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.".

Last Night Blues
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics

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You know I went home last night
Sat down on my bed and cried
I went home, I went home last night, Sonny
Sat down on my bed and cried
Yeah, you know I was thinkin' about my little woman
And at the time poor lightnin' couldn't be satisfied
Lord, have mercy

You know the nightmares got on me
Whoa, they rode me all night long
You know the nightmares jumped on poor lightnin'
Ooh Lord, it rode me all night long
And I woke up not findin' nothin' but a dream
That's why I'm singin' this lonesome song

I don't care when you go little woman
I don't care how long you stay
I don't care when you go little woman
I don't care how long you stay
Yeah, you know them old good kind treatments
They bring a woman back home one day
Don't worry about it, just call her one time

Katie Mae, whoa, Katie Mae
Katie Mae, whoa, Katie Mae
Katie Mae, whoa, Katie Mae, now, don't you
I know you hear me even if you don't answer
I'm just prayin' to me good Lord up in Heaven
Katie Mae will come back home to me someday

Play it a while, ooh Lord

Overall Meaning

The song "Last Night Blues" by Lightnin' Hopkins is generally considered a classic blues song that deals with themes of lost love, loneliness, and regret. The song begins with the singer going home and feeling overwhelmed with emotions as he sits on his bed and cries. He is thinking about his "little woman" and how he can't be satisfied without her. The nightmares that he experiences are interpreted as symbolic representations of his inner turmoil, and he wakes up realizing that his desire for his lover is the only thing that remains.

In the second verse, the singer declares that he doesn't care how long his lover stays away from him, and he is willing to wait for her to come back to him. The idea of good-hearted treatments that can make her come back to him is also mentioned, showing that he would do anything to have her back.

In the final verse, the singer calls out to Katie Mae, his lover, asking her to come back home to him. Despite not receiving a response from her, he continues to pray to his good Lord in Heaven that someday she will return. The song ends with a plea for the music to continue playing as a source of comfort.

Overall, the song is a powerful representation of the pain that comes from lost love, and it portrays the emotional struggles that one may go through after a breakup.

Last Night BluesLightnin' Hopkins Lyrics

Last Night Blues
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics