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.
Jockey Man Blues
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Good morning, blues, please shake hands with me
I've got the blues this morning, just as low as I can be
How can I sleep nights, baby, when you turn your back on me
How can I sleep nights, baby, when you turn your back on me
I'm gonna take my troubles, go down by the sea
You can eat 'n my kitchen, sleep in my bed
Fall down in my arms, pretty papa, rest your worried head
'Cause I need, need some loving now
I ain't got no one to love me, weeooo, like you know how
I woke up this morning with the rising sun
I woke up this morning with the rising sun
My pretty papa's a jockey, and he sure don't ride for fun
If you see my jockey, I said please tell him hurry home
If you see my jockey, I said please tell him hurry home
I ain't had no loving, Lord, since my jockey been gone
My jockey rode this morning, and my love come falling down
My jockey rode this morning, and my love come falling down
Said, "I'll be your monkey woman, but please don't lead me around"
Take a race horse to run, a jockey to ride around
Take a pretty sealskin papa, make my love come down
'Cause I don't feel welcome, sleeping by myself
Lord, since you went away and left me, I don't want nobody else
In Memphis Minnie's song Jockey Man Blues, she begins with a classic blues greeting: "Good morning, blues, please shake hands with me." She expresses her melancholy mood, singing "I've got the blues this morning, just as low as I can be." Minnie's despair stems from her lover turning his back on her. She wonders how she can sleep at night when her loved one has deserted her, and decides to take her troubles down to the sea.
Minnie expresses her desire for love and comfort, singing "You can eat 'n my kitchen, sleep in my bed, Fall down in my arms, pretty papa, rest your worried head." She pleads for someone to love her the way her jockey man did. She acknowledges that her lover is not just an average man, but a jockey, and she longs for his return. In the last lines, Minnie emphasizes her loneliness since her love is gone, singing "Lord, since you went away and left me, I don't want nobody else."
Line by Line Meaning
Good morning, blues, please shake hands with me
I welcome the feeling of sadness because it helps me feel alive
I've got the blues this morning, just as low as I can be
My sadness is overwhelming and suffocating me
How can I sleep nights, baby, when you turn your back on me
I can't sleep without you by my side, it makes me feel abandoned and alone
I'm gonna take my troubles, go down by the sea
I need to get away from my problems and find solace by the water
You can eat 'n my kitchen, sleep in my bed
I'm willing to share everything I have with you because I love you
Fall down in my arms, pretty papa, rest your worried head
You can trust me to comfort and care for you
'Cause I need, need some loving now
I'm lonely and craving intimacy
I ain't got no one to love me, weeooo, like you know how
No one can love me like you do, and I miss that
I woke up this morning with the rising sun
I started a new day, but the pain is still present
My pretty papa's a jockey, and he sure don't ride for fun
My lover is a jockey and has a dangerous job that worries me
If you see my jockey, I said please tell him hurry home
I'm anxious to be reunited with my lover and want him to return as soon as possible
I ain't had no loving, Lord, since my jockey been gone
I've been lonely and deprived of intimacy since my lover has been away
My jockey rode this morning, and my love come falling down
My lover rode in a race this morning and I'm worried about his safety
Said, "I'll be your monkey woman, but please don't lead me around"
I'm willing to do anything for my lover, but I don't want to be taken advantage of
Take a race horse to run, a jockey to ride around
A racehorse needs a jockey to win, just like I need my lover to be happy
Take a pretty sealskin papa, make my love come down
My lover is attractive and desirable, and I want him to show me affection
'Cause I don't feel welcome, sleeping by myself
Sleeping alone makes me feel abandoned and sad
Lord, since you went away and left me, I don't want nobody else
I still love my lover and don't want anyone else but him
Contributed by Nolan Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Arjhendrix
wow
Roul Duke
Pleeease since you know how.