Wold was born in Oakland, California. When he was four years old, his parents split up. His father played boogie-woogie piano and Wold tried to learn when he was five or six, but could not. At the age of eight, he learned to play the guitar from K. C. Douglas, who worked at his grandfather's garage, later realizing that he had been taught the blues. Douglas wrote the song "Mercury Blues" and had played with Tommy Johnson in the early 1940s. Wold left home at 13 to avoid abuse at the hands of his stepfather, and lived rough and on the road in Tennessee, Mississippi and elsewhere, until 1973. He would travel long distances by hopping freight trains, looking for work as a farm labourer or in other seasonal jobs, often living as a hobo. At various times, Wold worked as a carnie, a cowboy and a migrant worker. Paraphrasing H. L. Mencken, Wold described this time of his life by saying "Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three."
When asked about his nickname, Wold has said: "because it's just true: I always get seasick". When he was ill on a ferry from Norway to Copenhagen, later in his life, a friend began playfully using the name and, despite Wold not rising to it for a while, it stuck. When asked about his name on British Sunday morning television show, Something for the Weekend, he replied, "I just get sick on boats". On Top Gear, when asked about his name, Wold replied "Well, I guess I just don't like boats!"
Wold made his first UK television appearance on Jools Holland's annual Hootenanny BBC TV show on New Year's Eve 2006. He performed a live rendition of "Dog House Boogie" on the "Three String Trance Wonder" and the "Mississippi Drum Machine". After that show his popularity exploded in Britain, as he explained in an interview:
"I can't believe it, all of the sudden I'm like the cat's meow!"
He was well received in the UK, winning the 2007 MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act and going on to appear at major UK festivals such as Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury. In 2007 he played more UK festivals than any other artist.
Wold toured early in 2008, playing in various venues and festivals in the UK. He was joined on stage by drummer Dan Magnusson. KT Tunstall also dueted with Wold at the London Astoria in January 2008.[20] Wold also played many other festivals throughout the world in 2008, including Fuji Rock in Japan, East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Australia, also in April 2008,[21] and Roskilde in Denmark.
Wold's major-label debut, I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left was recorded with Dan Magnusson on drums, was released by Warner Music on September 29, 2008, and features Ruby Turner and Nick Cave's Grinderman.
He has toured the UK extensively since 2007 being supported by Duke Garwood, Gemma Ray, The Sugars, Billie the Vision and the Dancers in January 2008, Amy LaVere in October 2008, Melody Nelson at the Brighton Dome on 7 October, and Joe Gideon & The Shark in January 2009. His tours in October 2008 and January 2009 were all sold out and included performances at the Royal Albert Hall, the Edinburgh Queen's Hall, the Grand Opera House in Belfast, the Apollo in Manchester, the City Hall in Newcastle and the London Hammersmith Apollo.
In 2009, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist, That same year, BBC Four broadcast a documentary of Wold visiting the southern USA entitled Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home. On January 21, Wold hosted "Folk America: Hollerers, Stompers and Old Time Ramblers" at the Barbican in London, a show that was also televised and shown with the documentary on BBC Four as part of a series tracing American roots music.
In an interview with an Australian magazine, Wold attributes much of his unlikely success to his cheap and weather-beaten guitar, "The Trance Wonder" and reveals the guitar's mojo might come from supernatural sources. "I got it from Sherman, who is a friend of mine down in Mississippi, who had bought it down at a Goodwill store. When we were down there last time he says to me, 'I didn't tell you when you bought it off me, but that guitar used to be haunted'. I say, 'What are you talking about, Sherman?'. He says, 'There’s 50 solid citizens here in Como who'll tell you this guitar is haunted. It's the darnedest thing – we’d leave it over in the potato barn and we'd come back in and it would be moved. You'd put it down somewhere and the next morning you’d come back and it would have moved. When you took that guitar the ghost in the barn left'. He told me this not very long ago and I said to him, 'Sherman! Why didn't you tell me this before?' and he said, 'Well the ghost was gone – I didn't want it around here no more!'"
On January 3, 2010, Wold appeared on the popular BBC motoring show Top Gear as the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car. He was the last star to drive in the blue Chevrolet Lacetti.
In February 2010, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist for the second consecutive year.
In 2010, Wold made numerous festival appearances throughout the summer, including the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, the main stage at V Festival, the main stage at the Hop Farm Festival and many more.
In February 2011, Wold signed to Play It Again Sam to release his new album with the exception of the US, where it will be released on Third Man Records. Subsequently his new album You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks was released on his new labels and it was announced that former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones had played on the new album, and performed alongside Wold to promote it.
On 16 August 2014 he was the headline act at Beautiful Days in Exeter, UK, and on the 24th August he headlined at 'Victorious Festival' in Southsea, Portsmouth, UK.
