John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own unique genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his masterful and idiosyncratic blues guitar and singing. His best known songs include "Boogie Chillen" (1948) and "Boom Boom" (1962).
There is some debate as to the year of John Lee Hooker's birth, 1915, 1917, 1920, and 1923 have all been cited, 1917 (the date on his grave marker in Oakland, California) is the one most commonly cited although Hooker himself claimed, at times, 1920.
Hooker was the youngest of the eleven children of William Hooker (1871–1923), a sharecropper and a Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey (1875–?).
Hooker and his siblings were home-schooled. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs, with his earliest musical exposure being the spirituals sung in church.
In 1921, his parents separated. The next year, his mother married William Moore, a blues singer who provided John's first introduction to the guitar (and whom John would later credit for his distinctive playing style). The year after that (1923), John's natural father died; and at age 15, John ran away from home, never to see his mother and stepfather again.
He was a cousin of Earl Hooker,
Throughout the 1930s, Hooker lived in Memphis where he worked on Beale Street and occasionally performed at house parties. He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, drifting until he found himself in Detroit in 1948 working at Ford Motor Company. He felt right at home near the blues venues and saloons on Hastings Street, the heart of black entertainment on Detroit's east side. In a city noted for its piano players, guitar players were scarce. Performing in Detroit clubs, his popularity grew quickly, and seeking a louder instrument than his crude acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar.
Though he stuttered slightly in his normal speech, he performed in a half-spoken style that became his trademark. Rhythmically, his music was free, a property common with early acoustic Delta blues musicians. His vocal phrasing was less closely tied to specific bars than most blues singers'. This casual, rambling style had been gradually diminishing with the onset of electric blues bands from Chicago but, even when not playing solo, Hooker retained it in his sound.
Hooker's recording career began in 1948 with the hit single, "Boogie Chillen" cut in a studio near Wayne State University.
Despite being illiterate, he was a prolific lyricist. In addition to adapting the occasionally traditional blues lyric (such as "if I was chief of police, I would run her right out of town"), he freely invented many of his songs from scratch. Recording studios in the 50s rarely paid black musicians more than a pittance, so Hooker would spend the night wandering from studio to studio, coming up with new songs or variations on his songs for each studio. Due to his recording contract, he would record these songs under obvious pseudonyms such as "John Lee Booker," "Johnny Hooker", or "John Cooker".
His early solo songs were recorded under Bernie Besman.
John Lee Hooker rarely played on a standard beat, changing tempo to fit the needs of the song. This made it nearly impossible to add backing tracks. As a result, Besman would record Hooker, in addition to playing guitar and singing, stomping along with the music on a wooden palette.
John Lee Hooker's guitar playing is closely aligned with piano Boogie Woogie. He would play the walking bass pattern with his thumb, stopping to emphasize the end of a line with a series of trills, done by rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs. The songs that most epitomize his early sound are "Boogie Chillen," about being 17 and wanting to go out to dance at the Boogie clubs, "Baby Please Don't Go," a more typical blues song, summed up by its title, and "Tupelo," a stunningly sad song about the flooding of Tupelo, Mississippi.
He maintained a solo career, popular with blues and folk music fans of the early 1960s and crossed over to white audiences, giving an early opportunity to the young Bob Dylan. As he got older, he added more and more people to his band, changing his live show from simply Hooker with his guitar to a large band, with Hooker singing.
In 1989 he joined with a number of musicians, including Keith Richards and Carlos Santana to record The Healer, which won a Grammy award — one of many awards.
He fell ill just before a tour of Europe in 2001 and died soon afterwards at the age of 83.
Hooker recorded over 100 albums and lived the last years of his life in San Francisco, California, where he licensed a nightclub to use the name Boom Boom Room, after one of his hits.
Among his many awards, John Lee Hooker has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Two of his songs, "Boogie Chillen" and "Boom Boom" were named to the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
John Lee recorded several songs with Van Morrison, including "Never Get Out of These Blues Alive", "The Healing Game" and "I Cover the Waterfront". He also appeared on stage with Van Morrison several times, some of which was released on the live album "A Night in San Francisco".
John Lee also recorded in the sixties with british blues band The Groundhogs. These recordings are still available as a CD "John Lee Hooker with The Groundhogs". More importantly, Hooker recorded with the Blues-rock outfit Canned Heat, delivering the album 'Hooker N' Heat' in 1971. Hooker was influential and topical even in his lifetime, as evidenced in the MC5 cover of "Motor City's Burning" on their first album, recorded almost immediately after the riots which are the song's topic.
