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.
Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll never, I'll never, get out with these blues alive.
All a-my life, I been doomed with the blues.
I'm drinkin' black coffee and smokin' cigarettes.
I'm drinkin' back coffee an smokin' cigarettes all night.
I know I'll never, I'll never come outta these blues alive.
(Tell everybody now, Van).
Never, never, come outta these blues alive.
If I live to be a hundred.
(That's Van Morrison)
I don't think I ever will.
I can't understand, just exactly why.
I can't understand now, just exactly why.
All I know, same thing everyday.
You turn on the radio.
Hear the same thing ev'ryday.
You read a paper.
You hear the same thing, ev'ryday.
I don't know why, has to be this way.
I don't know why.
People tell ya, that change is gonna come.
Everybody tell you, some change is gonna come.
I've been through the third degree.
You know what I'm talkin' about.
(guitar solo and instrumental)
Uh, uh.
Nothin', nothin', nothin'.
I know I'll never, I know I'll never.
Get outta these blues for life.
l'lI, never, (never, never) never.
Come outta the blues, for life.
I'm doomed (doomed?)
I'm doomed.
I'm doomed with the blues, til I die.
Yeah, yeah.
Now Van, I'm drinkin' black coffee.
(Drinkin' black coffee?)
I started smokin' cigarettes all night.
I can't sleep, I can't eat.
There is no use of me layin' down.
No-no, no-no-no, no-no.
Now, Van Morrison, he asked me.
He says, 'Johnny, why, why do you sing the blues?'
I say, 'I know I'm doomed, I'm doomed.'
But all I know.
I sing the blues both night an day.
I'll never, never, come out alive yeah, alright.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Ooo.
Ooo-ooo-ooo.
I'm walkin' the floor all night long.
Jumpin' over my bed.
Jumpin' (jumpin') over my bed (over my bed).
I can't sleep (I can't sleep).
What the use? (can't sleep).
Or lay down, (lay down).
Oh no (in a room).
Ooo-ooo, I got the blues (got the blues).
Got the blues.
Got the blues, ha-ha I got 'em (got the blues).
Ooo-ooo (can't sleep)
Ooo-no, no-no, what the use?)
Ooo-ooo.
(Never, never) oh, come out the blues.
(Get out of these) blues alive (blues alive).
Oh no.
(Never, never, never, never) yeah why?
Uh (get out of these) blues alive.
No, no.
Ooo. (born with the, blues).
(Stay wit' you all your life).
I'm walkin' the floor all night.
My baby gone, says she won't be back no more.
(No more).
And that' why (look out in the street).
Ooo-ooo-ooo.
(I can't find) oh (I can't find my baby).
No where.
In John Lee Hooker's song, "Never Get Out of These Blues Alive," Hooker sings about the realization that the blues will always be a part of his life. The opening lines of the song, "I'll never get out these blues alive, I'll never, I'll never, get out with these blues alive," set the tone for the rest of the song. Hooker feels that he has been doomed with the blues his entire life and no matter what he does or how long he lives, he will never escape them. He is drinking black coffee and smoking cigarettes all night, unable to sleep or eat because of the burden of the blues. Turning on the radio or reading the paper doesn't help because everything seems to be the same and there is no change in sight. Hooker understands that change might come, but he has been through the "third degree" and knows it won't be easy.
The guitar solo and instrumental section express the pain and the emotions that Hooker feels, as he cries out in frustration, "nothin', nothin', nothin'," and repeats that he knows he'll never get out of the blues alive. Hooker sings that he is doomed with the blues until he dies, and the song ends with him walking the floor all night, jumping over his bed, unable to sleep, and unable to find his baby. The repetition of the phrases, "never, never, come outta these blues alive," and "oh no," make it clear that Hooker is resigned to his fate and sees no way out of the blues.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll never get out these blues alive.
I will always be plagued by sadness.
I'll never, I'll never, get out with these blues alive.
I will never be free from feeling blue.
All a-my life, I been doomed with the blues.
I've been unhappy forever.
I'm drinkin' black coffee and smokin' cigarettes.
I'm drinking coffee and smoking all night long.
I'm drinkin' back coffee an smokin' cigarettes all night.
I drink coffee and smoke all night.
I know I'll never, I'll never come outta these blues alive.
I know I'll never be free from the blues.
