Although John Lee Williamson was a major blues star who had already released dozens of successful and widely influential records under the name Sonny Boy Williamson from 1937 onward, Aleck Miller would later claim to have been the first to use the name, and some blues scholars believe that Miller's assertion he was born in 1899 was a ruse to convince audiences he was old enough to have used the name before John Lee Williamson, who was born in 1914. Whatever the methodology, Miller became known as Sonny Boy Williamson.
Williamson had begun developing a following in Chicago beginning in 1953, when he appeared there as a member of Elmore James's band. In the 1960's he toured Europe during the height of the British blues craze, recording with The Yardbirds and The Animals. Accoring to the Led Zeppelin biography "Hammer of the Gods", while in England Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.
Some of his hit songs include "Fattenin' Frogs for Snakes", "Don't Start Me To Talking" ,"Keep It To Yourself", "Your Funeral & My Trial", "Bye Bye Bird", "Nine Below Zero", "Help Me", and the infamous "Little Village", with dialogue deemed 'unsuitable for airplay' by Leonard Chess. His song "Eyesight To the Blind" was performed by The Who as a key song in their rock opera Tommy (the only song in that opus not written by a band member) and it was later covered on the Aerosmith album Honkin' on Bobo. His recording og "One Way Out" was reworked from the Elmore James original and became popularized by The Allman Brothers Band in the early 1970s.
Sonny Boy Williamson II has had a big influence on modern day blues and blues rock artists and other legendary artists, as is shown by the number of his songs that are still covered. In interviews given in the concert documentary film The Last Waltz, members of the rock & roll group The Band recount jamming with Miller prior to their initial fame as Bob Dylan's electric backing band, and making plans to hook up with Williamson as his backing band. Unfortunately, Williamson's death prevented any such plans from ever being fulfilled.
Sad to Be Alone
Sonny Boy Williamson II Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know it's so sad to be lonesome,
But it's too much inconvenient to be alone
You know it makes a man feel so good
When his baby's lying down in his arms
I received a letter from my baby, I received a telegram
I received a letter from my baby, and I received a telegram
Distance, she wants to know just where I am
When you miss your baby,
You look around can't see nothing but just your shade on the ground
So sad to be lonesome, I know it's too much inconvenient to be alone
But I declare you feel good when your baby come back home
Met the Greyhound bus, met the train
She wasn't on either one, I want to know what was to blame
So sad to be lonesome, too much inconvenient to be alone
But it make you feel so good when your baby come back home
The lyrics of Sonny Boy Williamson II's song "Sad To Be Alone" are about the melancholic feeling of being lonesome, but also the inconvenience sometimes associated with being alone. The singer expresses how it makes him feel good to have his baby lying down in his arms as it eases his lonesomeness. He received a letter from his baby and a telegram, and she also called him long distance to know where he was. This tells us that the singer and his baby are physically separated or having some sort of communication issues that cause the singer to feel lonesome. He feels incomplete without her, and when she is not around, he can hardly see anything beyond his own shadow. Despite the melancholic tone of the song, there is an underlying hope and eagerness for his baby to return back home, as that would make him feel good and end his lonesomeness.
The song primarily addresses the loneliness and longing for a loved one. The singer's emotions are conveyed through the use of figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, and hyperbole. The use of the Greyhound bus and train symbolizes the futility of trying to find his baby, as she is not on either one. The song also depicts the joys that occur when the loved one returns back. The lyrics manage to encapsulate the beauty of love and the despair of distance, in Sonny Boy Williamson's inimitable bluesy voice.
Line by Line Meaning
It's so sad to be lonesome, too much inconvenient to be alone
Being lonesome is a sad feeling, but being alone is even worse and more inconvenient
You know it's so sad to be lonesome,
But it's too much inconvenient to be alone
Continuing from the previous line, being alone makes things difficult and being with someone is always better
You know it makes a man feel so good
When his baby's lying down in his arms
Being with one's loved one is the best feeling in the world
I received a letter from my baby, I received a telegram
Then the little girl called me long
Distance, she wants to know just where I am
The artist has received messages from his loved one who is far away and is eager to know his whereabouts
When you miss your baby,
You look around can't see nothing but just your shade on the ground
When one misses their loved one, everything else seems insignificant and their own presence feels meaningless
So sad to be lonesome, I know it's too much inconvenient to be alone
But I declare you feel good when your baby come back home
Reiterating the fact that being alone is difficult, but the joy of being reunited with one's loved one is unmatched
Met the Greyhound bus, met the train
She wasn't on either one, I want to know what was to blame
The singer has gone to meet his loved one but she hasn't arrived and he wonders what went wrong
But it make you feel so good when your baby come back home
The happiness of being reunited with one's loved one is immeasurable
Writer(s): Sonny Boy Williamson
Contributed by Anthony H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Keith Randall
One of his best, I'd say. A superb vocal and a searing harmonica solo, with fantastic support from Robert Lockwood and Luther Tucker on guitars, Otis Spann, piano and Willie Dixon and Odie Payne on acoustic bass and drums. Just great!
Robert Coltrane
Fantastic!
D Doeser
Doet me wat ! Woorden Tekort ❤
Keith C
He was my introduction to the blues. He was the reason that I learned who Howling wolf, Carey Bell, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and a multitude of others that My whiskey fogged brain can't drum up at this moment even were. He opened the door to the blues for me. It would not be amiss to say that I owe him..
Bernice Ivery
Keith C NOW we have too keep the blues alive
Peppe
great groove!!
panthercap
I agree, dude. Great band as always. Odie Payne is always the business. There's a great track of Jr Wells playing Sonny Boy's Help Me on Youtube, with Odie Payne on drums. My favourite SBWs are Help Me and Checkin' On My Baby. Phoar!
Anand Pandya
Junior Wells also made a good version of this song
quite early in his career.
wise basby dunn
That drum roll will make your soul leace your body w/ the harmonica sole damn good stuff man sho nuff man
omran al othman
sonny boy is the real heart break kid <3