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.
Keep On Eatin'
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fix you a pot of soup and make you drink it up
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
You don't like nobody's cooking but mine
Get up in the morning and fix you a tenderloin
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
Don't tell nobody that I tried to be tough
I just got a man so hard to fill up
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
(spoken:
Oh, play it now, Mr. Charlie
Yes, man! Just keep on eating
You'll get through it someday)
I know you're crazy about your oysters and your shrimp and crab
Take you around the corner and give you a chance to grab
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
I've cooked and cooked till I done got tired
Can't fill you up off of my fried apple pie
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
I know you got a bad cold and you can't smell
I ain't gonna give you something that I can't sell
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
The lyrics of Memphis Minnie's song Keep On Eatin' are primarily about the relationship between the singer and her lover, in which the singer is always cooking and providing meals for her lover who can't seem to get enough. The lyrics suggest that the singer's lover is somewhat of a glutton and enjoys her cooking more than anyone else's. The singer even mentions that she can't always fill him up, but encourages him to keep eating until he is satisfied.
The lyrics of Keep On Eatin' also hint at the power dynamics within the relationship, with the singer feeling the need to please her lover in order to keep him satisfied. She mentions that she doesn't want to appear "tough" and that her lover is "so hard to fill up." This may suggest that the singer is worried about losing her lover's affection and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him happy.
There is also an element of humor in the lyrics of Keep On Eatin', with the singer poking fun at her lover's eating habits and encouraging him to indulge in his cravings. The spoken word interlude and the call and response between the singer and her band create a playful and upbeat tone to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time I cook, look like you can't get enough
No matter how much I cook for you, you always crave more.
Fix you a pot of soup and make you drink it up
I go out of my way to make sure you have what you want.
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
Keep indulging in my cooking until you're completely satisfied.
You don't like nobody's cooking but mine
You're picky and only enjoy my cooking.
Get up in the morning and fix you a tenderloin
I cater to your specific tastes and desires.
Don't tell nobody that I tried to be tough
I just got a man so hard to fill up
I don't want anyone to know that I struggle to satisfy my partner's appetite.
(spoken:
Oh, play it now, Mr. Charlie
Yes, man! Just keep on eating
You'll get through it someday)
Just keep on eating, and eventually you'll be satisfied.
I know you're crazy about your oysters and your shrimp and crab
Take you around the corner and give you a chance to grab
I'm well aware of your favorite foods and make sure to provide them for you.
I've cooked and cooked till I done got tired
Can't fill you up off of my fried apple pie
I've exhausted myself trying to satisfy you, but it's never enough.
I know you got a bad cold and you can't smell
I ain't gonna give you something that I can't sell
I'm not going to waste my time making you something you won't enjoy due to your illness.
Contributed by Jordan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@arjhendrix
___________________________________________
Every time I cook, look like you can't get enough
Fix you a pot of soup and make you drink it up
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
You don't like nobody's cooking but mine
Get up in the morning and fix you a tenderloin
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
Don't tell nobody that I tried to be tough
I just got a man so hard to fill up
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
(spoken:
Oh, play it now, Mr. Charlie
Yes, man! Just keep on eating
You'll get through it someday)
I know you're crazy about your oysters and your shrimp and crab
Take you around the corner and give you a chance to grab
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
I've cooked and cooked till I done got tired
Can't fill you up off of my fried apple pie
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
I know you got a bad cold and you can't smell
I ain't gonna give you something that I can't sell
So keep on a-eating
Oh, keep on a-eating
Keep on eating, baby, till you get enough
===========================
@StickyLemonChicken
pro tip: this song isn't about dinner.
@andreias5564
dont you say?!
@pljms
I've been told by people I trust that this song is full of innuendo.
@blanchebyard3086
YOU THINK SO.WINK LOL
@otpkd
You don't say! (gasp)
@CarolineMartin
Custard Pie! "drop down mama let your daddy see"
@rcisdrummer
I love it! Filth and foul, and foul and filth; straight out of the 20's! I'm so hungry I'd be your pig meat papa for just a dribble.
@KaylaCoils
City girlsssss = flappers