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.".
Stool Pidgeon Blues
Lightnin' Hopkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gonna send you another prayer
This is taped
Yes, till tomorrow
This black man gonna send you another prayer
You know, sometimes I begin to wonder
What in the world am I doin' over here?
You don't love me no more, baby
You don't love me no more, baby
Po' Lightnin' can't see the reason why
You know, I never told you no story
If you don't understand that
And I never have told you a lie
Yeah, the birds was singin'
And the wind begin to blow
Yeah, the birds was singin'
You know, the wind begin to blow
You know when a pigeon joined in and went to singin'
I never heard such a sweet voice before
You know a pigeon mean more than one that fly in the air
It can be a stool pigeon
You know that's--you know what that is?
One that sit on a stool and pimp to the law
That is a pigeon
I want everybody understand me so they know
I just done give up and I ain't gonna try
To live they life no more
No, no more
You know, I ain't gonna find no heaven here
Now, no place on earth I go
The lyrics to Lightnin' Hopkins's song Stool Pigeon Blues are an emotional plea from an African American man who is feeling lost and abandoned by the person he loves. The song starts with him asking the Lord to let him live until tomorrow so he can send another prayer. He then expresses his confusion about why his lover doesn't love him anymore and how he has never lied to her. The song takes a turn as he observes the wind blowing and the birds singing, with even a pigeon joining in with its sweet voice. He then goes on to explain what a stool pigeon is and how it can be one who sits on a stool and 'pimps to the law'. Finally, he resigns to the fact that he's done trying to live for others and can't find his heaven on this earth.
The song's lyrics are a reflection of the struggles and hardships that African Americans faced during that time period. The use of religious imagery shows how much faith and hope African Americans had in the face of adversity. The song portrays an intimate and emotional view of Lightnin' Hopkins's life, which was a common theme in his music.
Line by Line Meaning
Good Lord, just let me live till tomorrow
Oh God, please let me live for one more day
I'm gonna send you another prayer
I'll pray for you to take care
This is taped
This is recorded
Yes, till tomorrow
Yes, only for one more day
This black man gonna send you another prayer
This black man is going to pray for you
You know, sometimes I begin to wonder
Sometimes I start to question
What in the world am I doin' over here?
Why am I here?
You don't love me no more, baby
You don't love me anymore
And I can't see the reason why
And I don't understand why
Po' Lightnin' can't see the reason why
Poor Lightnin' doesn't understand why
You know, I never told you no story
I never lied to you
If you don't understand that
If you don't grasp that
And I never have told you a lie
I never lied to you
Yeah, the birds was singin'
The birds were singing
And the wind begin to blow
And the wind started to blow
You know when a pigeon joined in and went to singin'
When a pigeon joined in and started to sing
I never heard such a sweet voice before
I have never heard such a lovely voice before
You know a pigeon mean more than one that fly in the air
You know a pigeon means more than the ones that fly in the sky
It can be a stool pigeon
It can be an informer
You know that's--you know what that is?
Do you understand what that means?
One that sit on a stool and pimp to the law
Someone who sits on a stool and informs the police
That is a pigeon
That is an informer
I want everybody understand me so they know
I want everyone to understand me so they are aware
I just done give up and I ain't gonna try
I have given up and will not attempt
To live they life no more
To live their life any longer
No, no more
No, never again
You know, I ain't gonna find no heaven here
I won't find any happiness here
Now, no place on earth I go
Anywhere I go in this world
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SAM HOPKINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fred Barkley
where would today's Music be without these Guys?
Shirley Wilson
love your your music mrllighten hoppen may god be with your family
bmxmagponthu
will music ever come back?
Mark M
Nope. That's why it's important for us to keep this kind of music going.
QUIETSTORM
I see me in a 1968 Cadillac Coupe Deville, black and windows blacked out a bottle of whiskey and a cigarette riding in the evening headed somewhere out in the Midwest without a care and my sunglasses on when I listen the blues.
Prince Johnson
At least there is three of us.
Robert Hoek
nowhere