House Rent Boogie
John Lee Hooker Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hey
It's the house rent boogie

I come home last Friday, i will tell the little woman that I lost my job
She says don't confront me an' so I have my rent next Friday
I come home next Friday come, I didn't have the rent an' out the door I went

I'm going right towards the streets over here,

Thinking i'll get this rent together
'Cause i can't seem to even move it and I know

I got this rent together, now

Let's get on back and have a ball
Nah, let's boogie awhile

Overall Meaning

The House Rent Boogie by John Lee Hooker is an energetic blues song with a simple yet powerful message. The lyrics are about the struggle of paying rent and the desperation that comes with it. The song starts with the catchy line "Hey, it's the house rent boogie" that sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer explains how he lost his job and couldn't pay rent, which leads to a confrontation with his wife. He eventually goes out to the streets to find a way to collect money for rent. The song ends on a high note with the singer successfully getting the rent and wanting to celebrate with a boogie.

The lyrics of the song are straightforward, but the way John Lee Hooker delivers them is what makes it special. His soulful, gravelly voice complements the bluesy guitar riffs, and the whole song creates a feeling of urgency and excitement. The repetition of the phrase "house rent boogie" throughout the song makes it catchy and easy to sing along to.

Overall, John Lee Hooker's House Rent Boogie is a classic blues song that captures the struggle of everyday people trying to make ends meet. The lyrics are relatable, and the music is timeless, making it a must-listen for any blues fan.

Line by Line Meaning

Hey
Hello

It's the house rent boogie
This is the song about not having rent money and having to get creative to find a way to pay it

I come home last Friday, i will tell the little woman that I lost my job
I arrived home last Friday and intended to inform my wife that I was unemployed

She says don't confront me an' so I have my rent next Friday
My wife didn't want to discuss the issue and requested that the rent be paid the following Friday

I come home next Friday come, I didn't have the rent an' out the door I went
The next Friday arrived, and unfortunately, I still didn't have the rent money and had to leave the house to avoid any confrontations

I'm going right towards the streets over here,
I am walking towards the streets to find a solution for my rent problem

Thinking i'll get this rent together
I hope to find a way to gather the funds necessary to pay my overdue rent

'Cause i can't seem to even move it and I know
I am struggling to gather the funds for rent and need help

I got this rent together, now
I've managed to put together enough money to pay my rent

Let's get on back and have a ball
Now that the rent money is available, let's go back home and celebrate

Nah, let's boogie awhile
Actually, let's celebrate and dance a little bit longer – this whole ordeal has been quite stressful!

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

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Comments from YouTube:

Trunk Davis

4y↑12

Absolute classic.

Alpha Six Five

6y↑8

Real Blues will never die !

a1b1c184

Timeless music. I'm not even a blues fan really but I should be. Every blues song I've heard I like.

I know this is kind of random but I really liked the music in that movie Black Snake Moan. It was "gangsta blues".

Letby Morgan

2y↑1

Killer tune , sustained me many times

mkrcompton

8y↑6

What a storyteller, biographical, no doubt.

Neil Mulholland

12y↑12

I may be homesless next week,but this is awesome! es

Mark Sama

2y↑1

How you doing, chief?

a1b1c184

2y↑1

I hear one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer is good for that.

ProvDog

12y↑4

This is my very favorite version of this song. I used to have it on cassette. Thanks for posting it! Did you get this version from a compact disc? If so, would you please tell me the title of the CD? Thanks again! ~ ProvDog

Country King

51w

Dude I’m here to tell you about the future

D-Fens DogG

50w

@Country King Oh, thanks, but I already know the future. I have a Book in which the future is revealed.

Red Pepe

6y↑5

This song is the story of my life.

LB 2.0.

5y↑2

I can definitely relate to this story.

Mikle Allen

4y↑7

"So I goes to my sister in laws house and she's actin all funny". You can't make this up. I'm pretty sure this comes out of actual experience

William McAnally

10y↑7

"She wouldn't cook,they eat in the kitchen one at a time" I'm trying to ween myself off food right now!

Brian Robison

3y↑2

I like George Throrood and his version. One of the reasons I found John Lee Hooker. Throrood's version never gets recognized as a cover song though.

a1b1c184

@Paula Stiles "When the Levee Breaks" is a good example of Zeppelin ripping off others.

Alpha Six Five

Coolest Bluesman Ever

slobomotion

13y↑5

I just put up a different version of this you might like. It is a great song and a great artist, I think mine is shorter and raunchier, but you be the judge. Thank you for posting!

maddog202034

10y↑2

Not heard this for DECADES!....Thanks muchly!

RastaSaiyaman

2y↑2

And then George Thorogood came up with the idea to combine this song with "One Burbon, one scotch and one beer"

Two GREAT John Lee Hooker songs mashed up into one.

mrsleep

11y↑2

I always think of this song when I visit his grave.

BlindoAndFriends

12y↑8

I can't believe i just STUMBLES onto this! i always loved george thorogoods One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer but this is great. I'm guessing this is where it came from? I mean, it's so similar!

