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.
Boy Friend Blues
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm alone, traveling by myself
If I don't find the one I love, I don't want nobody else
I was down, down one old lonesome road
I was down, down one old lonesome road
I didn't have me no baby, couldn't find no place to go
Mmm, people wonder where could my baby be
Mmm, people wonder where could my baby be
It don't make me no difference, just seem so lonesome here to me
I can't feel happy, nowhere in the world I be
I can't feel happy, nowhere in the world I be
If I don't find my baby, you going to have some trouble out of me
Boy friend boy friend, where in the world can you be
Boy friend boy friend, where in the world can you be
Ever since you been gone, you sure is worrying me
The lyrics to Memphis Minnie's "Boy Friend Blues" express the feeling of being alone and longing for the person you love. The first verse repeats the line "I'm alone, traveling by myself," emphasizing the loneliness felt by the singer. She states that she only wants the one she loves, and not anybody else. The second verse reveals that she has been down a lonesome road and doesn't have anyone to turn to. Despite people wondering where her lover could be, she doesn't seem to care as long as she finds him.
The third verse reveals that the singer can't feel happy anywhere in the world without her lover. She warns that if she doesn't find him soon, there will be trouble. The chorus repeats the line "Boy friend boy friend, where in the world can you be." The repetition of this line along with the singer's desperation shows the deep longing she feels for her loved one. The song ends with the singer worrying about her missing lover.
Overall, the lyrics of the song express the feeling of being lost and lonely without someone you love. The repetition of certain lines emphasizes the desperation and sadness felt by the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm alone, traveling by myself
I am currently traveling without any companionship
If I don't find the one I love, I don't want nobody else
I will only be happy with the one I love and no one else
I was down, down one old lonesome road
I was feeling lonely and depressed while traveling
I didn't have me no baby, couldn't find no place to go
I did not have a romantic partner and had nowhere to go or feel connected to
Mmm, people wonder where could my baby be
People are curious and wondering where my romantic partner could be
It don't make me no difference, just seem so lonesome here to me
I don't care about others' curiosity, but I feel extremely lonely without my romantic partner
I can't feel happy, nowhere in the world I be
Regardless of where I am in the world, I cannot find true happiness without my romantic partner
If I don't find my baby, you going to have some trouble out of me
If I don't reunite with my romantic partner, I will cause trouble or be very upset
Boy friend boy friend, where in the world can you be
I am specifically searching for my romantic partner, using the term 'boy friend'
Ever since you been gone, you sure is worrying me
Since my romantic partner left, I have been feeling worried and anxious
Writer(s): ernest lawlars
Contributed by Amelia C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.