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.
Whiskey Head Blues
Peetie Wheatstraw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Peetie Wheatstraw (William Bunch)
(Bunch)
Jul 17, 1935 Decca 7111
Album: Peetie Wheatstraw Essentials Album
Allego Classic Blues cbl 200037
I am drunk now
Well, now I am drunk now
Will be sober after a while
Well now, if I don't get sober
Hoo-ooo-brown, please why don't you let me die?
My fairasee made me mad
Whiskey now is all I known
Well, my baby made me mad
Whiskey, I said is all I've known
Well, now if you don't want me, brown babe
Hm-mm-well, why in the world don't you let me go?
You known I drink whiskey
Now before we ever met
Well now she known I drink whiskey
Now before we ever met
And I'll guarantee, know right now
Um-um-well, that I'd been drinking whiskey yet
(piano)
Yes, I meant it, babe
Before I take this drink
Mm-mm, just remember babe
Before I take a drink
Well now, I wanna give you plenty time
Woo-well brown, now in this world to think
I am sorry, now
That I'm a whiskey-headed man
I say I'm sorry, now
That I'm a whiskey-headed man
But now I just want you go home
Hoo-well brown babe
Now do the best you can.
~
In Peetie Wheatstraw's song "Whiskey Head Blues," the lyrics express the singer's sorrowful state of mind while drunk on whiskey. The lyrics indicate that the singer has been madly in love with a woman, but she has rejected him, causing him to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism. He apologizes for being a "whiskey-headed man" but asks the woman to let him go if she does not want him. The singer also pleads with "Brown" (perhaps a reference to caffeine or cocaine) to let him die if he cannot overcome his addiction to alcohol.
The repeating line "Well, now, if I don't get sober, Hoo-ooo-brown, please why don't you let me die?" suggests that the singer is aware of the destructive effects of alcohol and wants to quit but feels trapped. The lyrics also indicate that the singer's love for whiskey precedes his relationship with the woman, indicating that alcohol addiction may have been a long-term problem. The song's somber tone and repetitive lyrics create a sense of hopelessness and despair, exemplifying the blues genre's emphasis on emotional expression and vulnerability.
Line by Line Meaning
I am drunk now
I am currently intoxicated
Will be sober after a while
I will eventually regain sobriety
Well, now I am drunk now
I am still currently intoxicated
Will be sober after a while
I will eventually regain sobriety
Well now, if I don't get sober
If I do not regain sobriety
Hoo-ooo-brown, please why don't you let me die?
I would rather die than continue being drunk
My fairasee made me mad
My significant other made me angry
Whiskey now is all I known
Drinking whiskey is all I am familiar with
Well, my baby made me mad
My significant other upset me
Whiskey, I said is all I've known
I have only known how to drink whiskey
Well, now if you don't want me, brown babe
If you do not want to be with me
Hm-mm-well, why in the world don't you let me go?
Why do you not allow me to leave?
You known I drink whiskey
You are aware that I consume whiskey
Now before we ever met
Prior to our first encounter
Well now she known I drink whiskey
She was already aware of my whiskey consumption
Now before we ever met
Prior to our first encounter
And I'll guarantee, know right now
I can assure you that
Um-um-well, that I'd been drinking whiskey yet
That I had already consumed whiskey
(piano)
Instrumental break
Yes, I meant it, babe
Yes, I am serious
Before I take this drink
Prior to consuming this beverage
Mm-mm, just remember babe
Please keep in mind
Before I take a drink
Prior to consuming this beverage
Well now, I wanna give you plenty time
I want to give you ample time
Woo-well brown, now in this world to think
To contemplate and consider
I am sorry, now
I apologize now
That I'm a whiskey-headed man
That I have an affinity for whiskey
I say I'm sorry, now
I am expressing regret
That I'm a whiskey-headed man
That I have an affinity for whiskey
But now I just want you go home
I want you to depart now
Hoo-well brown babe
My significant other
Now do the best you can.
Please do what you are capable of
Contributed by Bella R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.