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.".
Back to New Orleans
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now baby please don't go
Now baby please don't go back to New Orleans
you know I love you so baby please
Don't go baby! If you go take me with you
You got me way down here
You got me way down here
Now baby please don't go baby please don't go
No don't go sugar!
If you just got to go take me with you
Now don't you call my name
Now don't you call my name
You got me way down here wearin' the ball and chain
Now baby please don't go baby please
I believe your man is gone
I believe your man is gone
He left the country farm he had his shackles on
Now baby please don't go baby please
No, I don't believe she's gone
Play a while!
Now baby please don't go
Now baby please don't go
Now baby please don't go back to New Orleans
you know I love you so baby please
No don't go baby, if you go just take me with you.
The lyrics to Lightnin' Hopkins's song "Back to New Orleans" talk about a man pleading with a woman not to leave him and go back to New Orleans. The repetition of the phrase "baby please don't go" emphasizes the desperation of the man as he tries to persuade her to stay. He declares his love for her and even offers to go with her if she decides to leave.
The man feels that he is being treated poorly as he sings "you got me way down here", indicating that he feels his partner is not treating him with the respect he deserves. He is determined not to be her "dog" and be walked all over, but instead offers to go with her as an equal partner. The image of wearing a ball and chain is used to express the feeling of being trapped and held back by this relationship.
The song also hints at the woman having a past lover who has already left her with "his shackles on". The man uses this knowledge to appeal to her emotionally, implying that she may have a history of being left behind and doesn't want to be alone again.
Overall, "Back to New Orleans" is a song about love, loyalty, and the struggle to hold onto a relationship that is in danger of falling apart.
Line by Line Meaning
Now baby please don't go
The singer is pleading with their loved one not to leave.
Now baby please don't go
The singer is repeating their plea to stay.
Now baby please don't go back to New Orleans
The singer is specifically asking their loved one not to go to New Orleans.
you know I love you so baby please
The artist is expressing their love and imploring their loved one to stay.
Don't go baby! If you go take me with you
The artist is so desperate for their loved one to stay that they would even ask to be taken along on the trip.
You got me way down here
The singer is expressing how low they feel without their loved one around.
Now 'fore I be your dog I'll make you walk along
The singer is telling their loved one that they won't act subservient and will make them walk alongside them if they leave.
No don't go sugar!
The artist is begging their loved one not to leave.
If you just got to go take me with you
The artist reiterates that they would even go along on the trip if their loved one insists on leaving.
Now don't you call my name
The artist is telling their loved one not to try and contact them if they leave.
You got me way down here wearin' the ball and chain
The singer is conveying that they feel stuck and trapped without their loved one around.
I believe your man is gone
The artist is suggesting that their loved one's previous partner has moved on or left.
He left the country farm he had his shackles on
The singer implies that their loved one's previous partner was unhappy and felt trapped in their situation.
No, I don't believe she's gone
The singer is expressing their denial that their loved one could actually leave them.
Play a while!
The singer is asking for a musical interlude or break from the emotional intensity of the song.
Writer(s): Sam Hopkins, Terry Mcghee
Contributed by Harper N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@JimDixon55104
This song usually goes by the title BABY, PLEASE DON'T GO. Wikipedia says it was written by Big Joe Williams and recorded by him in 1935, and that Hopkins recorded it in 1947. However, it's obvious that Hopkins recorded it several times, and I don't know whether this recording was the first. This is my transcription.
BACK TO NEW ORLEANS
As sung by Sam "Lightnin' " Hopkins.
1. Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go
Back to New Orleans.
You know I love you so.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] Don't go, baby. If you go, take me with you.
2. You got me way down here.
You got me way down here.
Now, 'fore I'll be your dog,
I'll make you walk the log.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] No, don't go, sugar. If you just got to go, take me with you.
3. Now, don't you call my name.
Now, don't you call my name.
You got me way down here,
Wearin' a ball and chain.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.
4. I b'lieve your man done gone.
I b'lieve your man done gone.
He left the county farm.
He had his shackles on.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] No, I don't b'lieve she gone.
[SPOKEN:] Play it awhile!
5. Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go
Back to New Orleans.
You know I love you so.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] No, don't go, baby; if you go, just take me with you.
@JohnnyRocker023
Love the beat of this song
@MotorheadFan-fe6pr
Now that backbeat sounds like a steam train chugging along back to New Orleans
@joshualay1698
best version, in my opinion
@JimDixon55104
This song usually goes by the title BABY, PLEASE DON'T GO. Wikipedia says it was written by Big Joe Williams and recorded by him in 1935, and that Hopkins recorded it in 1947. However, it's obvious that Hopkins recorded it several times, and I don't know whether this recording was the first. This is my transcription.
BACK TO NEW ORLEANS
As sung by Sam "Lightnin' " Hopkins.
1. Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go
Back to New Orleans.
You know I love you so.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] Don't go, baby. If you go, take me with you.
2. You got me way down here.
You got me way down here.
Now, 'fore I'll be your dog,
I'll make you walk the log.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] No, don't go, sugar. If you just got to go, take me with you.
3. Now, don't you call my name.
Now, don't you call my name.
You got me way down here,
Wearin' a ball and chain.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.
4. I b'lieve your man done gone.
I b'lieve your man done gone.
He left the county farm.
He had his shackles on.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] No, I don't b'lieve she gone.
[SPOKEN:] Play it awhile!
5. Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go
Back to New Orleans.
You know I love you so.
Baby, please don't go.
[SPOKEN:] No, don't go, baby; if you go, just take me with you.
@danposey6679
Jim Dixon thanks for being that guy
@spartan108
Dan Posey well it’s true so...
@ronbo11
I have 3 words to say about this song: My Tee Fine!
@nlouve
oh thanx, i plan to go to Lafayette this december ;-) ear the cajun french accents
@angelopalmieri434
Baby please dont go now baby please dont go now baby please dont go back to new orleans you know i love you so now baby please dont go
Dont go baby if you go take me with you
@benjaminsnell3393
Damn recorded in 1947 fresh as ever