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.
Bumble Bee Blues
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
He got the best old stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning,
I been looking for him all day long
He stung me this morning,
I been looking for him all day long
hate to see my bumble bee leave home
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
You're my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee, until I get enough
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
You're my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I don't mind you going, ain't going to stay so long
Don't mind you going, don't be gone so long
You're my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, I want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me bumble bee, until I get enough
The song Bumble Bee Blues by Memphis Minnie is a classic blues song that tells the story of a woman who is desperately looking for her lover, who has the nickname "Bumble Bee". She describes him as having "the best old stinger" that she has ever seen and pleads for him to come back to her. She sings about how he had stung her earlier in the day and how she had been looking for him ever since. She is upset that he has left her and begs him not to stay away for too long.
The lyrics of Bumble Bee Blues are filled with double entendres and innuendos that were common in early blues music. The "stinger" that she refers to is likely a reference to Bumble Bee's sexual prowess, and she pleads for him to "sting" her until she gets enough. The song also reflects the societal roles of the time, with the woman playing the traditional role of a subservient partner who is dependent on her man. However, she also asserts her own power by demanding that Bumble Bee returns to her and acknowledging her own desire for him.
Overall, Bumble Bee Blues is a classic example of early blues music, with its raw emotion, melancholy lyrics, and powerful vocal performance. It's a testament to the richness and depth of the blues tradition that this song, which was recorded almost a century ago, still resonates with audiences today.
Line by Line Meaning
Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
I miss my favorite bumble bee and want him to come back to me.
He got the best old stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
My bumble bee is special to me because he has the best stinger I have ever seen from a bumble bee.
He stung me this morning,
I been looking for him all day long
Lord, it got me to the place,
hate to see my bumble bee leave home
My bumble bee stung me this morning and I have been searching for him all day. I hate to think he might have left home.
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
You're my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I need my bumble bee to come back home soon since he is an essential part of my life.
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee, until I get enough
I love hearing my bumble bee buzz, but I want him to stop making so much noise. He is talented and I want him to keep doing what he does best, which is to sting me until I am satisfied.
I don't mind you going, ain't going to stay so long
Don't mind you going, don't be gone so long
You're my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I don't mind if my bumble bee leaves, but I hope he won't be gone for too long because he is important to me and my life at home.
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, I want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me bumble bee, until I get enough
I enjoy hearing my bumble bee's buzzing, but I want him to stop making a fuss. He is skilled and I want him to keep doing what he's good at, which is to keep stinging me until I'm content.
Contributed by Elijah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@deirdreryan6147
"Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
He got the best old stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning
I been looking for him all day long
He stung me this morning
I been looking for him all day long
Lord, it got me to the place
Hate to see my bumble bee leave home."
@chuckheppner3374
Memphis Minnie - Bumble Bee 🐝
https://youtu.be/RKBzv5lWLQs
Memphis Minnie's lyrics for her songs entitled Bumble Bee:
[Columbia]
Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me 2x
He got the best old stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long 2x
Lord, it got me to the place, hate to see my bumble bee leave home
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long 2x
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee, until I get enough
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long 2x
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I don't mind you going, ain't going to stay so long
Don't mind you going, don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, I want you to stop your fuss
You's my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me bumble bee, until I get enough
[Vocalion]
Bumble bee, bumble bee, won't you please come back to me 2x
He got the best ol' stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long 2x
He had me to the place once, I hate to see my bumble bee leave home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, I want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee, until I get enough
Hmmm, stinger long as my right arm 2x
He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long
Sometimes he makes me happy, then sometimes he makes me cry 2x
He had me to the place once, I wish to God that I could die
[No. 2]
Bumble bee, bumble bee, where you been so long 2x
You stung me this morning, I been restless all day long
I met my bumble bee this morning as he flying in the door 2x
And the way he stung me, he made me cry for more
Hmmmm, don't stay so long from me 2x
You is my bumble bee, you got something that I really need
I'm gonna build me a bungalow just for me and my bumble bee 2x
Then I won't worry, I will have all the honey I need
He makes my honey, even now makes my comb 2x
It's all I want now my bumble bee just to stay at home
@murph3001
She's so wonderful __ should be considered as one of great blues singers EVER
@pauljeavons4350
she was accepted as a true blues player by the best male blues players of that era and the truth is the blues belong to women, they are the ones that suffer the most . listen to fado or morena
@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms
@pauljeavons4350 she's one of my favorite Blues Guitarists alongside Ali Farka Toure,Boubacar Traroe,Barbacue Bob,John Mayall,Slim Harpo,and Lighting Slim.
@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe
It's funny but she could play some guitar as well.
@fairygodmomma2313
Oh I LOVE this!!
@marthaaskins1439
Oh this is a keeper
Theres alot going on in this song and alot that could be done with it
@coravisser3846
This is such a beautifull one she was great a real great legende.Thank you so much for uploading Novonine
@gj3072
this lady had a great singing voice, I love it.
@wailflower
Driving groove...RIP Minnie
@SammieKay-ll8dr
Ms B I coming over to listen to the music