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.
What Fault You Find Of Me Pt. 2
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wouldn't mind being your hopping frog
Drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
KJ:
One thing certainly can't understand
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
MM:
You know I been begging you so long. so long
Quit your foolishness, bring your clothes back home
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
KJ:
Before I got you, I had my diamonds on
Now I got you, they all in pawn
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
MM:
If I could holler like a mountain jack
Go up on the mountain, call them diamonds back
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
The lyrics to Memphis Minnie's song "What Fault You Find of Me Pt. 2" describe the frustration and exhaustion of a woman in a troubled relationship. Throughout the song, she expresses her willingness to endure hardship and her willingness to compromise, but her partner does not reciprocate. She describes feeling used and pushed aside, lamenting the loss of her independence and self-worth. However, she remains strong and determined to leave, returning to a time when she was happier and more secure.
The song's lyrics also touch on themes of inequality and power dynamics in relationships. The woman in the song is left to take care of her partner while receiving little in return. She becomes increasingly resentful as her partner continues to neglect her needs and desires. Ultimately, she finds the strength to leave and return to a happier time in her life.
Line by Line Meaning
I wouldn't mind being your hopping frog
Drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
I used to love being with you, even if it wasn't comfortable, but your mistreatment has worn me down and I'm ready to leave and go back to what I was used to.
One thing certainly can't understand
Cornbread for me and biscuits for your man
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
I can't understand why you would treat me differently than your man, and now that I'm tired of it, I'm leaving to go back to what I was used to.
You know I been begging you so long. so long
Quit your foolishness, bring your clothes back home
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
I've been pleading with you for so long to treat me better and listen to me, but now that I'm fed up, I'm leaving to go back to what I was used to.
Before I got you, I had my diamonds on
Now I got you, they all in pawn
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
Before I was with you, I had my valuables and freedom, but now that you've taken them from me and treated me poorly, I'm leaving to go back to what I was used to.
If I could holler like a mountain jack
Go up on the mountain, call them diamonds back
Now I've got tired the way you treated me
And I believe I'll go now, back to my used to be
If I had the power to take back what you've taken from me and reverse what you've done to me, I would, but since I don't, I'm leaving to go back to what I was used to.
Contributed by Lucy P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
woodbell67
0:05 To avoid poisoning your soul