Moanin' the Blues
Memphis Minnie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning

Oh, the blues got ways sometimes just like a natural man
Oh, the blues got ways sometimes just like a natural man
I don't care which away you turn, they always is on your hands
Won't you tell me, baby, how come you don't come back home?
Won't you tell me, baby, how come you don't come back home?
I lay down last night with my back door open all night long
Here come the blues this morning, just 'fore day they shut my door
Here come the blues this morning, just 'fore day they s hut my door

But the lord forgive me, I won't have them things no more
This morning, setting on the side of my bed
This morning, setting on the side of my bed
(They done come) brought you a letter (for) your plumb good man fell dead
(spoken: Blues, what must I do?)
Hmmmmm, hmmmmm

Hmmmmm, hmmmmm
Hmmmmm, hmmmmm

Overall Meaning

In Memphis Minnie's "Moanin' the Blues," the singer muses about the nature of the blues themselves, personifying the genre as a "natural man" with its own ways and tendencies beyond her control. The blues are an ever-present force in her life, as she says they are always on her hands no matter which way she turns. Despite the heavy burden of the blues in her life, she continues to long for her wayward lover to return home, asking repeatedly for an explanation for his absence. She recounts sleeping with her back door open all night, hoping for his return, but instead wakes up to find the blues have entered her home and shut her door. The morning brings her tragic news, as she receives a letter informing her that her "plumb good man fell dead."

In this song, the blues serve as both a metaphor for the hardships and struggles of life and a literal force that shapes the singer's experiences. As much as she tries to escape the blues, they seem always to follow her and impact her life in unpredictable ways. The use of repetition and personification lends a sense of inevitability to the blues, as if they are a force beyond anyone's control. The final lines, where the singer asks the blues what she must do, reflect a sense of resignation and acceptance in the face of life's difficult realities.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, the blues got ways sometimes just like a natural man
The blues have a tendency to behave erratically and unpredictably, like a human being would.

I don't care which away you turn, they always is on your hands
No matter which direction you go, you can never escape the blues' grasp.

Won't you tell me, baby, how come you don't come back home?
Why haven't you returned home yet, my love?

I lay down last night with my back door open all night long
I slept with my back door open all night.

Here come the blues this morning, just 'fore day they shut my door
The blues came knocking on my door this morning, right before the dawn, and caused me to close it.

But the lord forgive me, I won't have them things no more
I ask the lord for forgiveness, and promise to no longer let the blues impact my life.

This morning, setting on the side of my bed
I was sitting on the edge of my bed this morning.

(They done come) brought you a letter (for) your plumb good man fell dead
Someone brought me a letter notifying me that my beloved and good man had passed away.

(spoken: Blues, what must I do?)
The speaker is directly addressing the blues, asking for advice on how to cope with their influence.

Hmmmmm, hmmmmm
The speaker is humming at this point, indicating thought or contemplation.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS

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Memphis Minnie (born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973) was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter from the late 1920s to the 1950s, one of the most influential country blues musicians to have ever recorded.

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. Read Full BioMemphis Minnie (born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973) was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter from the late 1920s to the 1950s, one of the most influential country blues musicians to have ever recorded.

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.