Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine. Singing to a melodious finger-picked accompaniment, he began to play local dances and parties while working as a sharecropper. He first recorded for Okeh Records in 1928, but these were commercial failures. Hurt then drifted out of the recording scene, and he continued his work as a farmer. Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, would be the first to locate Hurt in 1963. He convinced Hurt to relocate to Washington, D.C., where he was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This rediscovery helped further the American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt entered the same university and coffeehouse concert circuit as his contemporaries, as well as other Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, he recorded several studio albums for Vanguard Records.
Born John Smith Hurt in Teoc, Carroll County, Mississippi (there is confusion about his date of birth, but the grave marker mentions March 8, 1892) and raised in Avalon, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar at age nine. He was completely self-taught, stealthily playing the guitar of a friend of his mother's, who often stayed at the Hurt home while courting a lady who lived near by. His style was not reminiscent of any other style being played at the time; it was the way Hurt "thought the guitar should sound". He spent much of his youth playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farmhand into the 1920s. His fast, highly syncopated style of playing made his music adept for dancing. On occasion, a medicine show would come through the area; Hurt recalls being wanted by one of them. "One of them wanted me, but I said no because I just never wanted to get away from home." In 1923 he partnered with the fiddle player Willie Narmour as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith.
When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records as a prize for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, he recommended Hurt to Okeh Records producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City (see Discography below). While in Memphis, Hurt recalled seeing "many, many blues singers ... Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, and lots, lots more." Hurt described his first recording session as such:
... a great big hall with only the three of us in it: me, the man [Rockwell], and the engineer. It was really something. I sat on a chair, and they pushed the microphone right up to my mouth and told me that I couldn't move after they had found the right position. I had to keep my head absolutely still. Oh, I was nervous, and my neck was sore for days after.
Hurt attempted further negotiations with Okeh to record again, but after the commercial failure of the resulting records, and Okeh Records going out of business during the Great Depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity, working as a sharecropper and playing local parties and dances.
After Hurt's renditions of "Frankie" and "Spike Driver Blues" were included in The Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952, and an Australian man discovered a copy of "Avalon Blues", there became increased interest in finding Hurt himself. In 1963, a folk musicologist, Tom Hoskins, supervised by Richard Spottswood, was able to locate Hurt near Avalon, Mississippi using the lyrics of "Avalon Blues":
Avalon, my home town, always on my mind/Avalon, my home town.
While in Avalon, Hoskins convinced an apprehensive Hurt to perform several songs for him, to ensure that he was genuine. Hoskins was convinced, and seeing that Hurt's guitar playing skills were still intact, Hoskins encouraged him to move to Washington, D.C., and begin performing on a wider stage. His performance at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new folk revival audience. Before his death he played extensively in colleges, concert halls, coffee houses and also on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, as well as recording three further albums for Vanguard Records. Much of his repertoire was recorded for the Library of Congress, also. His fans particularly liked the ragtime songs "Salty Dog" and "Candy Man", and the blues ballads "Spike Driver Blues" (a variant of "John Henry") and "Frankie".
Hurt incorporated a fast, pick-less, syncopated fingerpicking style that he taught himself. He was influenced by very few people; but did recall an elderly, unrecorded, blues singer from that area, Rufus Hanks, who played twelve-string guitar and harmonica. He also recalled listening to the country singer Jimmie Rodgers. On occasion, Hurt would use an open tuning and a slide, as he did in his arrangement of "The Ballad of Casey Jones".
Hurt's influence spanned several music genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and roll. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in the work, which consisted of a mellow mix of country, blues and old time music.
Material recorded by Hurt has been re-released by many record labels over the years (see discography); and his influence has extended over many generations of guitarists. Songs recorded by Hurt have been covered by Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen, Bill Morrissey and Gillian Welch.
Hurt died on November 2nd, 1966, of a heart attack in Grenada, Mississippi.
There is now a memorial in Avalon, Mississippi for Mississippi John Hurt. It is parallel to RR2, the rural road on which he grew up.
American singer-songwriter Tom Paxton, who met Hurt and played on the same bill as him at the Gaslight in Greenwich Village around 1963, wrote and recorded a song about him in 1977 entitled "Did You Hear John Hurt?" Paxton still frequently plays this song at his live performances.
The first track of John Fahey's 1968 solo acoustic guitar album Requia is entitled "Requiem For John Hurt". Fahey's posthumous live album The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick also features a version of the piece, there entitled "Requiem For Mississippi John Hurt".