(Tell everybody now, Van).
Addressing Van Morrison as a fellow musician.
Never, never, come outta these blues alive.
I will never be free of the blues.
(No, you won't).
Someone else reassuring the singer he will never be free from the blues.
If I live to be a hundred.
Even if I live to be very old.
(That's Van Morrison)
Identifying the musician speaking to him.
I don't think I ever will.
I don't believe I'll ever be free from the blues.
I can't understand now, just exactly why.
I don't know why I feel this way.
All I know, same thing everyday.
I experience the same feelings every day.
You turn on the radio.
Describing how the blues are everywhere.
Hear the same thing ev'ryday.
Hearing the same thing every day.
You read a paper.
The blues are even in the news.
You hear the same thing, ev'ryday.
The same sad news every day.
I don't know why, has to be this way.
I don't understand why things have to be so sad.
Everybody tell you, some change is gonna come.
People say things will get better.
I've been through the third degree.
I've been through a lot of suffering.
You know what I'm talkin' about.
Addressing listeners who also know pain.
(guitar solo and instrumental)
Section of the song with just instrumental music.
Uh, uh.
Sound the singer makes before continuing the song.
Nothin', nothin', nothin'.
Nothing can change my mood.
I know I'll never, I know I'll never.
I know I'll never be free from the blues.
Get outta these blues for life.
Escape from the blues forever.
l'll, never, (never, never) never.
I will never escape the blues.
Come outta the blues, for life.
Be free of the blues for my whole life.
I'm doomed (doomed?)
I am cursed.
I'm doomed.
I am cursed.
I'm doomed with the blues, til I die.
I am cursed to be sad for my whole life.
Now Van, I'm drinkin' black coffee.
Speaking to Van Morrison again about his current situation.
(Drinkin' black coffee?)
Van Morrison responds incredulously to the singer’s statement.
I started smokin' cigarettes all night.
The singer has started doing something bad for him.
I can't sleep, I can't eat.
I feel so unhappy that I have no appetite or sleep.
There is no use of me layin' down.
Even lying down doesn't help me feel better.
No-no, no-no-no, no-no.
The singer is frustrated and upset.
Now, Van Morrison, he asked me.
Referring to Van Morrison again.
He says, 'Johnny, why, why do you sing the blues?'
Van Morrison wants to know why the singer is always so sad.
I say, 'I know I'm doomed, I'm doomed.'
The singer's response to why he sings the blues.
But all I know.
I only know what I feel.
I sing the blues both night an day.
The blues are never far from my mind.
I'll never, never, come out alive yeah, alright.
I know I'll never be free from the blues.
Yeah.
An affirmative sound the singer makes.
Yeah.
An affirmative sound the singer makes.
Ooo.
A sound the singer makes conveying sadness.
Ooo-ooo-ooo.
A sound conveying how the blues affect the singer.
I'm walkin' the floor all night long.
The singer is restless and can't stop moving.
Jumpin' over my bed.
The singer can't even stay still in bed.
Jumpin' (jumpin') over my bed (over my bed).
Describing how restless the singer is.
I can't sleep (I can't sleep).
The singer has trouble sleeping because of the blues.
What the use? (can't sleep).
The singer is feeling hopeless.
Or lay down, (lay down).
The singer is feeling restless and can't stay in one place.
Oh no (in a room).
The singer feels trapped by his blues.
Ooo-ooo, I got the blues (got the blues).
The singer is expressing sadness.
Got the blues.
The singer is expressing sadness.
Got the blues, ha-ha I got 'em (got the blues).
More emphasis on how the singer is feeling.
Ooo-ooo (can't sleep)
The singer is restlessly awake and feeling down.
Ooo-no, no-no, what the use?)
The singer’s mood is so terrible that he feels helpless.
Ooo-ooo.
The song ends on a sad note.
(Never, never) oh, come out the blues.
The singer doesn't believe he'll ever be free from the blues.
(Get out of these) blues alive (blues alive).
The singer confirms how stuck he feels.
Oh no.
A desperate sound conveying the singer’s mood.
(Never, never, never, never) yeah why?
Expressing frustration that he can't get over his sadness.
Uh (get out of these) blues alive.
The singer is trying to expel the blues from his soul.
No, no.
The singer is resigned and can't move forward.
Ooo.
A sad sound that the singer makes conveying sadness.
