Rufus Thomas (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was a rhythm and blues an… Read Full Bio ↴Rufus Thomas (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was a rhythm and blues and soul singer from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, who recorded on Sun Records in the 1950s and on Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the father of soul singer Carla Thomas (best known for the classic song "B-A-B-Y") and keyboard player Marvell Thomas. A third daughter, Vaneese, a former French teacher, for years had a recording studio in upstate New York where she sang for television commercials.

The above biography taken from: Wikipedia - Rufus Thomas

The Crown Prince of Dance; an early rock & roll DJ, Memphis soul icon and creator of the Funky Chicken.

Artist Biography (below) by Richie Unterberger

Few of rock & roll's founding figures are as likable as Rufus Thomas. From the 1940s onward, he has personified Memphis music; his small but witty cameo role in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train, a film which satirizes and enshrines the city's role in popular culture, was entirely appropriate. As a recording artist, he wasn't a major innovator, but he could always be depended upon for some good, silly, and/or outrageous fun with his soul dance tunes. He was one of the few rock or soul stars to reach his commercial and artistic peak in middle age, and was a crucial mentor to many important Memphis blues, rock, and soul musicians.

Thomas was already a professional entertainer in the mid-'30s, when he was a comedian with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He recorded music as early as 1941, but really made his mark on the Memphis music scene as a deejay on WDIA, one of the few black-owned stations of the era. He also ran talent shows on Memphis' famous Beale Street that helped showcase the emerging skills of such influential figures as B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, and Roscoe Gordon.

Thomas had his first success as a recording artist in 1953 with "Bear Cat," a funny answer record to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog." It made number three on the R&B charts, giving Sun Records its first national hit, though some of the sweetness went out of the triumph after Sun owner Sam Phillips lost a lawsuit for plagiarizing the original Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller tune. Thomas, strangely, would make only one other record for Sun, and recorded only sporadically throughout the rest of the 1950s.

Thomas and his daughter Carla would become the first stars for the Stax label, for whom they recorded a duet in 1959, "'Cause I Love You" (when the company was still known as Satellite). In the '60s, Carla would become one of Stax's biggest stars. On his own, Rufus wasn't as successful as his daughter, but issued a steady stream of decent dance/novelty singles.

These were not deep or emotional statements, or meant to be. Vaguely prefiguring elements of funk, the accent was on the stripped-down groove and Rufus' good-time vocals, which didn't take himself or anything seriously. The biggest by far was "Walking the Dog," which made the Top Ten in 1963, and was covered by the Rolling Stones on their first album.

Thomas hit his commercial peak in the early '70s, when "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," and "The Breakdown" all made the R&B Top Five. As the song titles themselves make clear, funk was now driving his sound rather than blues or soul. Thomas drew upon his vaudeville background to put them over on-stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his 50s. The collapse of the Stax label in the mid-'70s meant the end of his career, basically, as it did for many other artists with the company. In 2001, Rufus Thomas was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Later that year, on December 15, he died at St. Francis hospital in Memphis, TN.

The above biography taken from: All Music Biography - Rufus Thomas by Richie Unterberger

Married Woman
Rufus Thomas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm just sitting here drinking
Trying to drink my blues away
I'm just sitting here drinking
Trying to drink my blues away
My baby left on march the 1st
It was on a saturday

Well I didn't go to the station

Thought I might break down and cry
Well I didn't go to the station
Thought I might break down and cry
Well I knew she was leaving
Couldn't stand to say goodbye

I'm lonesome for you baby
Woah how I love you so
I'm lonesome for you baby
Woah how I love you so
She was a married woman
And I had to let her go

Don't ever love a married woman
It will do you no earthly good
Don't ever love a married woman
It will do you no earthly good

Your heart will break into little pieces
Boy I hope I'm understood

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Rufus Thomas's song "Married Woman" describes the singer's pain and heartbreak over a lost love. The song begins with the singer confessing that he is trying to drown his sorrows with alcohol, as he deals with the loss of his lover. The woman he loved was married, and she left him on March 1st, which was a Saturday.

The lyrics suggest that the singer did not have the courage to see the woman off at the station, as he feared he might break down and cry. He ruminates that he knew she was leaving and could not bear to say goodbye to her. The singer expresses his profound love for her, as he laments her leaving him behind.

However, the singer acknowledges that he had to let her go because she was a married woman, implying that she was not free to be with him. In the end, the singer warns the listener not to fall in love with a married woman because it will bring no earthly good, and one's heart will be broken to little pieces. This song expresses the pain of unrequited love and the agony of letting go of someone you deeply care for.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm just sitting here drinking
I am currently drinking alcohol

Trying to drink my blues away
I am trying to alleviate my emotional pain with alcohol

My baby left on march the 1st
My significant other left on the first of March

It was on a saturday
The day she left was a Saturday

Well I didn't go to the station
I did not go to the train station to see her off

Thought I might break down and cry
I was afraid I would cry if I went to the train station

Well I knew she was leaving
I was aware that she was leaving me

Couldn't stand to say goodbye
It was too difficult for me to bid her farewell

I'm lonesome for you baby
I feel lonely without my significant other

Woah how I love you so
I love her deeply

She was a married woman
My significant other was already married