MATT MINGLEWOOD …Guita… Read Full Bio ↴Rocker from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.
MATT MINGLEWOOD …Guitarist, pianist, singer, songwriter creates an inspired blend of country, blues, folk, roots and rock. Both on record and on stage Matt keeps the music thriving, interesting and vivacious. After a dozen recordings and thirty years of touring from Cape Breton to Vancouver, Europe and across the United States he has earned the respect and loyalty of thousands of devoted fans.
Matt grew up in North Sydney, Nova Scotia in a large and loving extended family of twelve. At an early age he remembers sitting on grandfather Batherson’s knee listening to him, completely enthralled by his fiddle playing as he bounced him up and down. At the tender age of four he sang in front of his first audience, singing a couple of Gaelic songs and the writing was on the wall. At the age of six he started fiddle lessons, moved on to the piano at eight and by his teens was in love with the guitar.
He joined his first band, the Rockin’ Saints’ in his late teens playing organ and rhythm guitar. His early influences were eclectic, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Hank Williams, Muddy Waters, BB King but also local fiddle players such as Winston Scotty Fitzgerald and Buddy MacMaster.
By his early twenties Matt went on to join a band entitled Sam Moon, Matt Minglewood & the Universal Power. This band soon evolved into the Moon Minglewood Band. They toured the country extensively and became known as one of the hardest working bands in the country. By the mid 70’s they morphed into the Minglewood Band & recorded their first album, affectionately known as ‘The Red Album’ in 76…..a recording contract with RCA Records soon followed.
His music and song writing has the natural universality one only hears from a born storyteller. The songs can be somewhat autobiographical as in 'Me and the Boys', a song about carefree days of his youth or social issues he puts forth in 'Long Way From Texas'. Many of Matt's tunes grapple with the universal feelings of passion, frustrations, hope, loneliness, love, disappointment and regret as well as his deep love of the Maritimes. They are always reflected his life around him and what he is feeling at the time. “Me & The Boys” was recorded by southern-rock legend Charlie Daniels on his CD of the same name.
Many major artists (such as Jeff Healy, Jimmie Rankin, Duck Dunn, (Bassist for Eric Clapton, Neil Young and the Blues Brothers), Colin James, Downchild Blues Band, Kenny Neal, and Grammy award winning Blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite) just to name a few have joined Matt on stage and CD. You never know who may show up to “ sit in “ on any given night!!
A dozen recordings later and now on his own label, Norton Records, Matt has just released his first acoustic Cd entitled ‘The Story’ and has no thoughts of slowing down. Winner of this years ' East Coast Music Award Blues Recording of the Year and the 2005 'Maple Blues Award' for Entertainer of the Year Matt still continues to tour extensively either as an acoustic solo artist or with his full band.
Through the years, Minglewood has been honored with many accolades and awards including:
2006 ECMA Award for 'Blues Recording of the Year' for 'The Story'
2005 Maple Blues Awards 'Entertainer of the Year'
2004 ECMA award for 'Blues Recording of the Year' for 'Live at Last'
'Lifetime Achievement Award' from the East Coast Music Association
Three gold records
Two Juno nominations
Two Canadian Country Music nominations
ECMA 'Video of the Year' Award for 'Me & The Boys'
Canadian Country Music Songwriter of the Year award for 'Me and The Boys'
The "Great Canadian Blues Award" from CBC 's National radio show, Saturday Night Blues
Honored with an honorary Doctorate Degree from UCCB
Bestowed with the Queens Jubilee Medal for his contribution to Canadian music
Rockin' the Blues
Matt Minglewood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was greeting the cold, cold dawn
I thought at the time, that the thin white line
Would bring me back to my swan
But oh I was wrong and now this song
Is a song of a broken heart
It makes me sad because all that I had
Was love for that girl from the start
Now I'm back on the road again
Singing a sad, sad song again
Hooked on the white pills
My head's in the sky
Rockin' the blues till I die
Rockin' the blues till I die
Forty-five cities in 51 days
I ain't had a sleep in a week
Now it's back in the track
Before I hit the sack
I hope I don't spring a leak
This rock and roll is making me old
But I've got something to prove
From the bottom to the top
You'll never see me stop
Now that I'm on the move
Rockin' the blues
Rockin' the blues
Rockin' the blues
Rockin' the blues
Rockin' the blues till I die
The lyrics to Matt Minglewood’s “Rockin’ the Blues” depict the hardships of a touring musician, including the toll that it takes on both the body and the mind. The opening verse presents the singer as emerging from a long, dark night, perhaps emblematic of the trials and tribulations of life on the road. The “thin white line” could be a reference to drugs or alcohol, which the singer had hoped would bring him back to his “swan,” or the one he loves. However, as we learn in the second verse, this tactic has failed, and the “song of a broken heart” is all that’s left for him.
The second verse elaborates on the harshness of the road, with the singer detailing 45 cities in 51 days and a lack of sleep. The singer’s hardships are captured in the lines, “This rock and roll is making me old / But I’ve got something to prove / From the bottom to the top / You’ll never see me stop / Now that I’m on the move.” Despite the difficulties, the singer remains committed to his music and his art, with the desire to continue “rockin’ the blues” until he dies.
Line by Line Meaning
It was quite a sight, coming out of the night
The singer was disoriented as he emerged into daylight.
I was greeting the cold, cold dawn
The singer implies that he was sleepless and welcomed a new day in a cold state.
I thought at the time, that the thin white line
The singer reminisces his past from using cocaine.
Would bring me back to my swan
The artist thought the drug would bring back his happier, calmer self.
But oh I was wrong and now this song
The artist declares that the song is a testimony to his heartbreak, of which drug addiction is a prominent part.
Is a song of a broken heart
The singer is presenting his song as a way to express the pain in his heart.
It makes me sad because all that I had
The singer acknowledges the lack in his life as more and more grow distant.
Was love for that girl from the start
The addressee ended the artist's love, which he lamented in this song.
Now I'm back on the road again
The artist is back to traveling after the addressee ended their relationship.
Singing a sad, sad song again
The artist is lamenting, which is evident in his singing.
Hooked on the white pills
The singer is addicted to cocaine or other opioids.
My head's in the sky
The drug takes the artist on a hallucinatory journey.
Rockin' the blues till I die
The singer is likening his addiction to 'rocking the blues' and has resigned himself to living with it until his eventual death.
Forty-five cities in 51 days
The singer has been traveling for work.
I ain't had a sleep in a week
The singer has been overworked without adequate rest.
Now it's back in the track
The artist is back on track to his scheduled journey.
Before I hit the sack
The artist is going to retire to sleep.
I hope I don't spring a leak
The singer hopes that his overwhelming experience doesn't drive him to insanity.
This rock and roll is making me old
The singer finds his lifestyle and work is taking a heavy toll on him.
But I've got something to prove
The artist feels like it is essential to prove something to his peers.
From the bottom to the top
The artist is reaffirming his journey from the onset of his career to his current position in life.
You'll never see me stop
The artist is determined to keep moving ahead, and nothing will hold him down.
Now that I'm on the move
The singer has momentum on his side to keep going with a positive attitude.
Rockin' the blues till I die
The artist is likening his addiction to 'rocking the blues' and has resigned himself to living with it until his eventual death.
Rockin' the blues
The singer is totally immersed in his music despite his lonely plight.
Rockin' the blues
Repetition of the above meaning.
Rockin' the blues
Repetition of the above meaning.
Rockin' the blues
Repetition of the above meaning.
Rockin' the blues till I die
The artist is likening his addiction to 'rocking the blues' and has resigned himself to living with it until his eventual death.
Contributed by Elena W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.