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.".
New Short Haired Woman
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
I don't want no w'man,
if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
Yeah, ya know, she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at?
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
Yeah, you know I got on the good side of my woman,
I told her, "Darlin', I's a-comin' to go have some fun"
one from a burnin' barn
I just don't want, want no woman,
boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
Whoa, ya know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
Yeah, you know rats and wigs'll get ya killed
Yeah, you know I got on the good side of my woman,
I told her, "Darlin', I's comin' to go have some fun"
You know, I went to make her swing out when a rat fell from her head like,
one from a burnin' barn
I say, I don't want no woman,
boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
You know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at?
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
"Short Haired Woman" by Lightnin' Hopkins is a blues song that examines the unusual tension between the singer's desire for a particular physical feature in a woman (long hair) and the common dangers that come with living in poverty. The song opens with the singer declaring that he doesn't want a woman "if her hair ain't no longer 'an mine." This repeated assertion immediately sets up the idea that the length of a woman's hair is of utmost importance to him. Then, the singer reveals the reason for his obsession: fear of rats, calling them "no good for nothin' but trouble." The phrase suggests that he has lived with rats for so long that they have become a part of the fabric of his life.
The second half of the song recounts a moment when the singer's desires and fears collided. He has apparently convinced his lover to have some fun with him, possibly dancing, and as they begin to embrace, a rat falls from her head. The image of the rat falling "like one from a burning barn" is striking, as it emphasizes the sudden and unexpected movement, as well as the image of danger and chaos. The singer concludes the song with a repetition of the opening lines, hammering home the idea that long-haired women are the only kind he desires, but that this comes with the risk of living with rats all the time. The song is a definite commentary on poverty and the effects that it can have on a person's psyche and sense of agency.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want no wom'n, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
I am not interested in women who do not have hair that belongs to me
I don't want no w'man, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
I have no desire for a woman whose hair does not belong to me
Yeah, ya know, she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at? Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
She is nothing but trouble and always making me spend money on rats to control her hair
Yeah, you know I got on the good side of my woman, I told her, "Darlin', I's a-comin' to go have some fun"
I convinced my woman to let me go out and have fun
You know, I went to make her swing out when a rat fell from her head like, one from a burnin' barn
While we were dancing, a rat fell from her hair just like how one would fall out of a burning barn
I just don't want, want no woman, boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
I do not want a woman whose hair does not belong to me
Whoa, ya know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
She is nothing but trouble and always making me spend money on rats to control her hair
Yeah, you know rats and wigs'll get ya killed
Rats and wigs can be dangerous and lead to one's death
I say, I don't want no woman, boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
I repeat that I have no interest in a woman whose hair does not belong to me
You know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at? Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
She is nothing but trouble and always making me spend money on rats to control her hair
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: SAM HOPKINS, MACK MCCORMICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@luccasbraz4466
I don't want no wom'n,
if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
I don't want no w'man,
if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
Yeah, ya know, she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at?
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
Yeah, you know I got on the good side of my woman,
I told her, "Darlin', I's a-comin' to go have some fun"
You know, I went to make her swing out when a rat fell from her head like,
one from a burnin' barn
I just don't want, want no woman,
boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
Whoa, ya know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
Yeah, you know rats and wigs'll get ya killed
Yeah, you know I got on the good side of my woman,
I told her, "Darlin', I's comin' to go have some fun"
You know, I went to make her swing out when a rat fell from her head like,
one from a burnin' barn
I say, I don't want no woman,
boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
You know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at?
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
@frederickmorris2218
Lightning Hopkins had the most expressive voice in Blues. He could squeeze the emotion of a whole song out of a single line. No one else came close.
@caselldavis3731
Talk that talk Lightnin!!!
@xmeangreenx1
My favorite blues song
@benrichardson683
9/11/19
@sandnfoam9845
anyone with lyrics would be highly welcome...
@luccasbraz4466
I don't want no wom'n,
if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
I don't want no w'man,
if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
Yeah, ya know, she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at?
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
Yeah, you know I got on the good side of my woman,
I told her, "Darlin', I's a-comin' to go have some fun"
You know, I went to make her swing out when a rat fell from her head like,
one from a burnin' barn
I just don't want, want no woman,
boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
Whoa, ya know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
Yeah, you know rats and wigs'll get ya killed
Yeah, you know I got on the good side of my woman,
I told her, "Darlin', I's comin' to go have some fun"
You know, I went to make her swing out when a rat fell from her head like,
one from a burnin' barn
I say, I don't want no woman,
boy, if her hair it ain't no longer 'an mine
You know she ain't no good for nothin' but trouble, did ya know 'at?
Vets keep ya buyin' rats all the time
@sandnfoam9845
@@luccasbraz4466 Thanks Luccas
@barnman420
I love Lightning. His playing and singing is tramendis. But I dont get the lyrics with all the double negatives: "I dont want no woman who's hair ain't no longer then mine." So does he want a short or long haired girl?
@rodsimmons9337
He doesn't want a woman with hair shorter than his.
@BluesforJ
Essentially the song is him expressing that he doesn’t want a woman with her hair shorter than his because when they go out on a date she will ask him to buy her a fancy wig. In the song he uses local AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) colloquialisms such as “rat” an old time sort of slang for a wig. His songs have so much rich history engrained in them & even the language he uses is a time capsule into the rich history of Texas Blues! Hope this helped!