Eddie James House, Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988), better known as… Read Full Bio ↴Eddie James House, Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988), better known as Son House, was an influential blues singer and guitarist. His date of birth is a matter of some debate. Son House himself alleged that he was middle aged during World War I, and, more specifically, that he was 79 in 1965, which would mean that he was born around 1886. However, all legal records place his birth on March 21, 1902.

House was born, the middle of three brothers, in Riverton, Mississippi, two miles from famed blues capital Clarksdale, Mississippi. Around age seven or eight, he was brought by his mother to Tallulah, Louisiana after his parents separated. The young Son House was determined to become a Baptist preacher, and at age fifteen began his preaching career. Despite the church's firm stand against blues music and the sinful world which revolved around it, House nevertheless became attracted to it and taught himself guitar in his midtwenties, inspired by the work of Willie Wilson. He began playing alongside Charley Patton, Willie Brown, Robert Johnson, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams, and Howlin' Wolf, around Robinsonville, Mississippi and north to Memphis, Tennessee until 1942.

After killing a man, allegedly in self-defense, he spent time on Parchman Farm in 1928 and 1929.

Son House recorded for Paramount Records in 1930 and for Alan Lomax from the Library of Congress in 1941 and 1942. He then faded from public view until the country blues revival in the 1960s when, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spero, he was "re-discovered" in June, 1964 in Rochester, New York where he had lived since 1943; House had been retired from the music business for many years, working for the New York Central Railroad, and was completely unaware of the international revival of enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the US and Europe and recorded for CBS records. Like Mississippi John Hurt he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July, 1965, and the October, 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival along with Skip James and Bukka White. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records.

Ill health plagued his later years and in 1974 he retired once again, and later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He was buried at Mt. Hazel Cemetery on Lahser south of Seven Mile. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a fitting monument on his grave. He had been married five times.

Unlike some blues guitarists of the 1920s and 30s, House was not a virtuoso although there is still much that is technically impressive about his playing. He more than made up for his lack of conventional technique with his powerful and innovative style featuring very strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of a bottleneck, coupled with singing that owed more than a nod to the hollers of the chain gangs. The music of Son House, in contrast to that of, say, Blind Lemon Jefferson, was emphatically a dance music, meant to be heard in the noisy atmosphere of a barrelhouse or other dance hall. House was an important influence on not only Muddy Waters but also Robert Johnson, who would later take his music to new levels. It was House who, speaking to awe-struck young blues fans in the 1960s, spread the legend that Johnson had sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical powers. More recently, House's music has influenced rock groups such as the White Stripes, who covered his song Death Letter on their album De Stijl, and later performed it at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Describing House's 1967 appearance at the De Montford Hall in Leicester, England, Bob Groom wrote in Blues World magazine,

It is difficult to describe the transformation that took place as this smiling, friendly man hunched over his guitar and launched himself, bodily it seemed, into his music. The blues possessed him like a 'lowdown shaking chill' and the spellbound audience saw the very incarnation of the blues as, head thrown back, he hollered and groaned the disturbing lyrics and flailed the guitar, snapping the strings back against the fingerboard to accentuate the agonized rhythm. Son's music is the centre of the blues experience and when he performs it is a corporate thing, audience and singer become as one.

Am I Right Or Wrong
Son House Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Am i right or wrong
You need not think because I'm black
I'm gonna beg you to take me back
Now babe
Was that right or wrong?

I'm going in the spring
I got messed from shakin' that thing

Now babe
Was that right or wrong?

Yeah up the hickory down the pine
I bust my britches right behind
Now babe
Was that right or wrong?

You need not think because you're brown
I'm gonna let you dog me round
Now honey
Was that right or wrong?

You need not think that because you're yella
I'm gonna give you my last four dollars
Now babe
Was that right or wrong?

Look a here honey what you want me to do
Done all i could to get along with you
Now honey
Was that right along?

You need not think because I'm black
Gonna beg you to take me back
Now honey
Was that right or wrong?
I'm going in the spring
But i got messed from shakin that thing

Now honey
Was that right or wrong?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Son House's song "Am I Right or Wrong?" speak of the complexities of race relations in the southern United States. The song is a call-and-response style blues tune, with the singer questioning whether certain actions were "right or wrong." The repeated phrase, "You need not think because I'm black," highlights the prejudice and assumptions that Black Americans experienced in their everyday lives. The singer is questioning whether it is fair for him to be judged and mistreated solely based on his race.

One notable line of the song states, "I'm going in the spring, I got messed from shakin' that thing." This can be interpreted as a reference to the singer's participation in a black cultural practice such as a dance or music event, which was often looked down upon or criminalized by white authorities. The line "You need not think that because you're yellow, I'm gonna give you my last four dollars" shows how racism affected not only Black Americans but other people of color as well.

The song is a powerful commentary on the entrenched racism and discrimination that existed in the Jim Crow South. It sheds light on the ways in which Black Americans were constantly mistreated and oppressed, highlighting the need for change and equality. It shows how far we have come since then and how far we have yet to go.

Line by Line Meaning

Am i right or wrong
I am unsure if my actions were correct or not

You need not think because I'm black
Do not assume that I am less than you because of my race

I'm gonna beg you to take me back
I will plead with you to forgive me and give me another chance

Now babe Was that right or wrong?
Reflecting on the past actions and questioning if they were justified

I'm going in the spring
I have plans to leave soon

I got messed from shakin' that thing
I injured myself from dancing too much

Yeah up the hickory down the pine
Traveling through various places

I bust my britches right behind
I ripped my pants while traveling

You need not think because you're brown
Do not assume that you are superior to me because of your skin color

I'm gonna let you dog me round
I will allow you to mistreat me and control me

You need not think that because you're yella
Do not assume I am ungrateful or unwilling to help because of your skin color