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.".
Bad Luck and Trouble
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Trouble, I said, "Trouble, trouble is all I see"
Yes, you know, I ain't got nobody there work and care for me
Bad luck and trouble, two of my best friends
Bad luck and trouble, two of my best friends
[Incomprehensible] know bad luck
Which I'm walkin' in
Bad luck and trouble hangin' 'round my door
Bad luck and trouble hangin' 'round my door
You believe it I'm a hopin', won't come back no more
Goodbye trouble
Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Bad Luck and Trouble” is a blues song that explores themes of isolation, despair, and bad luck. The first two lines of the song, “trouble Lord, trouble, trouble is all I see, trouble, I said, ‘trouble, trouble is all I see’” suggest that the singer is completely engulfed by trouble and sees nothing else around him. He laments that he has nobody to care for him, highlighting his loneliness and sense of abandonment.
Hopkins then goes on to talk about bad luck and trouble being his two best friends. This may seem counterintuitive, but he explains that he knows bad luck intimately and is “walking in it.” Indeed, as he sings “bad luck and trouble, hanging round my door,” it seems as though the bad luck is a tangible presence in his life, causing him deep despair. Despite his suffering, Hopkins hopes that the bad luck and trouble will not return to him once he bids them “goodbye.”
Line by Line Meaning
Trouble Lord, trouble, trouble is all I see
All I see in my life is trouble and nothing else.
Trouble, I said, "Trouble, trouble is all I see"
I repeat, nothing but trouble is what I see in my life.
Yes, you know, I ain't got nobody there work and care for me
There's no one to take care of me or my worries.
Bad luck and trouble, two of my best friends
My constant companions are bad luck and trouble.
Bad luck and trouble, two of my best friends
I have become so accustomed to bad luck that it feels like a friend to me.
[Incomprehensible] know bad luck
Which I'm walkin' in
I am well acquainted with bad luck and it has become a part of my life.
Bad luck and trouble hangin' 'round my door
My life is surrounded by bad luck and trouble.
You believe it I'm a hopin', won't come back no more
I hope bad luck and trouble will no longer be a part of my life.
Goodbye trouble
I bid farewell to my constant companion - trouble.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: SAM HOPKINS, MACK MCCORMICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@OrionityChannel
With a cigar and a glass of whiskey, it's the top of pleasure in this planet.
@dewaynewhite2928
OrionityChannel you notice that too!
@LenaRiess
How many hours I listened to this man's blues ... he is the top of the hill ...
@apounds71
I was introduced to Lightnin through Pandora about 6 months ago, and just cant get enough, this mans blues gives me the tingles, dont know what it is exactly but He makes you feel it, not only hear it.
@Toughguysdontdance12
He expresses his blues like no one else.
@DeMarkieSade
Yes he does, Tough guys don't dance! And them some pompous a--hole like the commenter above comes on here and starts trying to throw down on the man and the entire genre of the blues! I didn't know we had Johann Sebastian Bach gracing us with his musical opinion in the comments section! He probably plays Randy Rhodes, Jake E. Lee, and Jimmy Page type stuff that he has learned from tablature!And all the sudden thinks he has the musical authority to vilify another musician and/or genre of music that existed way before his subpar ass did!
@MrCaribbean
When i first heard Lightnin' hopkins i was sooo amazed.He a truely a great player.
@zenguitarblues
never be another man like lightnin'....a true one of a kind
@dcadminsilverwind
love this, the true blue blues!! Love those A and E chords!!
@RandyStrubleBackingTracks
Fantastic post, most enjoyable bluesman!!!