Cheap
Seasick Steve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Newspaper as my bed
Cooked my food on old canned heat
It weren't fancy but it sure were cheap
Lord you'd be surprised
At what the stores do throw away
A loaf of bread just little a little bit green
A bag of oranges just too sweet
Something else I think that used to be meat
That's the thing about living on the street
It ain't to fancy but it sure is cheap
It sure is cheap
Get tired of eating home
I just walk down the street
Salvation army sing about Jesus
Lord, it's time to eat
It sure is cheap
Everything I have in the world
I could carry on my back
I wanna get to New York City
Just head to the railroad track
Well now it's time for me to go
I gotta train to meet
It ain't the fastest way I know
But Lord it sure is cheap
It sure is cheap
Cheap
It sure is cheap
Lord it sure is cheap
The song "Cheap" by Seasick Steve is an honest and raw depiction of the life of a person living on the streets, with minimal resources and a lack of luxuries. The first verse describes the living conditions of the singer, who used to live behind a grocery store and slept on a bed made of newspapers, and cooked their food on old canned heat. Although this way of life was not fancy, it was cheap, and the singer seems content with it.
The second verse talks about the surprising things one can find in the trash thrown away by stores, like a loaf of bread that's a little bit green, or a can of Campbell's Soup that's past its expiration date. Living on the street, the singer has learned to find value in things that others might discard. The chorus repeats that although it's not glamorous, living on the street is cheap, and the singer seems to be making the best of their situation.
The third verse describes the singer's routine, where they walk down the street to the Salvation Army to listen to the singing and eat, instead of cooking at home. It's a simple way of life, free of complications and distractions, but again, it's cheap. The final lines talk about the singer's desire to get to New York City and their travels, and how even though it might not be the fastest way, it's still cheap.
Overall, the song "Cheap" portrays a person who has made peace with their unpretentious and frugal existence, highlighting the value of minimalism and the ability to find joy in the little things.
Line by Line Meaning
Used to live behind a grocery store
I used to live behind a grocery store as I had no other place to stay.
Newspaper as my bed
I slept on newspaper as I didn't have a bed.
Cooked my food on old canned heat
I cooked my food using an old canned heat source as I didn't have a proper kitchen.
It weren't fancy but it sure were cheap
My way of living wasn't fashionable, but it was cost-effective.
Lord you'd be surprised
You would be astonished.
At what the stores do throw away
The amount of things that stores throw away is astounding.
A loaf of bread just little a little bit green
A loaf of bread, although slightly discoloured, was still consumable.
A can of Campbells past its date
A can of Campbell's soup which had expired.
A bag of oranges just too sweet
A bag of oranges which had matured excessively, making them super sweet.
Something else I think that used to be meat
Something that was formerly an animal-based food item.
That's the thing about living on the street
This is what it's like to be homeless.
It ain't too fancy but it sure is cheap
It's not a luxurious way of life but it is cost-effective.
Get tired of eating home
I grew weary of eating at home
I just walk down the street
I simply take a stroll down the street.
Salvation army sing about Jesus
The Salvation Army sing songs regarding Jesus.
Lord, it's time to eat
It's time for me to eat.
Everything I have in the world
Every object that I possess.
I could carry on my back
I could transport on my back.
I wanna get to New York City
I aspire to reach New York City.
Just head to the railroad track
I'll go to the rail track to reach my destination.
Well now it's time for me to go
It's time for me to depart.
I gotta train to meet
I need to catch a train.
It ain't the fastest way I know
It's not the quickest mode of transportation.
But Lord it sure is cheap
However, it is cost-effective.
It sure is cheap
It is a budget-friendly method of travelling.
Cheap
Cost-effective.
It sure is cheap
It is cost-effective.
Lord it sure is cheap
It is cost-effective, my lord.
Contributed by Audrey O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Roy Scobie
Seasick Steve is a musical phenom. One of the best live acts I've ever seen!
clarissa castro
I will keep saying, we need more of these musicians, seasick steve is a kind and plain genius
Michael Gregg
this man is a legend. he makes me wanna pack my bags and go see the world and not worry about money
sufferbl
"Garage" to the bone! This man is one of the reasons i still have hope in music!
jhanratty28
Pure Genius. One of the very few originals breathin' today. Bed Tom Waits wishes he'd written this song!
paulmkemp
fantastic stuff !! .. I missed Jooles show but a mate who saw the show put me on to this guy, what a star! Thanks for posting up :)
Matty73
Holy shit, every song i hear by this guy is more ballsy and full of feeling than hte last one. Proper blues.
Scrooty McBoogerballs
have met the music of this genius a week ago and already ordered his cd's. F'in great!!!!!!!
Nick Donaghy
thats what i love about him. he writes about true personal stories. Dog House Boogie is another great example :D
Sianara001
I looooove this song, He should release it!