Good Evening Everybody
Sonny Boy Williamson Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Good evening, everybody, tell me how do you do
Good evening, everybody, tell me how do you do
I'm one of the artists of Chess, come out to work a little
Goodbye, hello, goodbye
Goodbye, hello, goodbye
I didn't come here to stay, I just come here to work awhile
This morning I just dropped in your town
This morning I just dropped in your town
I'm in the studio over in Chicago, trying to knock these blues around





Overall Meaning

The opening lines of Sonny Boy Williamson's blues song, "Good Evening Everybody," are a typical greeting, but they also set the tone for the rest of the song. Williamson is introducing himself as one of the artists of Chess Records, a famous blues record label based in Chicago where the song was recorded. The lines "Goodbye, hello, goodbye" suggest that Williamson is always on the move, traveling from town to town to perform and record his music. He didn't come to stay in this particular town, he's just there to work, to perform his music for the people who came to see him. Williamson expresses his purpose for being there- "to knock these blues around". And while he might be away from home, working and traveling constantly, he still takes time to acknowledge and greet his audience.


Throughout the song, Williamson uses his harmonica to express his feelings, sometimes wailing out the notes, sometimes playing a mournful tune. The lyrics themselves describe the life of a traveling bluesman, someone who is constantly on the road, going from town to town, leaving behind both goodbyes and hellos. The style is simple, the chords are repetitive, but the message is clear - this is a way of life, and it's not an easy one.


Line by Line Meaning

Good evening, everybody, tell me how do you do
Greetings to all, how are you doing?


Good evening, everybody, tell me how do you do
Greetings to all, how are you doing?


I'm one of the artists of Chess, come out to work a little
I'm a Chess Records artist, here to perform


Goodbye, hello, goodbye
Parting, greeting, parting


Goodbye, hello, goodbye
Parting, greeting, parting


I didn't come here to stay, I just come here to work awhile
I'm not here to stay, just here to perform for a little while


This morning I just dropped in your town
I arrived in your town this morning


I'm in the studio over in Chicago, trying to knock these blues around
I'm currently in a Chicago studio, recording some blues music




Contributed by Juliana M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

DucksDeLucks

This is a real foot-tapper and I love the conversational style of the lyrics. Interesting single-note rhythm guitar part! Thanks for upload!

Niel Barrington

Otis Spann great piano thru out but marvelouslly delightful at 2:11 -2:19!!!

More Versions