Peetie Wheatstraw (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941) was the name adop… Read Full Bio ↴Peetie Wheatstraw (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941) was the name adopted by singer William Bunch, a greatly influential figure among 1930s blues singers. Although the only known picture of Bunch shows him holding a National brand tricone resonator guitar, his primary instrument was the piano.

Wheatstraw was born William Bunch in Ripley, Tennessee but grew up in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, where his family relocated soon after his birth. Little is known of his early life, other than that he took up playing both the piano and guitar at a young age.

Bunch left Cotton Plant in 1927 and began living the life of an itinerant musician traveling throughout the Deep South. Like many African Americans of this time period, the great migration eventually drew his attention to the cities of the North. Places such as Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit were favoured destinations, due to the wealth of employment in the factories located in these cities. St. Louis was another city that drew its share of uprooted individuals who sought a better life than that offered by the toil of sharecropping. It was in St. Louis that Bunch landed in 1929.

Having honed his musical talents while travelling, and influenced by the popularity of the Blues duet of pianist Leroy Carr and guitar player Scrapper Blackwell, Bunch found easy work in the clubs of both St. Louis and East St. Louis on the other side of the Mississippi River.

It was around this time Bunch decided to change his name to Peetie Wheatstraw. He also called himself "The Devil's Son-in-Law" and this title is under his name starting with his earliest recordings.

Wheatstraw's self-promotion swiftly paid off as he became a popular performer in East St. Louis, to the extent that he was asked to Chicago in 1930 to partake in recording sessions. He first entered the Vocalion Studios on August 13, 1930, and recorded a handful of numbers which included "Four O'Clock In The Morning" and "Tennessee Peaches Blues". Over the following decade, he would make several such treks, recording over 160 sides for the Vocalion, Decca and Bluebird labels.

Wheatstraw was known for his laid-back approach and adept singing and songwriting, though his instrumental talents were average at best. His songwriting appealed to working class minorities, due to their nature of the content—he often wrote about social issues such as unemployment and public assistance. There were also pieces about the immoral ways of loose women, and true to his own self-publicity, death and the supernatural. Almost all of his songs included his trademark "Ooh, well well", usually accentuated in the third verse, and this has been carried on by many subsequent Bluesmen, most noteworthy today being R.L. Burnside.

On his records Wheatstraw is occasionally heard playing guitar, but he usually took to the piano and required a guitarist to play with him—among his collaborators were Kokomo Arnold, Lonnie Johnson, Charlie Jordan, Charlie McCoy and Teddy Bunn, in addition to pianist Champion Jack Dupree. On some of his last dates, Peetie Wheatstraw recorded within a jazz inspired framework, collaborating with Lil Armstrong and trumpeter Jonah Jones.

Wheatstraw's influence was enormous during the 1930s. Perhaps the most obvious example of Wheatstraw's impact can be seen in the writings of Robert Johnson, often considered the most important Blues figure of the era. Many of Johnson's own recordings were actually re-workings of other popular artists of the time, and he drew heavily from Wheatstraw's repertoire.

The Good Lawd's Children
Peetie Wheatstraw Lyrics

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The Good Lawd's Children Trk 13 Disc 2: 45
Peetie Wheatstraw (William Bunch)
(Williams)
Peetie Wheatstraw - vocal, poss Lil Armstrong - piano
Robert Lee Mccoy - hca
March 12, 1941 Chicago, Decca 7879
Album: Peetie Wheatstraw Essentials Album
Allego Classic Blues cbl 200037

They say we are the Lord's children
I don't say that ain't true
They say we are the Lord's children
I don't say that ain't true
But if we all the same like each other
Ooo-well'well, why do they treat me like they do?

What's wrong with the Lord's children?
I don't understand
What's wrong with the Lord's children?
I don't understand
Some men got no use for woman
Ooo-well-well, some women got no use for man

I wanna live on children
Soon I would just like to see
I wanna live on children
I said I would just like to see
What will become of us
Ooo-well-well, by nineteen and fifty-three

Some of the good Lord's children
Some of them ain't no good
Some of the good Lord's children
Some of them ain't no good
Some of them are the devil
Ooo-well-well, and wouldn't help you if they could

Some of the good Lord's children
Is about to need some prayer
Some of the Lord's children
Needs about to kneel and pray
You serve the devil in the night
Hoo-well-well, and serve the Lord in the day.

Overall Meaning

In Peetie Wheatstraw's song "The Good Lawd's Children," the singer questions the treatment of people despite being considered as the Lord's children. The singer doesn't doubt that they are the Lord's children, but wonders why people are treated the way they are. The singer doesn't comprehend why some people have no use for women, and vice versa. The singer then expresses a desire to see what will become of them in the future, particularly by 1953. The song culminates with a call for some of the Lord's children to pray, particularly those who serve the devil in the night and the Lord in the day.

The song is a commentary on the inequality and mistreatment that often occur despite religious beliefs. Despite being considered children of a higher power, humans still face discrimination and mistreatment from one another. Additionally, the line "What will become of us by nineteen and fifty-three" adds a sense of urgency and concern for the future, hinting at the potential consequences of current actions.

Line by Line Meaning

They say we are the Lord's children
People say that we are God's children

I don't say that ain't true
I don't disagree with that statement

But if we all the same like each other
If we're all created equal

Ooo-well'well, why do they treat me like they do?
Then why do they treat me unfairly?

What's wrong with the Lord's children?
What's wrong with being God's children?

I don't understand
I don't get it

Some men got no use for woman
Some men don't value women

Ooo-well-well, some women got no use for man
Some women don't value men either

I wanna live on children
I want to see future generations

Soon I would just like to see
I hope to see it soon

What will become of us
What will happen to us in the future?