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.
You Got to Get out of Here
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Run your mouth both ______ and far
You been talking, yes bragging dear
Now what you bet, babe you gotta get out of here
Lord know I′ll give you lost my place
You're hanging out here what a pitiful place
You been talking, yes bragging dear
Yes you gotta go somewhere
Can′t stay here long
When I was young I would fall for your jive
Your no good mishaps made me wise
You been talking, yes bragging dear
Now what you bet, babe you gotta get out of here
Eat this salmon wipe your mouth
Grab your suitcase and wipe your big piece out
You been talking, yes bragging dear
Now what you bet, babe you gotta get out of here
Let's go
Yes
The lyrics of Memphis Minnie's song "You Got to Get out of Here" can be interpreted as a woman telling her lover that he has to leave and move on from their abusive relationship. The first two lines imply that the man is in jail, and the woman is there to bail him out. However, she is already irritated with him due to his habit of talking too much and lying. She refers to the jail as a pitiful place, and she doesn't want to be associated with it. She is telling him that his actions have consequences, and now he must face them alone. She says, "You gotta go somewhere, Can′t stay here long," emphasizing that he needs to leave their town permanently.
In the next verse, the woman remembers how she used to fall for the man's tricks and lies when she was younger. However, now she is wise and can see through his mishaps. She tells him to leave not just with his belongings but also with his big piece out, implying that he is not just getting out of their house, but getting out of her life for good. The last line, "Let's go," is a sign of her impatience and urgency to get him out of her life.
Overall, the song is a powerful message of a woman standing up against an abusive partner and taking charge of her life. She no longer wants to be associated with his criminal lifestyle or his lies and is determined to make a new start without him. The song shows how strong and independent women can take control of their lives despite the harsh circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
When I come and got you behind the bars
Run your mouth both ______ and far
When I picked you up from jail, you talked nonstop about everything and anything.
You been talking, yes bragging dear
Now what you bet, babe you gotta get out of here
You've been boasting about your exploits, now it's time for you to leave this place.
Lord know I'll give you lost my place
You're hanging out here what a pitiful place
I'm sorry to say, but you're bringing me down by hanging around here.
Yes you gotta go somewhere
Can't stay here long
You need to move on and find a new place to be, you can't stay here for long.
When I was young I would fall for your jive
Your no good mishaps made me wise
When I was younger I used to believe your lies, but your mistakes have taught me to be smarter.
Eat this salmon wipe your mouth
Grab your suitcase and wipe your big piece out
Finish your food and get ready to leave, you need to pack your bags and go.
Let's go
Yes
It's time to leave this place, let's go.
Writer(s): Minnie Lawlers
Contributed by Natalie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.