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.
What More Can a Man Do?
Peetie Wheatstraw Lyrics
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Peetie Wheatstraw (William Bunch)
(Bunch)
Peetie Wheatstraw - vocal, w/Lonnie Johnson - gtr, unk acc.
April 1, 1938 Chicago, Decca 7479
Album: Peetie Wheatstraw Essentials Album
Allego Classic Blues CBL 200037
Listen hear baby, ain't gon' be yo' dog all my life
Because yo' other man tried to take my life
So what more can a man do?
I'd give up my job, lay down my money to you
Listen here baby you ain't treat me right
You don't do nothin' but clown 'n fight
You know I love you don't care what you do
I'm gettin' tired of clownin' with you
What more can a man do?
Give up my job, lay down my money to you
You go out tonight no tellin' what I'll do
I'm gettin' tired of worryin' over you
What more can a man do?
I'll give up my job, lay down my money to you
'Now play at that girl'
(guitar & instrumental)
Now you know mama
I'm gettin' tired, gettin tired, gettin' tired
You're in St. Louis all disguised
Cried last night an night befo'
I leave you this time I won't have to cry no mo'
What more can a man do?
I'll give up my job, lay down my money to you
So bye-bye baby, I'm leavin' you now
I know you don't mean no good, no how
You did ev'rything a woman could do
You know about that, than I am through with you
What more can a man do?
I'll give up my job, lay down my money to you.
~
Peetie Wheatstraw's song "What More Can a Man Do?" is a melancholic ode to the struggles of love and what one has to do to keep a relationship going. The song begins with a man lamenting about how he cannot continue to be his lover's dog all his life, possibly because her other man allegedly attempted to take his life. The man is at his wits' end, and he is prepared to quit his job and even lay down his money for her. In essence, he is prepared to do all he can to keep the relationship afloat.
In the second stanza, the man pleads with his lover to treat him better because he loves her no matter what. However, the woman is all about fighting and clowning around, which has worn out the man's patience. He is tired of worrying about her, and he might snap if she goes out tonight. The man then resigns himself to the idea that he will give up his job and all his money to keep the relationship going because he does not know what more he can do to keep her.
The song is an excellent reminder of the struggle one goes through in love and how people often use everything they have to keep the relationship going even when the other party is not reciprocating those efforts. Sometimes, one does not know what more they can do, but they keep going, holding onto the hope that things will eventually work out.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen hear baby, ain't gon' be yo' dog all my life
Hey baby, I can't be your devoted lover forever
Because yo' other man tried to take my life
Since your other man tried to kill me
So what more can a man do?
What else can a man possibly do?
I'd give up my job, lay down my money to you
I am ready to sacrifice my job and my money just for you
Listen here baby you ain't treat me right
Hey baby, you haven't been treating me well
You don't do nothin' but clown 'n fight
All you do is act foolishly and argue with me
You know I love you don't care what you do
You know that I love you no matter what you do
I'm gettin' tired of clownin' with you
I'm tired of playing around with you
You go out tonight no tellin' what I'll do
If you go out tonight, who knows what I might do
I'm gettin' tired of worryin' over you
I'm getting tired of worrying about you
I'll give up my job, lay down my money to you
I'm even willing to give up my job and lay down my money for you
'Now play at that girl'
Instrumental Break
Now you know mama
Now listen here
I'm gettin' tired, gettin tired, gettin' tired
I'm getting really exhausted
You're in St. Louis all disguised
You are in St. Louis, pretending to be someone else
Cried last night an night befo'
I cried last night and the night before
I leave you this time I won't have to cry no mo'
If I leave you this time, I won't have to cry anymore
So bye-bye baby, I'm leavin' you now
So goodbye baby, I am leaving you now
I know you don't mean no good, no how
I know you don't have good intentions
You did ev'rything a woman could do
You did everything a woman could do
You know about that, than I am through with you
You know what I mean, I am done with you
Contributed by Isaac P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.