British folk/blues artist Wizz Jones recorded a tribute song called "Mississippi John" for his 1977 album Magical Flight.
You Are My Sunshine
Mississippi John Hurt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
I'll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me and love another
You'll regret it all some day
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
You told me once, dear, you really loved me
And no one else could come between
But not you've left me and love another
You have shattered all of my dreams
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
When I awake my poor heart pains
So when you come back and make me happy
I'll forgive you dear, I'll take all the blame
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
Mississippi John Hurt's rendition of "You Are My Sunshine" is a poignant love song in which the singer dreams of holding their beloved in their arms, but wakes up alone, causing them to cry. The song's central theme is a plea to a lover to stay with them, as they make them happy and love them deeply. The singer acknowledges that if their lover leaves them for someone else, they will regret it in the future. The last verse of the song sees the singer forgiving their lover and taking the blame for any hurt they may have caused, as they long for their sunshine to return.
The song is a classic example of a love ballad that has stood the test of time. Its haunting melody and heartfelt lyrics have resonated with audiences for generations. The song's simple message of love and loyalty strikes a chord with listeners, even today. The song also demonstrates the pain and suffering that can come from unrequited love. The singer's tears and feelings of heartbreak are palpable throughout the song, making it relatable to anyone who has lost love or longed for someone they cannot have.
Line by Line Meaning
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I was dreaming of you and holding you close.
I dreamed I held you in my arms
I was holding you close in my dreams as we were together.
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
As I opened my eyes, I realized that it was all just a dream.
So I hung my head and I cried
I was so sad when I realized that it was just a dream that I cried.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You are the light of my life and my only source of happiness.
You make me happy when skies are gray
Even when life is tough, you bring me joy and make everything better.
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
I don't think I can ever express in words how much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away
I'm afraid of losing you and the happiness you bring me.
I'll always love you and make you happy
It's my promise to love you forever and make you happy.
If you will only say the same
I hope that you love me and have the same promise as me.
But if you leave me and love another
If you choose to leave me for someone else.
You'll regret it all some day
You'll eventually realize that leaving me was a mistake and you'll regret it.
You told me once, dear, you really loved me
You promised me once that you loved me truly.
And no one else could come between
You assured me that nobody else could get in the way of our love.
But now you've left me and love another
Unfortunately, you broke your promise and broke my heart by leaving me for someone else.
You have shattered all of my dreams
Your actions have shattered all of the dreams I had for us.
In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
Even in my dreams, I fear losing you and it seems like you're leaving me.
When I awake my poor heart pains
Waking up to the fear of losing you causes me a lot of emotional pain.
So when you come back and make me happy
If you choose to come back and make me happy again.
I'll forgive you dear, I'll take all the blame
I'm willing to forgive you and take the blame for whatever happened if it means being happy with you again.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Jimmie Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Oliv
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping,
I dreamed I held you in my arms,
but when I woke dear, I was mistaken,
and I hung my head and cried.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
you make me happy when skies are gray
you'll never know dear, how much I love you,
please don't take my sunshine away.
John Shortland
My father sang this to my mother when they were courting and my mother sang it to me when I was a small child and couldn't get to sleep at night. Years later and long-widowed, we sang it at her funeral in the hope that she would be singing it along with my father once again.
Alan O'Neill
well said
Jerrod Messick
That is beautiful, John. This story, short as it was, brought a little tear to my eye.
Jerrod Messick
I found Mississippi John in a video of You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley, and I have been just blown away by the soul in this man's music. Such a soothing voice, and his picking style on guitar is incredible.
Janice Deeter
my favorite song also
Jonathan Patrick
One of the greatest blues artists that lived.
objectivitycave11
i would say that he is the greatest guitar player to ever exist
Mark Harris
MJH always gives me the impression of great humility and well as being a great musician. I’ve never seen him live, in fact I'd never heard of him until about ten years after his death. It’s just something that seems to come through the performances I’ve seen and heard. I have a picture in my head of him and Elizabeth Cotten sat in a quiet corner somewhere in heaven entertaining each other.
Nick Eldridge
Mark Harris : And coincidentally Elizibeth Cotten and John Hurt were both born in the same year !!!. 1893. These are better times Mark ... The audience are predominantly white middle-class college kids but John Hurt laughs and jokes with them ... they love him for being nice and playing for them ... and he loves them for coming to hear him play and singing along with him. A very nice black gentleman who decided not to go through life bearing resentments about anything in the past.
Charlotte Schreffler
@Nick Eldridge Thanks for your comment. John Hurt was a nice black gentleman. God bless you all. I commented too. ❤