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.
Hobo Low
Seasick Steve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't remember how i got there, surly wa'nt robin' no bank.
Surely , surely surely surely
Last thing i remember, i drank 10 whiskey bowls
Somebody bonk' me on the head and i woke up in a stinkin hole
Yeah its a hobo low, yeah its a hobo low
Woke up in the mornin', sleeping on a bridge
Aint got no food or tv, surely got no fridge
Surely, surely, surely, surely
Well last thing i remember....drinkin' with some bowls
Thought i'd deck the box to can the city woke up in new mexico
Oh its a hobo low, yeah its a hobo low,
Yeah its a hobo low, yeah its a hobo low
When your hobo low there aint no where to go, there aint nuthin lower than hobo low
When your hobo low there aint no where to go, there aint nuthin lower than hobo low
When your hobo low there aint no where to go, there aint nuthin lower than hobo low
When your hobo low there aint no where to go, there aint nuthin lower than hobo low
Aint it the truth
Wen'on down to the mission, gotta get a bite to eat
The mission man said sorry boy you allready been here twice this week
Oh its a hobo low, yeah its a hobo low,
Yeah its a hobo low, yeah its a hobo low
Woke up in the mornin', memphis city t-i-i-ime
Face down.
The song "Hobo Low" by Seasick Steve is a melancholic exploration of being at the very bottom, of having hit rock bottom as a homeless person or hobo. The lyrics suggest the singer has lost a sense of control over their life, and that their experiences are blurred and unremembered. The opening lines set the scene in Memphis city, however, the singer does not remember how they got there but is sure they weren't robbing a bank. This creates a sense of confusion and uncertainty that is characteristic of life on the streets. The lines "Last thing I remember, I drank 10 whiskey bowls, somebody bonk' me on the head and I woke up in a stinkin hole" are particularly poignant, as they suggest a night of heavy drinking, possibly in a bar with other homeless people or the dregs of society. This is followed by waking up in a ditch with a head injury - highlighting the dangers of being homeless.
The chorus, "Oh it's a hobo low, yeah, it's a hobo low, When you're hobo low there ain't nowhere to go, there ain't nothing lower than hobo low" starts with the title of the song and is repeated four times, adding to the sense of despair felt by the singer. The subsequent verses detail waking up sleeping on a bridge and having nothing to eat except perhaps at a mission, only to be informed by the mission man that the singer has been there already twice this week. The song is a powerful call to empathy for those who are at their lowest point in life.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up in the mornin', Memphis city time
Describing waking up in Memphis in the morning.
Don't remember how i got there, surly wa'nt robin' no bank.
Can't recall how he got to Memphis, not intending to rob any banks.
Last thing i remember, i drank 10 whiskey bowls
Describing his last memory of drinking whiskey.
Somebody bonk' me on the head and i woke up in a stinkin hole
Blacked out and woke up in a terrible place.
Oh its a hobo low, yeah its a hobo low,
Yeah its a hobo low, yeah its a hobo low
Repeating that it's a really terrible situation to be in.
Woke up in the mornin', sleeping on a bridge
Aint got no food or tv, surely got no fridge
Waking up on a bridge with no access to any basic necessities.
Well last thing i remember....drinkin' with some bowls
Thought i'd deck the box to can the city woke up in new mexico
Last memory of drinking and waking up in New Mexico, far from where he started.
When your hobo low there aint no where to go, there aint nuthin lower than hobo low
Expressing that being at the lowest of low points has nowhere to go but up.
Aint it the truth
Agreeing with the previous statement.
Wen'on down to the mission, gotta get a bite to eat
The mission man said sorry boy you allready been here twice this week
Trying to get food from a shelter only to be turned away for already receiving help this week.
Face down.
Ending the song with a melancholy, defeated tone.
Contributed by Molly S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rimmsa
People like this man right here ARE music. Plays because he loves to, sings because he feels the music. No make up, no fake shit, nothing but a man, his guitar, his voice and his love for music. His guitar is ragged but he plays it like it's worth $4500. Awesome, i would love to jam with this guy. Seems very sincere.
sasmongu
True artist. No auto tune here just raw talent
Bing Crosby
You sure this isn't autotune?
mx_nana-banana
@Bing Crosby uhh yes.
Myrtilys
This guy is amazing! I just found out about him today, but my god, I'm in love with the sound.
Bo Brøndlund Juul
He is so special i can't stop listen or see him, he is so festive!!! He and drummer Dan Magnuson are never boring!!!
BigPaddy Fan
He is the man who can bring the emotions over there even though a video. He is a real artist.
HailJon
Não consigo parar de ver os vídeos dele. Suas músicas são de mais!
john aka O.D.B.1967
this man makes the blues come to life WAY TO GO SEASICK STEVE
David Tetchner
His experiences in life all come through in his songs. What a guy, brilliant.