Lizzie Douglas was born on June 3, 1897 in Algiers, Louisiana. She was the eldest from her 13 other siblings. Her parents Abe and Gertrude Douglas nicknamed her the Kid during her early childhood. At the age of 7 she and her family moved to Walls, Mississippi, which was just south of Memphis. The following year after she moved, she received her first guitar for Christmas. She began to practice and learn how to play both the banjo and the guitar and it was seen that she had a great talent as a musician. When she first began performing she did not use her first name Lizzie, but played under the name Kid Douglas. When she was 13 years old she ran away from her home to live on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. She would play on street corners for most of her teenage years and would eventually go home when she ran out of money. She began to get noticed singing and playing guitar on the street corners. This brought an opportunity for her to tour, travel, and play with the Ringling Brothers Circus. Eventually she came back to Beale Street and got consumed in the blues scene. At the time, women, whiskey, and cocaine were high in demand with the people and places she would be around. She made her money by playing guitar, singing, and prostitution, which was not uncommon at the time. Most of the female performers were prostitutes because of financial desperation. It was said “She received $12 for her services-an outrageous fee for the time.” (Memphis Minnie Biography,1). She was known as a woman that was very strong and that could take care of herself.
She had been married three times in her life; first with Will Weldon sometime in the 1920s, then Joe McCoy (1929–1934), and finally to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe), in 1939. She and McCoy would perform together during their marriage. During this time, a talent scout from Columbia Records discovered her. When she and McCoy went to record in New York, she decided to change her name to Memphis Minnie. During the next few years she and McCoy released many singles and duets. She released the song “Bumble Bee” in 1930, which ended up being one of her favorite songs, and led her to a recording contract with the label Vocalion. Under this label, they continued to produce recording for two years, one of them being “I’m Talking About You”, which was one of her more popular songs. They soon decided to leave Vocalion and move to Chicago. She and McCoy introduced country blues to the urban environment and became very well known.
Memphis Minnie continued to have success throughout the years recording under many different labels like Decca Records and Chess Records. Some believe her fame was the reason for her divorce with McCoy due to jealousy and resentment towards her. She remarried after to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe) and began recording material with him. She became very well known in the blues industry and ended up being one of the most famous blues performers of all time, competing with both men and women.
She continued to record throughout the 50’s, but her health began to become a problem for her. She retired from her musical career and ended up going back to Memphis. “Periodically, she would appear on Memphis radio stations to encourage young blues musicians. As the Garons wrote in Women With Guitar, 'She never laid her guitar down, until she could literally no longer pick it up.'” She suffered a stroke in 1960, which caused her to be bound by wheelchair. The following year her husband, Earnest “Little Son Joe” Lawlars died. She had another stroke a short while after and eventually ended up in the Jell Nursing Home. She could no longer survive on her social security income so magazines wrote about her and readers sent her money for assistance. On August 6, 1973 she died of a stroke. She was buried in an unmarked grave at the New Hope Cemetery in Memphis. A headstone paid for by Bonnie Raitt was erected by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund on October 13, 1996 with 35 family members in attendance including her sister, numerous nieces (including Laverne Baker) and nephews. Her headstone is marked:
Lizzie "Kid" Douglas Lawlers
aka Memphis Minnie
The inscription on the back of her gravestone reads:
"The hundreds of sides Minnie recorded are the perfect material to teach us about the blues. For the blues are at once general, and particular, speaking for millions, but in a highly singular, individual voice. Listening to Minnie's songs we hear her fantasies, her dreams, her desires, but we will hear them as if they were our own."
After her death some of her old work began to surface and some of her songs were featured on blues compilations. She was one of the first 20 blues artists that were inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.
Banana Man Blues
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A rug? what do you want for it?
Fifteen dollars?
I don't want that thing, I don't want that thing
I don't want that thing, I wouldn't have it laying around on my floor
You as well was here yesterday, and the day before
Trying to get me to put that thing on this floor
I don't want that thing, I don't want that thing
I don't want that thing, I wouldn't have it laying around on my floor
Oh what pretty a bed, pretty mattress
No springs? No?
I can't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I can't use that thing, I wouldn't have it laying around on my floor
What's with that man over yonder?
