soul of Sam Collins
right back at you. between the whiskey and the real living (work) - don't have much time for nonsense. FM cuts to bone every time. so, thank you... getting pretty tired of the cookie cutter stuff popping up in my mailbox.
PrincessRadojka
Well, whatever genre of music, Fred stands above all! Thank you for your comment, I truly appreciate it, especially coming from you. Not in my best tradition, but it feels good to stay in shape. And save some whiskey for me, felt like I was missing something (while my drunk neighbours are yelling and their children are screaming right now at 1 PM). Sure, I got your point, those "cookie cutters" could be very annoying, particularly Tarkovsky ones.
The Soul of Sam Collins
Well there's certainly nothing "cookie cutter" about Tarkovsky. And although I would argue BWJ belongs in there, along with a few others - all are likely to smash the mirror to pieces if you're not prepared. So take your time, the sun has just begun to rise and the bottles here are never empty.
PrincessRadojka
Who would smash a mirror seeing its own reflection while a (visually) physically different person was standing in front of it? Well, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so I'll hold you to that.
Sorghum and Sumac
@PrincessRadojka What in the Sam Hill was y'all talkin' 'bout?