Mayfield was born in Minden, Louisiana. As a youth, he showed a talent for poetry, so he thought he would try songwriting and singing. He began his performing career in Texas and had moved to Los Angeles by 1942.
He auditioned his song "Two Years of Torture" to Supreme Records (a Los Angeles-area record label) because he thought it would be a good song for Jimmy Witherspoon. The label liked his performance and asked him to record it in 1947. Although his vocal style was influenced by such stylists as Charles Brown, Mayfield did not focus on the white market as did many West Coast bluesmen. Rather, he sang blues ballads, mostly his own songs, in a gentle vocal style.
In 1950, he signed with Specialty Records and released several well-received R&B records. His most famous performance: "Please Send Me Someone to Love" was a number one R&B hit in 1950. His career continued to blossom with songs like "Strange Things Happening", "Lost Love," "What a Fool I Was," "Prayin' for Your Return," "Cry Baby," and "Big Question." A 1953 auto accident left him seriously injured, including a facial disfigurement that limited his performing.
Mayfield's songs tend to be downbeat and his lyrics tend to be heartbreaking, but his vulnerability and emotional sensitivity prevent songs like "Life Is Suicide" and "The River's Invitation" from being maudlin.
Mayfield continued to write and record for Specialty until 1954 and then recorded for Chess Records and the Imperial label. In the early 1960s, he became one of Ray Charles's favorite songwriters, writing classic songs such as "Hit the Road Jack", "At the Club", and "Danger Zone" (which has the same melody of "Please Send Me Someone to Love". Charles signed Mayfield to his Tangerine logo in 1962.
When Mayfield died of a heart attack in 1984, at the age of 63, he had fallen back into obscurity.
Mayfield hit his creative peak in the years before his music became a mainstream sound. Thus it was always a struggle to gain recognition that he was due. But available examples of his music demonstrate his writing and performing talent and his enormous influence on other performers
Louisiana
Percy Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And everywhere I been, the peoples all say
Ain't nothing in rambling either running around
Well, I believe I'll marry, oooo, wooo, Lord, and settle down
I first left home, I stopped in Tennessee
The peoples all begging, "Come and stay with me"
'Cause ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
I was walking through the alley with my hand in my coat
The police start to shoot me, thought it was something I stole
You know it ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
Well, I believe I'll marry, oooo, wooo, Lord, and settle down
The peoples on the highway is walking and crying
Some is starving, some is dying
You know it ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
Well, I believe I'll marry, oooo, wooo, Lord, and settle down
You may go to Hollywood and try to get on the screen
But I'm gonna stay right here and eat these old charity beans
'Cause it ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
Well, I believe I'll marry, oooo, wooo, Lord, and settle down
The song "Louisiana" by Percy Mayfield tells the story of a man who was born and raised in Louisiana. He has traveled around and found that there is nothing special about the act of rambling or running around. He has been all over, and it seems like peoples everywhere are feeling the same way as him. He then decides that he's going to settle down, get married, and start a family.
In the second verse, the man stops in Tennessee, and everyone there is begging him to stay. He knows, however, that rambling around isn't worth it. In the third verse, he's walking through an alley with his hand in his coat, and the police start shooting at him, thinking he has stolen something. This experience reinforces his feelings about the dangers of rambling.
In the fourth verse, the man sees people walking and crying on the highway, some starving and some dying. He realizes that life is tough and that there is nothing to be gained by running around. In the final verse, he contrasts his own decision to stay in Louisiana and eat charity beans with those who try to make it big in Hollywood. He knows what he wants, and he's not going to waste his life chasing something that may never happen.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born in Louisiana, I was raised in Algiers
My birthplace is Louisiana and my childhood was spent in Algiers
And everywhere I been, the peoples all say
People I have met everywhere say this to me
Ain't nothing in rambling either running around
Traveling endlessly without a plan or purpose is not fulfilling
Well, I believe I'll marry, oooo, wooo, Lord, and settle down
I am ready to settle down and get married
I first left home, I stopped in Tennessee
I left home and made a stop in Tennessee
The peoples all begging, "Come and stay with me"
People I met were urging me to stay with them
'Cause ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
Traveling endlessly without a plan or purpose is not fulfilling
I was walking through the alley with my hand in my coat
I was casually walking down a street with my hand in my coat pocket
The police start to shoot me, thought it was something I stole
Police thought I had stolen something and started shooting at me
You know it ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
Traveling endlessly without a plan or purpose is not fulfilling
The peoples on the highway is walking and crying
People on the highway are walking and crying
Some is starving, some is dying
Some people are starving and some are dying
You know it ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
Traveling endlessly without a plan or purpose is not fulfilling
You may go to Hollywood and try to get on the screen
You can go to Hollywood and try to become famous on screen
But I'm gonna stay right here and eat these old charity beans
But I am content with staying here and eating charity food
'Cause it ain't nothing in rambling, either running around
Traveling endlessly without a plan or purpose is not fulfilling
Well, I believe I'll marry, oooo, wooo, Lord, and settle down
I am ready to settle down and get married
Contributed by Grace A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Elayne Rodrigues
Que som maravilhoso, pq não conheci antes?
Nossa que maravilha
Miloud Bengrigra
We love you percy you're a greatest bluesman
C. F
Exceptional
Alfy dog
holy moly amazing
BluuBlood Râ
🔥🔥🔥
Raymonde Sherman
My first love....
Diego Funes
Any know music of this style but with guitar ? hot jazz guitar, ive been getting into archtop guitars, and i like this way, i dont like much tunes like "satin doll" of that kind, this is more my style.
Bachar-Maqqaba Yisra'el
From my city. Minden, Louisiana
maidmoira
luv
Esther Gavillet
Shared on Google+, August 11, 2018