Cripple? Pegleg? ______? No?
I can't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I can't use that thing, I wouldn't have him hopping around on my floor
Look what a pretty doll
What you want for it? Ten dollars? What's that?
I don't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I can't use that thing, I wouldn't have him laying around on my floor
What's that man got in his hand? Money? How much?
Fifteen dollars? That's all?
I can't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I can't use that thing, I wouldn't have him laying around on my floor
Oh what that man selling over yonder?
Bananas? Show me!
Yes I want that thing, yes I want that thing
Yes I want that thing, and if I don't care where he goes
Banana man, sure I will
Now what he selling over yonder?
_____ _____ on a big round stick?
Sure enough
Yes I want that man, yes I want that man
Yes I want that man, and I don't care where he goes
The lyrics to Memphis Minnie’s “Banana Man Blues” are about a woman who is in her home, and various people come by to sell her items. The woman refuses to buy anything that she deems unworthy or useless. The first person tries to sell her a rug, but she refuses because she does not like it. She emphasizes this point by stating that she would not even want it laying on her floor. The woman goes on to refuse to buy a bed without springs, a doll, and a man with a disability, emphasizing that she would not want him “hopping around” on her floor.
Finally, a man comes by selling bananas, and the woman decides to buy them. She then sees a man selling a sweet treat on a stick and decides to buy him too. The song ends with the woman saying she doesn’t care where he goes.
The lyrics to “Banana Man Blues” highlight themes of discrimination against people with disabilities, consumerism, and economic strength. The singer of the song is shown to be in a position of power since she can pick and choose what she wants to buy, from a bed to a man. The woman is written to be able to discriminate against someone based on their disability, which was a prevalent issue during the time the song was written (1930s). Overall, the song serves as a critique of economic situations, the potential for exploitation, and the society's treatment of people with disabilities.
Line by Line Meaning
Now what you got there man?
What are you trying to sell me?
A rug? what do you want for it?
You have a rug, how much are you willing to sell it for?
Fifteen dollars?
You want to sell it for $15?
I don't want that thing, I don't want that thing
I am not interested in buying that rug
I wouldn't have it laying around on my floor
I wouldn't use the rug even if you give it to me for free
You as well was here yesterday, and the day before
You have been trying to sell me this rug for a few days now
Trying to get me to put that thing on this floor
You have been trying to convince me to buy the rug
Oh what pretty a bed, pretty mattress
That's a nice looking bed and mattress
No springs? No?
It doesn't have springs?
I can't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I cannot use that bed and mattress
I wouldn't have it laying around on my floor
I would not want that bed and mattress in my house
What's with that man over yonder?
What's the deal with that man over there?
Cripple? Pegleg? ______? No?
Is he lame or disabled in some way?
I can't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I cannot accommodate his disability
I wouldn't have him hopping around on my floor
I would not want him on my property if he is disabled
Look what a pretty doll
That is a beautiful doll
What you want for it? Ten dollars? What's that?
How much are you selling the doll for? $10? Is it negotiable?
I don't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I have no use for that doll
I wouldn't have him laying around on my floor
I would not have that doll in my house
What's that man got in his hand? Money? How much?
What is the man holding in his hand? Is it money? How much money is he offering?
Fifteen dollars? That's all?
He is only offering $15?
I can't use that thing, I can't use that thing
I am not interested in whatever he is offering
I wouldn't have him laying around on my floor
I would not want his money in my house
Oh what that man selling over yonder?
What is that man selling over there?
Bananas? Show me!
Oh, bananas! Show them to me
Yes I want that thing, yes I want that thing
I am interested in buying the bananas
and if I don't care where he goes
I don't care where the seller goes after I buy the bananas
Banana man, sure I will
I am willing to buy bananas from this seller
Now what he selling over yonder?
What is he selling over there now?
_____ _____ on a big round stick?
Is he selling something on a big round stick?
Sure enough
Indeed, he is selling something on a big round stick
Yes I want that man, yes I want that man
I am interested in buying whatever he is selling on the big round stick
and I don't care where he goes
I don't care where the seller goes after I buy the product from him
Contributed by Eliana G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.