Kenny Hill

5y↑3

Ya think ?

Synth Apprentice (Nathan V)

4y↑3

About half of Thorogood's stuff comes from John Lee Hooker.

1 More Replies...

Spoon

11y↑8

There is actually some rap that is really interesting though. It's really a modernized version of the blues in some respects, being that many rappers tell the stories of living in the inner city and the negative impacts of crime and "living the life".

Cheverolet ll Nova

4y↑2

But without the sagging pants

tp10488

11y↑10

Now this is how you tell a story. Some of these so called rappers should listen to this before they start pretending they know what shit's about.

Nova 15

Calm down

Boom Bunmi

5y↑2

John's problems are everyone's problems. No matter you be black, white yellow or blue you gotta pay the rent.

joe snyder

11y↑1

Like I said before the Boogie man is cool!

Viktoria Seh

5y↑1

❤🎶🎶

Ronald A. Saname

The Great John Lee Hooker.

Leon612

7y↑16

With the way he's talking, it sounds like he's doing stand up comedy. I'm waiting for the laugh track to kick in. lol

Shea Dan

4y↑1

Hey, that’s really funny!!

rhumbatron

I’m missing out on a whole genre of, um, ‘comedy’...i guess.
this is a type of folk music though, with very humble, intimate self deprication.

A Pa

Thats what happens when you try to be honest

R W

12y↑2

More white men can relate to this song now then ever before. We sing the blues now way down low finding our blue eyed soul.

mohair ellis

10y↑2

I like the original much better, the one recorded on the album, much slower and you feel the blues===>>>^^^+++

M4DesignUSA

Could've been written yesterday! ;-/

Eddie Cesc

10y↑1

Great

Eric Kingsley

4y↑3

Everything was lovey dovey

squeakystool

10y↑5

Don't forget ya all, Amos Milburn did the original of "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer".

PeterTrunk

9y↑1

Squekytool, Hooker used Milburn's song yes he changed the title switching scotch with bourbon

OnTheSpectrum

*One scotch, one bourbon, one beer

KINDOY2

RUDY TOOMBS Performed it first and wrote it..He did not have the luck of finding a table to record it for him.

Salayo Brown

6y↑2

can anyone relate?

Gewglesux

I'd try to find me a nicer landlady

Gewglesux

i wonda how much the rent actually is?

themoroccanqing

13y↑1

couldn't find the lyrics for this song :s

dtkott1

12y↑3

@BlindoAndFriends yeah, george thorogood's version is acutally a medley of this song and one bourbon one scotch one beer which also by John Lee Hooker.

Landon Stainbrook

6y↑2

dtkott1 Amos........

Peel Slowly and See

4y↑2

That second song is actually by Amos Milburn, John Lee Hooker covered it and it's his version that was the most popular until Thorogood covered it too

Shane Fell

8y↑7

Throw your clothes in the street!
I mean in the street!!

Gary Provenzano

steet

ProvDog

12y↑1

@paul196824 Thanks for the info, Brother! ~ ProvDog

Giles Harveson

7y↑5

Five people have never slept in the rain.....

Alpha Six Five

6y↑2

make that 8 fools

blkjckgtr

4y↑5

So this is the original that George stole!now we know!Cheers

Dillyn Mykal

4y↑12

Hooker gave George his blessing to do this song

Alex Tway

4y↑3

the original was by Amos Toombs in 1953

Jim T

4y↑3

Big difference between paying homage and steeling.

Великий Безупречный Супер Задрот

It's calls cover

djquincas

@Alex Tway No, the original was from John Lee Hooker. Recorded November 16, 1950 and released under Cat. Nr. Modern Records - 20-814 a Shellac 10" 78 RPM in May 1951.
Also from 1951 appears a version on Gotham Records by Johnny Williams an alias for John Lee Hooker.

Wayne Mccart

8y↑2

Goerge Thorogood borrowed big time from John Lee Hooker this is just one song that George borrowed but on this one he changed the title.

Mark Gdisis

7y↑3

I'm sorry, but I think you are mistaken. He does two of Mr. Hooker's songs and calls it One Bourbon, one scotch, one beer. He says in the middle of his song "this is the house rent blues" he doesn't hide the fact and uses the songs names? I don't see the big deal, he took two awesome songs and put them together into a great Rock Blues classic. Now you want to talk about borrowing, down right thievery Led Zeppelin is another story altogether.

Ben Duffy

7y↑1

Borrowed with permission; according to Hooker himself, George told him he planned to do a medley of "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" and this song, and Hooker was fine with it.

Emmanuel Roger Costa

7y↑1

let's not forget he came up with the line: "the next friday i didn't have the rent... and out the door I went ! " that's so catchy. And Thorogood always does cover songs very much in his own style

1978garfield

Thorogood gave credit to J.L. Hooker for One Bourbon. I suspect Hooker made much more money off of Thorogood's version than his own.

LEO420

Thanks George T

Hoang Dcom in your mouth

5y↑1

right they are why should I have better than anybody although I happy with my nickel a days labor for back tax. the bookie capitalists may go bankrupt anyway.