Sumlin was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and raised in Hughes, Arkansas. He got his first guitar when he was eight years old. As a boy, he met Howlin' Wolf by sneaking into a performance.
Wolf relocated from Memphis to Chicago in 1953, but his longtime guitarist Willie Johnson chose not to join him. In Chicago, Wolf hired the guitarist Jody Williams, but in 1954 he invited Sumlin to move to Chicago to play second guitar in his band. Williams left the band in 1955, leaving Sumlin as the primary guitarist, a position he held almost continuously (except for a brief spell playing with Muddy Waters around 1956) for the remainder of Wolf's career. According to Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf sent him to a classical guitar instructor at the Chicago Conservatory of Music to learn keyboards and scales. Sumlin played on the album Howlin' Wolf (called the "rocking chair album", with reference to its cover illustration), which was named the third greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine in 2004.
Upon Wolf's death in 1976, Sumlin continued playing with several other members of Wolf's band, as the Wolf Pack, until about 1980. He also recorded under his own name, beginning with a session from a tour of Europe with Wolf in 1964. His last solo album was About Them Shoes, released in 2004 by Tone-Cool Records. He underwent lung removal surgery the same year, but he continued performing until just before his death. His final recording, just days before his death, was tracks for an album by Stephen Dale Petit, "Cracking the Code" (333 Records).
Sumlin was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2008. He was nominated for four Grammy Awards: in 1999 for the album Tribute to Howlin' Wolf, with Henry Gray, Calvin Jones, Sam Lay, and Colin Linden; in 2000 for Legends, with Pinetop Perkins; in 2006, for his solo project About Them Shoes (which features performances by Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, David Johansen and James Cotton) and in 2010 for his contribution to Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Live! in Chicago. He won multiple Blues Music Awards. He was a judge for the fifth annual Independent Music Awards, given to support the careers of independent artists.
Sumlin lived in Totowa, New Jersey, for 10 years before his death, He died of heart failure on December 4, 2011, at the age of 80, in a hospital in Wayne, New Jersey. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards paid Sumlin's funeral expenses.
Sitting on Top of the World
Hubert Sumlin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just trying to find my little Lenore
But now she's gone, and I don't worry
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
One summer day when she went away
Just when she left me, she's gone to stay
But now she's gone and I don't worry
There was days when I didn't know your name
Why should I worry and prayer in vain
But now she's gone and I don't worry
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world, alright
Going to the station, down in the yard
Gonna get me a freight train, after worked and got too hard
Now she's gone and I don't worry
Because I'm sitting on top of the world
The lonesome days they have gone by
Why should I beg her when she's saying goodbye?
But now she's gone and I don't worry
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
Hubert Sumlin's song "Sitting on Top of the World" is about a man who had worked tirelessly during the summer and fall to find his Lenore, but she is now gone. This man is content with his life despite his loss, as he has found himself on top of the world. The song is a Blues standard where the man reflects on his attempt to find his Lenore which eventually leads to his feelings of self-empowerment, and he begins to enjoy his life. The song shares a message that even though things do not always go as planned, it's essential to keep pushing, and everything will fall into place eventually.
The lyrics’ meaning can be interpreted as a metaphor that symbolizes human emotions such as love, happiness, and success. Even when one’s heart is broken and everything seems to be falling apart, staying positive and believing they are sitting on top of the world can help one push through.
Line by Line Meaning
Work all the summer and all the fall
I spent an entire season working tirelessly trying to find Lenore
Just trying to find my little Lenore
I was searching for the woman I love and devoted myself to finding her
But now she's gone, and I don't worry
Despite her absence, I am content with my current situation
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
I am in high spirits, feeling on top of the world
One summer day when she went away
Lenore left me one summer day
Just when she left me, she's gone to stay
I understood that she had left me for good
There was days when I didn't know your name
At one point, I did not know who Lenore was
Why should I worry and prayer in vain
I did not want to waste time worrying or praying for something if it was not meant to be
Cause I'm sitting on top of the world, alright
I'm still feeling good regardless of what's happened
Going to the station, down in the yard
I ventured to the station located in the yard
Gonna get me a freight train, after worked and got too hard
I planned to take a freight train to ease my tiredness after a long day of work
The lonesome days they have gone by
My lonely days of searching for Lenore have passed
Why should I beg her when she's saying goodbye?
I didn't see the point of begging her to stay once she had already decided to leave
But now she's gone and I don't worry
Now that Lenore is gone, I am not worried about what will happen next
'Cause I'm sitting on top of the world
I'm still feeling good and in control of my life
Contributed by Samuel S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cora Visser
This song is real good marbles and they will never boring,so you will keeping the blues a live.
Antonio Betancourt
...lo entiendo totalmente...good blues.