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.".

Breakfast Time
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Cook my breakfast, bring it to my bed
Cook my breakfast, bring it to my bed
When I eat this morning, my whole family been fed

Cook my biscuits, cook 'em good and brown
Cook my biscuits, cook 'em good and brown
If you see my bread burning, turn you pan around

I want my coffee, I want it hot, hot

I want my coffee, I want it hot, hot
I want you to turn up your stove, so it will burn my coffee hot

Overall Meaning

The song Breakfast Time by Lightnin' Hopkins is a blues song about a lazy man who wants his breakfast brought to bed. He is asking someone to cook his breakfast, specifically biscuits, and bring it to him in bed. The man is insistent that his breakfast must be cooked well and his coffee must be hot. He emphasizes that when he eats his breakfast, it will feed the whole family. The line "If you see my bread burning, turn your pan around" shows that he is aware of and concerned about the cooking process, even though he is not doing it himself. The song is a humorous take on a man who enjoys being lazy and having everything done for him.

In addition to being a humorous song, Breakfast Time is also a commentary on the societal roles of men and women during the time in which it was written. During the 1950s and 1960s, when the song was recorded, it was believed that women should be the ones responsible for cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the home. The man in the song is taking advantage of this cultural norm by asking someone to cook him breakfast and bring it to him in bed. He is not doing anything to help around the house, but instead, expects everything to be done for him. This shows how deeply ingrained these gender roles were and how difficult it was to change them.

Line by Line Meaning

Cook my breakfast, bring it to my bed
I want you to cook my breakfast and bring it to me while I am still in bed

When I eat this morning, my whole family been fed
My breakfast is going to be so big that it will feed the rest of my family as well

Cook my biscuits, cook 'em good and brown
I want you to cook my biscuits until they are well-browned

If you see my bread burning, turn you pan around
If you notice my bread starting to burn, please turn the pan around to prevent it from burning further

I want my coffee, I want it hot, hot
I want my coffee to be very hot

I want you to turn up your stove, so it will burn my coffee hot
Please turn up the stove so my coffee is so hot it almost burns

Contributed by Camilla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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