The Mississippi Sheiks consisted mainly of the Chatmon family, who came from Bolton, Mississippi and were well known throughout the Mississippi Delta. The father of the family had been a "musicianer" (someone with good technical ability on his or her instrument adept at sight-reading written music) during slavery times, and his children carried on the musical spirit. Their most famous (although by no means permanent) member was Armenter Chatmon - better known as Bo Carter - who managed a successful solo career as well as playing with the Sheiks, which may have contributed to their success.
When the band first recorded in 1930, the line-up consisted of Carter with Lonnie and Sam Chatmon, and Walter Vinson. Charlie McCoy (not to be confused with Charlie McCoy, a later American musician) played later, when Bo Carter and Sam Chatmon ceased playing full time. It was Lonnie Chatmon and Vinson who formed the real center of the group.
Bo Carter's solo work is notable for being sexually suggestive in songs and this is carried on to an extent with the group. They primarily earned their income like Robert Johnson and Skip James. They toured throughout the Southern United States, but also reached as far north as Chicago and New York.
Their first and biggest success was "Sitting on Top of the World" (1930), later to be recorded by Bob Wills (numerous times), Howlin' Wolf, Nat King Cole, Bill Monroe, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Cream, Grateful Dead, Jeff Healey, John Lee Hooker, Bill Frisell and Jack White, and re-done by Robert Johnson, as "Come On in My Kitchen". The song was also the theme to the film A Face in the Crowd (1957) produced by Elia Kazan and starring Andy Griffith. Throughout their five active years, the Mississippi Sheiks recorded over seventy songs for the Okeh, Paramount and Bluebird labels.
Their last recording session as the Mississippi Sheiks was in 1936. Bo made a few more sessions on his own, but by 1938 he too was dropped. When the band dissolved, the Chatmon brothers gave up music and returned to farming.
The Sheiks and related groups under other names, such as Mississippi Mud Steppers and Blacksnakes, recorded about a hundred sides in the first half of the 1930s, among them original compositions (probably by Vinson) like "The World is Going Wrong" and "I've Got Blood in My Eyes For You" (1931) - both recorded by Bob Dylan - or the topical "Sales Tax" (1934).
Sam Chatmon made more recordings in the 1960s and Walter Vinson contributed three selections (using the Mississippi Sheiks band name) to Riverside's 1961 series, Chicago: The Living Legends.
In 2004, they were inducted in the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. Their 1930 blues single "Sitting on Top of the World" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 1978 Rory Gallagher recorded a tribute song "The Mississippi Sheiks" for his Photo Finish album.
In 2009, Black Hen Music released Things About Comin' My Way, a tribute album to the Mississippi Sheiks. The album's seventeen artists include Bruce Cockburn, Bill Frisell, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Geoff Muldaur, Kelly Joe Phelps and John Hammond.
In 2013 Jack White's Third Man Records teamed up with Document Records to reissue The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order of Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell and The Mississippi Sheiks.
Stop and Listen Blues
Mississippi Sheiks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Long old lonesome day
Now don't ya a-hear me talkin', pretty mama?
Ev'r day have been
Long old lonesome day
Cry, it seem like you-ooo would
Be there ooo-ooo, same old way
That bell that shine like gold
Now don't ya a-hear me talkin', pretty mama?
Ooh, smokestack lightning
Bells that shine like gold
Cryin', I found my baby
Layin' on the coolin' floor
Don't a hearse look lonesome, mama
Rollin' for yo' do'?
Now don't ya a-hear me talkin', pretty mama?
Don't a hearse look lonesome
Rollin' for yo' do'?
Cryin' she's gone, tell you-ooo, Lord
Won't be-ee-ee back no mo'
Ooh, stop and listen
Hear how those bells in toll
Now don't ya a-hear me talkin', pretty mama?
Ooh, stop and listen
Hear the bell it tolls
I had a sweet little faror
But she's dead and gone
Cryin', followed my baby down
To the buryin' ground
Now don't ya a-hear me talkin', pretty mama?
I followed my baby, to the buryin' ground
It was afternoon, mama
Standing all around you.
The Mississippi Sheiks' "Stop and Listen Blues" is a mournful tune that reflects on the pain and loneliness of lost love. The lyrics of the song emphasize the sadness and despair of the singer and how much he longs to feel his lover's presence again. The repetitive phrasing in the chorus, "Ev'r day have been there, Long old lonesome day, Now don't ya a-hear me talkin', pretty mama?" emphasizes the feeling of being alone and the desperate need for connection.
The song's verses are filled with heavy imagery that convey the feeling of grief and loss. The use of "cryin'" throughout the song suggests the singer's sadness, while "smokestack lightning" and "bells that shine like gold" remind us of the pain and solemnity of death. The repeated verses, "Don't a hearse look lonesome, mama, Rollin' for yo' do'? Don't a hearse look lonesome, Rollin' for yo' do'?" emphasize the feeling of loneliness that pervades the song.
Overall, "Stop and Listen Blues" is a haunting reminder that grief and loneliness are universal experiences. The song captures the power of music to help us confront and articulate our deepest emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Ev'r day have been there
I've been there every day
Long old lonesome day
It's been a long, lonely day
Now don't ya a-hear me talkin', pretty mama?
Can't you hear me talking, my dear?
Cry, it seem like you-ooo would
Be there ooo-ooo, same old way
I wish you were here with me as you always used to be
Cryin', smokestack lightning
That bell that shine like gold
I'm crying about the smokestack lightning and the shining gold bell
Ooh, smokestack lightning
Bells that shine like gold
Ah, the smokestack lightning and golden bells
Cryin', I found my baby
Layin' on the coolin' floor
I found my sweetheart lying on the cold ground
Don't a hearse look lonesome, mama
Rollin' for yo' do'?
Doesn't the hearse look sad rolling up to your door?
Cryin' she's gone, tell you-ooo, Lord
Won't be-ee-ee back no mo'
She's gone and not coming back, oh Lord
Ooh, stop and listen
Hear how those bells in toll
Stop and listen to the tolling of the bells
Ooh, stop and listen
Hear the bell it tolls
Listen to the tolling of the bell
I had a sweet little faror
But she's dead and gone
I had a sweet lover, but she's passed away
Cryin', followed my baby down
To the buryin' ground
I followed my lover down to the graveyard
It was afternoon, mama
Standing all around you.
It was in the afternoon, with people standing around you
Contributed by Asher G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.