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.
I'd Rather See Him Dead
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please go tell my baby, tell him just what I say
If he don't sleep with me, I'd rather see him dead
And you'll see me going home lay down after a lonesome day
And you'll see me going home lay down after a lonesome day
Cos if he don't sleep with me, I'd rather see him dead
And I will walk all night walk without cover over my head
Cos if he don't sleep with me, I'd rather see him dead
The lyrics to Memphis Minnie's song "I'd Rather See Him Dead" convey a level of desperation on the part of the singer. She implores someone to go tell her baby that if he doesn't sleep with her, she'd rather see him dead. This suggests that physical intimacy is extremely important to her and that without it, she would rather her partner not exist at all. The repetition of this sentiment reinforces just how important this aspect of their relationship is to the singer.
The second stanza continues to emphasize the singer's desperation as she describes herself coming home after a lonesome day. The implication here is that without physical intimacy, she feels deeply alone and unfulfilled. The final stanza takes this desperation to another level as the singer suggests that if her partner doesn't comply with her desires, she will walk all night without any cover over her head. This highlights just how much the singer is willing to sacrifice in order to have her physical desires met.
Overall, "I'd Rather See Him Dead" is a song about the importance of physical intimacy in a relationship, particularly for the singer. The lyrics convey a sense of desperation and a willingness to resort to extreme measures in order to have those needs met. It is also possible to interpret the lyrics as a commentary on gender and power dynamics, as the woman is the one who is calling the shots in terms of what she needs from her partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Please go tell my baby, tell him just what I say
Please convey my message to my lover as it is
If he don't sleep with me, I'd rather see him dead
I cannot tolerate my lover refusing to sleep with me, to the point where I prefer his death
And you'll see me going home lay down after a lonesome day
After a tiring day, I will return home alone
And I will walk all night walk without cover over my head
I am ready to wander aimlessly all night long without any protection
Cos if he don't sleep with me, I'd rather see him dead
My feelings of hatred towards my lover for not sleeping with me are so strong that I would rather see him dead
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAWLERS, MINNIE
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