Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an … Read Full Bio ↴Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Centerville, Texas. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

The musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick opined that Hopkins is "the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act".

Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas, and as a child was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for this music at the age of 8, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. That day, Hopkins felt the blues was "in him".[citation needed] He went on to learn from his older (distant) cousin, the country blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander. (Hopkins had another cousin, the Texas electric blues guitarist Frankie Lee Sims, with whom he later recorded.) Hopkins began accompanying Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings. Jefferson reputedly never let anyone play with him except young Hopkins, and Hopkins learned much from Jefferson at these gatherings.

Hopkins's style was born from spending many hours playing informally without a backing band. His distinctive fingerstyle technique often included playing, in effect, bass, rhythm, lead, and percussion at the same time. He played both "alternating" and "monotonic" bass styles incorporating imaginative, often chromatic turnarounds and single-note lead lines. Tapping or slapping the body of his guitar added rhythmic accompaniment.

Much of Hopkins's music follows the standard 12-bar blues template, but his phrasing was free and loose. Many of his songs were in the talking blues style, but he was a powerful and confident singer.[citation needed] Lyrically, his songs expressed the problems of life in the segregated South, bad luck in love and other subjects common in the blues idiom. He dealt with these subjects with humor and good nature. Many of his songs are filled with double entendres, and he was known for his humorous introductions to songs.

Hopkins died of esophageal cancer in Houston on January 30, 1982, at the age of 69. His obituary in the New York Times described him as "one of the great country blues singers and perhaps the greatest single influence on rock guitar players.".

Automobile
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics

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I saw you ridin' 'round
You ridin' in your brand new automobile
Yes, I saw you ridin' 'round
You was ridin' 'round
In your brand new automobile
Yes, you was happy sittin' there
With your handsome driver at the wheel
In your brand new automobile

Yo' face was tinted with powder
Your lips all full a-rouge
Yes, yo' face was tinted with powder
And your face all full-a rouge
Yes, but I knowed you was comin' home
When you found out your driver
Didn't mean you no good
In your brand new automobile

Out of all you've done, baby
Darling, you know I love you still
Out of all you've done, baby
Darling, you know I love you still
Yes, I know you don't worry about no one driver

There's too many lane to drive your wheel
In your brand new automobile.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Lightnin' Hopkins's song Automobile depict the observations of a man who sees a woman riding in her new automobile with her driver. He describes how happy she looks sitting next to her handsome driver and how she has put on powder and rouge, indicating she is trying to impress him. However, the singer notes that he knows she will soon come back home unhappy because she will find out that her driver does not have good intentions towards her. Despite this, the singer reassures her that he still loves her, no matter what she has done.

The lyrics of the song seem to be expressing the idea of material possessions being superficial and not bringing happiness in the long run. The woman in the car is trying to impress her driver and appear happy in her new automobile, but the singer knows that her happiness is not genuine and that the driver does not have her best interests at heart. The message seems to be that true happiness and love come from within, and that material possessions do not define a person.

Overall, Lightnin' Hopkins's song Automobile is a commentary on the superficiality of material possessions and the importance of inner happiness and love.

Line by Line Meaning

I saw you ridin' 'round
I observed you driving your car around.

You ridin' in your brand new automobile
You were driving in your shiny new car.

Yes, I saw you ridin' 'round
I saw you driving around some more.

You was ridin' 'round
You were driving around aimlessly.

In your brand new automobile
You were proud of your new car.

Yes, you was happy sittin' there
You were content sitting in your car.

With your handsome driver at the wheel
You were sitting next to your attractive driver who was driving.

Yo' face was tinted with powder
Your face was covered in makeup.

Your lips all full a-rouge
Your lips were covered in lipstick.

Yes, yo' face was tinted with powder
Your makeup was very noticeable.

And your face all full-a rouge
Your lipstick was applied heavily.