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.
Good Morning
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well, Good mornin', tell me where you stayed last night.
Well, Good mornin', tell me where you stayed last night.
Well, you know you don't love me and you just can't treat me right.
It's a low down shame the way you treated me.
It's a low down shame the way you treated me.
And i'm just as good to you daddy is i intend to be
Now you can shoot your pistol you can blown your hole
And fall down on your knees and you can weep and moan
You gonna be, you gonna be in bad some day
And you gonna be sorry you treat me this-a-way
Well i wouldn't been here daddy if it had-na been for you
You treat me low down dirty and that's the way you do
You gonna be, you gonna be in bad for long
And you was settin' there singing sam ol' lonesome song
Good morning and it's fare you well goodbye.
Good morning and it's fare you well goodbye.
Well you know you don't love me aint no need to cry
Just tell me where ya stayed last night now
You gotta give a call yourself
'cause i'm still lookin' at you
Memphis Minnie's song "Good Morning" is a straightforward blues tune that speaks to the pain and hurt involved in a relationship. The opening lines set the tone for the entire song as it suggests that the singer has been abandoned by their significant other. The question, "Well, good morning, tell me where you stayed last night?" speaks to the assumption that the other person has cheated or been unfaithful. The repetition of this line is particularly effective as it emphasizes the frustration and hurt of the singer who is trying to come to grips with what has happened. The second line of the opening stanza, "Well, you know you don't love me and you just can't treat me right", acknowledges the fact that the relationship has not been healthy or fulfilling, and clarifies the cause of the singer's anger, pain, and disillusionment.
The third and fourth lines of the first stanza, "It's a low down shame the way you treated me, and I'm just as good to you daddy is I intend to be", serve as the first real rebuttal from the singer to the unnamed person who has left them. The language here is particularly harsh and confrontational, and it underscores the anger and frustration of the singer. They essentially accuse the other person of being a low-down dirty dog who does not deserve them. There is a clear sense from these lines that the singer has made up their mind about the way they feel about their former lover and that they are not looking to be reconciled.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, Good mornin', tell me where you stayed last night.
It's the dawn of a new day, but I noticed that you were absent last night. I'm curious about who you were with and what you were up to.
Well, you know you don't love me and you just can't treat me right.
It's clear to me that you don't have any genuine affection for me, and your actions towards me are disrespectful and hurtful.
It's a low down shame the way you treated me.
The way you have acted towards me is dishonourable and contemptible.
And i'm just as good to you daddy is i intend to be
Despite your poor treatment towards me, I will remain kind and respectful towards you, just as I always have been.
Now you can shoot your pistol you can blown your hole
Regardless of any aggressive or violent behaviour you display, it won't change the fact that you have mistreated me.
And fall down on your knees and you can weep and moan
Even if you were to beg for forgiveness, it wouldn't make up for the way you have treated me.
You gonna be, you gonna be in bad some day
Your actions will lead to negative consequences for you in the future.
And you gonna be sorry you treat me this-a-way
Eventually, you will regret treating me with such disrespect and disregard.
Well i wouldn't been here daddy if it had-na been for you
If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation where I'm mistreated by someone who claims to care for me.
You treat me low down dirty and that's the way you do
Your behaviour towards me is cruel and malicious, and unfortunately, it's a pattern I've come to expect from you.
You gonna be, you gonna be in bad for long
Your actions will catch up with you eventually, and you will face the consequences of mistreating me.
And you was settin' there singing sam ol' lonesome song
While you were enjoying your own company, you were neglecting the person in your life who cares for you the most.
Good morning and it's fare you well goodbye.
It's the start of a new day, and I'm done with tolerating your mistreatment of me. Goodbye.
Well you know you don't love me aint no need to cry
There's no point in pretending that you love me when your actions say otherwise. There's no need for tears or sorrow over our parting.
Just tell me where ya stayed last night now
Before we part ways, please just be honest with me about where you were last night, so that I can have some closure.
You gotta give a call yourself
I won't be chasing after you anymore. If you want to make things right, you'll have to take action yourself.
Contributed by Chase C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Shantianita
I love her! I can't get enough of the Queen of The Blues musician.
Megan McInnis
THANK YOU for uploading this!!!! I had it on my Memphis Minnie playlist and then it was deleted; I was SO sad, because it's my favorite MM song. Thank you, thank you!!!
fred said
Pure