(born with the, blues).
Suggesting that the singer was always meant to be sad.
(Stay wit' you all your life).
Conveying how depression for some is a lifelong affliction.
I'm walkin' the floor all night.
The last line of the song, repeating the same message.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: John Lee Hooker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R. R. Rubin
I'll never get out these blues alive.
I'll never, I'll never, get out with these blues alive.
All a-my life, I been doomed with the blues.
I'm drinkin' black coffee and smokin' cigarettes.
I'm drinkin' back coffee an smokin' cigarettes all night.
I know I'll never, I'll never come outta these blues alive.
(Tell everybody now, Van).
Never, never, come outta these blues alive.
(No, you won't).
If I live to be a hundred.
(That's Van Morrison)
I don't think I ever will.
I can't understand, just exactly why.
I can't understand now, just exactly why.
All I know, same thing everyday.
You turn on the radio.
Hear the same thing ev'ryday.
You read a paper.
You hear the same thing, ev'ryday.
I don't know why, has to be this way.
I don't know why.
People tell ya, that change is gonna come.
Everybody tell you, some change is gonna come.
I've been through the third degree.
You know what I'm talkin' about.
(guitar solo and instrumental)
Uh, uh.
Nothin', nothin', nothin'.
I know I'll never, I know I'll never.
Get outta these blues for life.
l'lI, never, (never, never) never.
Come outta the blues, for life.
I'm doomed (doomed?)
I'm doomed.
I'm doomed with the blues, til I die.
Yeah, yeah.
Now Van, I'm drinkin' black coffee.
(Drinkin' black coffee?)
I started smokin' cigarettes all night.
I can't sleep, I can't eat.
There is no use of me layin' down.
No-no, no-no-no, no-no.
Now, Van Morrison, he asked me.
He says, 'Johnny, why, why do you sing the blues?'
I say, 'I know I'm doomed, I'm doomed.'
But all I know.
I sing the blues both night an day.
I'll never, never, come out alive yeah, alright.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Ooo.
Ooo-ooo-ooo.
I'm walkin' the floor all night long.
Jumpin' over my bed.
Jumpin' (jumpin') over my bed (over my bed).
I can't sleep (I can't sleep).
What the use? (can't sleep).
Or lay down, (lay down).
Oh no (in a room).
Ooo-ooo, I got the blues (got the blues).
Got the blues.
Got the blues, ha-ha I got 'em (got the blues).
Ooo-ooo (can't sleep)
Ooo-no, no-no, what the use?)
Ooo-ooo.
(Never, never) oh, come out the blues.
(Get out of these) blues alive (blues alive).
Oh no.
(Never, never, never, never) yeah why?
Uh (get out of these) blues alive.
No, no.
Ooo. (born with the, blues).
(Stay wit' you all your life).
I'm walkin' the floor all night.
My baby gone, says she won't be back no more.
(No more).
And that' why (look out in the street).
Ooo-ooo-ooo.
(I can't find) oh (I can't find my baby).
No where.
Timothy Lewis
My favorite track from an incredible album. Hooker and Morrison began a long friendship here. Killer performances by each. The backing personnel here equally impressive. Charlie Musselwhite, Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop, Earl Hooker, Robert Hooker(organ), Mel Brown and Mark Naftalan(piano). Stellar!
Maria Bento
O álbum todo é lindo. Amei ouvir Lee Hooker dividindo o blues com Van Morrison. Belíssima parceria.
Jon Bree
30yrs ago I listen to this song. It Still makes me feel the same as the first time I heard it.
Charles Taylor
one of the best blues albums ever.
James Marcus Solzan
Charles Taylor
Have mercy, baby!
Jumpin’ over my bed!
Can’t sleep.
Never, never, ever....
Ooooo.
Wooooow
Gang Of Four
Man, I had this on 8 track back in the day ! Great record 👏
Herbert Beuslein
This one and endless Boogie are the best blues albums ever
great daner
love john lee . he is best when the fewest people are with him , i think he can't hear himself like this , it thins it out trying to fit in , very strong when he has a solo bit . van killing this , outstanding post
Evelyn O'Connor
A FABULOUS DUET WITH VAN MORRISON AND JOHN LEE HOOKER.
Stephan Coleman-Prest
Talk about a perfect pairing totally mind blowing sweet laid back blues