Crawlin' King Snake
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know I'm a crawlin' king snake, baby, and I rules my den
I don't want you hangin' around my mate; wanna use her for myself
You know you caught me crawlin', baby, when the, when the grass was very high
I'm just gonna keep on crawlin' now, baby, until the day I die
Because I'm a crawlin' king snake, baby, and I rules my den
Don't want you hangin' around my mate; wanna use her for myself
You know I'm gon' crawl up to your window, baby
Wanna crawl up to your door; you got anything I want, baby?
Wanna crawl up on your floor
Because I'm a crawlin' king snake, baby, and I rules my den
You know you caught me crawlin', baby, when the, when the grass was very high
I'm just gonna keep on crawlin' now, baby, until the day I die
Because I'm a crawlin' king snake, baby, and I rules my den
"Crawlin' King Snake" is a classic blues song written and performed by John Lee Hooker. The lyrics are a metaphor for male dominance and sexual prowess. The crawlin' king snake is a representation of the male sex organ, and the mate mentioned in the song refers to a woman. Hooker sings about how he rules his den and doesn't want anyone hanging around his mate because he wants to be the one to use her for himself. The song is about his power and control over women, and how he will crawl up to their windows and doors to satisfy his desires.
The lyrics also reference the idea of crawling through the grass, which is meant to be a metaphor for sneaking around and hiding. Hooker uses this imagery to describe his actions as a secretive and cunning lover who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Despite the predatory nature of the lyrics, the song is still considered one of the blues greats and is praised for its gritty, raw sound and powerful vocal delivery.
Line by Line Meaning
You know I'm a crawlin' king snake, baby, and I rules my den
I am a powerful figure in my territory, and I demand respect and submission from those around me.
I don't want you hangin' around my mate; wanna use her for myself
I am possessive of my partner and will not tolerate anyone encroaching on my territory or relationship.
You know you caught me crawlin', baby, when the, when the grass was very high
You witnessed me in a vulnerable state, and I am reminding you of that moment to imply that you do not have power over me.
I'm just gonna keep on crawlin' now, baby, until the day I die
I am committed to my way of life and my position in my territory, and I will continue to hold that power until my death.
You know I'm gon' crawl up to your window, baby
I am not afraid to approach you on your own turf, and I am confident in my ability to assert my dominance.
Wanna crawl up to your door; you got anything I want, baby?
I am asserting that I have desires and needs that you may be able to satisfy, and it is up to you to decide whether you will submit to me or not.
Wanna crawl up on your floor
I am suggesting that I may push boundaries and invade your personal space in order to get what I want.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bernard Besman, John Lee Hooker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Amine Dadi [A O]
You know I'm a crawlin' kingsnake baby, and I rules my den
You know I'm a crawlin' kingsnake baby, and I rules my den
I don't want you hangin' around my mate, wanna use her for myself
You know you caught me crawlin' baby when the, when the grass was very high
I'm just gonna keep on crawlin' now baby until the day I die,
because I'm a crawlin' kingsnake baby, and I rules my den
Don't you hangin' around my mate, wanna use her for myself
You know I'm gon' crawl up to your window baby,
wanna crawl up to your door, you got anything I want baby,
wanna crawl up on your floor
Because I'm a crawlin' king snake baby, and I rules my den
You know you caught me crawlin' baby when the, when the grass was very high
I'm just gonna keep on crawlin' now baby until the day I die,
because I'm a crawlin' kingsnake baby, and I rules my den
I don't want you hangin' around my mate, wanna use her for myself
John Palmer
I came here to link this version because people I know thought the Black Keys wrote this song.
You’ll always be one of the greatest blues man John Lee!
Jay Formicola Music
That's funny. Tell them to think about this. "ain't nobody wrote nothin"
Jacob Koch
Concerning cover-versions of this song, the Black Keys version stinks compared to The Doors version. That being said the original is of course the best.
Hubert Gajewski
naah, the black keys version is a descendand from Junior Kimbrough version. They are heavily inspired by hill country blues and the whole album seems to be a homage to Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside. Of course John Lee Hooker made the Crawlin' King Snake famous, but the song existed even before. You can check out Big Joe Williams version.
VonBlade
I'm here because I know the JLH version, and the Buddy Guy version, and just needed to wash the Black Keys version out of my ears, since YT thought it fit to put it in my search results.
Ooof.
Daniel W.
Black keys have really done justice to alot of real blues songs. Dan is the man.
Alien Jazz Party **
From Wiki Hooker first recorded the song in Detroit on February 18, 1949 for producer Bernard Besman.[9] When it was released by Los Angeles-based Modern Records, "Crawling King Snake" became one of Hooker's most successful singles, reaching number six on the Billboard R&B chart in 1949
Triple Threat Revue
Always my favorite track from Mr. Hooker!
Zohra Elharrak
Pure human magic ✨ 💛 💖 ♥
Jimmy J
John's original 1948 version is my favorite version of this song...