His parents, who were farmers, died when McDowell was a youth. He started playing guitar at the age of 14 and played at dances around Rossville. Wanting a change from ploughing fields, he moved to Memphis in 1926 where he worked in a number of jobs and played music for tips. He settled in Como, Mississippi, about 40 miles south of Memphis, in 1940 or 1941, and worked steadily as a farmer, continuing to perform music at dances, and picnics. Initially he played slide guitar using a pocket knife and then a slide made from a beef rib bone, later switching to a glass slide for its clearer sound. He played with the slide on his ring finger.
A pure hill country blues musician, he played "just the straight, natural blues," and he "do not play no rock and roll." McDowell initially played the recognizable resonator guitar but, during tours and recordings beginning in the 1960s, he adopted the use of electric guitar and was probably the first original delta- or country blues musician to do so. McDowell's style is distinctive and recognizable; perhaps the dirtiest sounding guitarist ever and one of the most influential. The slide guitar styles of Bonnie Raitt as well as Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, as well as Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys are all heavily influenced by McDowell's technique.
McDowell died of cancer in 1972 and is buried at Hammond Hill M.B. Church, between Como and Senatobia. On August 6, 1993 a memorial was placed on the gravesite of Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Hammond Hill Baptist Church cemetery by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund.
Red Cross Store Blues
Mississippi Fred McDowell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
Lord I went to the merchant, asked him for some meal,
Lord, you go away from here now boy, you got boll weevils in your brain.
Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
Red Cross store wen't help me fix my ailing head.
I was on the floor a bleendin' I almost cought my death,
No Red Cross store gonna save my life when I'm down to my last breath.
Well I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
Don't talk to me 'bout no war, if you can't tell me what I'm fighting for.
I would go all the way to hell, before I give my Soul to that Red Cross store.
Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
I told you once, I told you twice, a thousand times before,
If I could get a job, I wouldn't go to that store no more.
Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
The song Red Cross Store Blues by Mississippi Fred McDowell is a powerful expression of frustration and disillusionment with the Red Cross and the institutional aid it represents. The singer declares that he will not return to the Red Cross store, which has apparently failed to provide him with the basic necessities of life such as flour and sugar. He also expresses anger at the merchant who turns him away, suggesting that he has boll weevils in his brain. The singer's physical and emotional suffering is further emphasized with the image of him lying on the floor, almost dying.
The lyrics also touch on the larger context of war, questioning the purpose and meaning of fighting for something that cannot be defined. The singer would rather go to hell than give his soul to the Red Cross store, and he emphasizes that he will not return no matter how many times he is told to do so. The repetition of the lines "Lord I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more" emphasizes the singer's defiance and determination to seek his own path and refuse to rely on an institution that has failed him.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I ain't goin' back to that Red Cross store no more.
I refuse to go back to the Red Cross store again.
Lord I went to the merchant, asked him for some meal,
I asked the merchant for some food.
Lord, you go away from here now boy, you got boll weevils in your brain.
The merchant refused to help and insulted me.
No sugar for my coffee, no flour for my bread,
The Red Cross store did not provide me with basic necessities like sugar and flour.
Red Cross store wen't help me fix my ailing head.
The Red Cross store could not provide me with any solutions for my problems.
I was on the floor a bleendin' I almost cought my death,
I was in a dire situation and almost died on the floor.
No Red Cross store gonna save my life when I'm down to my last breath.
Even if I am dying, the Red Cross store cannot help me.
Don't talk to me 'bout no war, if you can't tell me what I'm fighting for.
I do not want to hear about wars unless someone can explain the reasons behind them.
I would go all the way to hell, before I give my Soul to that Red Cross store.
I despise the Red Cross store so much that I would rather go to hell than depend on it.
I told you once, I told you twice, a thousand times before,
I have made it clear to others multiple times that I will not go to the Red Cross store.
If I could get a job, I wouldn't go to that store no more.
I would avoid the Red Cross store if I could find a job elsewhere.
Contributed by Owen O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.