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.".
Backwater Blues
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yes, it rained five days and the clouds turned as dark as night,
Lord, the trouble's takin' place, Lord, in the lowland at night
I got up one mornin', for me I couldn't even get out of my door,
Yes, I got up one mornin', for me I couldn't even get out of my door,
Lord, that was really enough trouble
to make a poor man wonder why and where to go
And I waited, I stood upon a high, high old lonesome hill,
Lord, I waited, I stood upon a high, high old lonesome hill,
Lord, an' all I could do was look down on the house, baby, where I used to live
Lord, it thunderin' an' it lightnin', Lord, and the wind begin to blow,
Lord, it thunderin' an' it lightnin', Lord, and the wind begin to blow,
Lord, at that time four thousand-million people who have no place to go
The Twister by Lightnin' Hopkins talks about a natural disaster that took place in the lowlands. The singer talks about how it rained heavily for five consecutive days and left the sky dark as night. The natural calamity caused trouble in the lowlands during the night, which showcases the scale of the catastrophe.
The singer then narrates his own experience during this disaster. He says that he couldn't even step out of his door on one morning, which shows how intense the weather conditions were. This brought enough trouble to his life and made him wonder where to go. He then stood upon a high hill, and all he could do was look down upon the house where he used to live. This line could mean that he's overcome with emotions of fear and loss due to the destruction of his home.
The third stanza further describes the conditions of the event. The singer says that it thundered and lightning and the wind began to blow. The situation was so severe that four billion people didn't have any place to go. This further emphasizes how the disaster was affecting people, and it was more widespread than just one area. The Twister showcases the power of nature and how it can impact human lives drastically.
Line by Line Meaning
It rained five days and the clouds turned as dark as night,
After five days of rain, the sky was dark like night. Trouble was about to happen in the lowlands at night.
I got up one mornin', for me I couldn't even get out of my door,
One morning, I tried to leave my house but could not. This added to my troubles and made me wonder why I was even trying to leave.
And I waited, I stood upon a high, high old lonesome hill,
I went to a tall and lonely hill and waited there. From there, all I could do was look down at the house I used to live in.
Lord, it thunderin' an' it lightnin', Lord, and the wind begin to blow,
During a thunderstorm, lightning and wind started to blow. It was a powerful force.
Lord, at that time four thousand-million people who have no place to go
During the storm, there were billions of people who had nowhere to go. They were in danger and had no safety.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: LONNIE JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fiorellafenati5395
the real blues
@williamminarcik3463
You know the backwater´s risin´ and the river´s done overflowed
Well, it done washed our homestead down, and we can´t live there no more
@bignoyz4111
Yeah brother