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.".

Sad News From Korea
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics

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Almost paradise
A-chimboda to nunbushin
Nal hyanghan noye sarangi
On sesang da gajindeuthae
In my life
Nae ji-chin salme kkum-chorom
Tagawajun ni moseubeul
Onjekkajina saranghal su it-damyon

Noye so-neul jabkoso
Sesan-geul hyanghae ggot sorichyo
Ha-neureul goro yaksokhae
Yong-wo-nhi ojing noma-neul saranghae
Pam ha-neul bulbit gateun uri dulmanyi
A-reum-da-un ggum paradise
Nowa hamkkehandamyon
Odideun gal su isso to the my paradise

No deurot-don shigan-gwa
Geu apeum modu da ijo-bwa
Ije buto shijagiya nowa hamkke
Ttonabo-neun goya tallyoga-neun goya
Loving you forever

Almost paradise
A-chimboda to nunbushin
Nal hyanghan noye sarangi
On sesang ta gajindeut hae

In my life
Nae ji-chin salme ggum-chorom
Tagawa jun ni moseubeul
Onjekkajina kanjighal su it-damyon
Chonsagateun ni misoga
Kadeukhan uri nagwone
Noma-neul wihan kkotdeullo
Yong-wo-nhi chaewodul-kkoya
Almost paradise
Taeyangboda to ttaseuhan
Nal bo-neun noye nunbi-cheun
On sesang da kajindeut hae
In my life
Nae ji-chin salme bit-chorom
Tagawajun ni saran-geul

Onjekkajina ganjighal su it-damyon
Onjekkajina saranghal su it-damyon

Overall Meaning

The song "Sad News From Korea" by Lightnin' Hopkins is a lamentation about lost love and heartbreak with references to the Korean War. The lyrics are about a man who is laying down his love for a woman and he describes his love as being near to paradise. He compares his feelings to a dream he has had in his life. He then discusses the sadness and pain he is feeling after his love has gone forever. He vows to love her forever even though she has left him.

In the second verse, he describes how the time he spent with his lover was like heaven on earth, but now that she has left, everything is dark and gloomy. He then promises to move on from his grief and sadness and to always remember the good times they had. He then repeats the chorus, which emphasizes the idea of losing something precious and how it can affect one's life.

Sad News From KoreaLightnin' Hopkins Lyrics

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Sad News From Korea
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics