Susan Tedeschi (born 9 November 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an Americ… Read Full Bio ↴Susan Tedeschi (born 9 November 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American blues and soul musician who has received multiple Grammy Award nominations. She is known for her singing voice, guitar playing, and stage presence. Married to blues guitarist Derek Trucks, Tedeschi is also known for her current endeavor, Tedeschi Trucks Band (originally know as "Soul Stew Revival"), a conglomeration of The Derek Trucks Band and assorted other musicians.

The Susan Tedeschi Band began in 1994 and featured Tom Hambridge and Adrienne Hayes. In 1995 Tedeschi began playing guitar and honing her skills. In December that year she released Better Days to regional audiences. Record contracts were difficult to keep together; however, recording sessions from 1997 were acquired by Richard Rosenblatt, and the band was signed to Tone-Cool Records and Just Won't Burn was released in February 1998 to rave reviews from blues publications.

During 1998 and 1999 Tedeschi toured extensively through out the United States and her spectacular stage presence and powerful voice drew larger crowds. Eventually Tedeschi was opening for John Mellencamp, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers Band, Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan. In 2000, Just Won't Burn reached gold record status, rare for such a production. She recorded two tracks with Double Trouble band members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon for their album.

Tedeschi's voice has been described as a blend of Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin, though she explains this is due to sharing the same influences as the two. Her guitar playing is influenced by Buddy Guy, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King and Doyle Bramhall.

Tedeschi grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts and attended the Berklee College of Music where she received her bachelor of music in composition and performance. Tedeschi had always been musically inclined, performing in musicals, singing for family members, and listening to her father's record collection. She formed a band in high school called the Smoking Section at age 15, sang in a Gospel choir at Berklee and began sitting in with local blues jams at venues in Boston. In 2001, she married Derek Trucks, Allman Brothers guitar player, leader of The Derek Trucks Band, and nephew of founding Allmans drummer Butch Trucks. They have two children, Charlie and Sophia. They currently reside in Jacksonville,FL, and regularly collaborate on each other's albums.

Voodoo Woman
Susan Tedeschi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, they call me the voodoo woman
And I know the reason why
Oh, they call me the voodoo woman
Oh, and I know the reason why
Oh, if I raise up my hands now
Don’t you know the sky begins to cry down

Oh, they call me the voodoo woman

I look through water and I spot dry land
Oh, they call me the voodoo woman
I look through water and I spot dry land

And I’m gonna tell all you men out there
If your woman’s got some other man
Honey you better hope she doesn’t

Gotta rabbit foot in my pocket, toad frog in my shoes
A crawdaddy on my shoulder looking dead at you
I got dust from a rattlesnake and a black spider bone
If that don’t do it baby you better leave this girl alone

They call me the voodoo woman
Lord I know the reason why
Oh, if I raise up my hand
Doesn't know the sky begins to cry down
Look right down

Gotta rabbit foot in my pocket, toad frog in my shoes
A crawdaddy on my shoulder looking right at you
I got dust from a rattlesnake and a black spider bone
If that don’t do it baby you better leave this girl alone

They call me the voodoo woman
Oh, I know the reason why
Oh, if I raise up my hand
Doesn't know the sky begins to cry down
Look right

Oh, they call me the voodoo woman
I look through water and I spot dry land
Oh, they call me the voodoo woman
I look through water and I spot dry land

And I’m gonna tell all you men out there
If your woman’s got another man

Overall Meaning

The song "Voodoo Woman" by Susan Tedeschi is a blues track that explores themes of spiritual power and control over others. The lyrics describe the singer's ability to cast spells and invoke supernatural forces, which she claims have the power to make the sky cry and locate dry land in water. She is called the "voodoo woman" because of her knowledge and practice of these mystical arts.

The singer warns men to be wary of their women and advises them to hope that their partners do not have another man on the side. She boasts of having a rabbit foot in her pocket, a toad frog in her shoes, a crawdaddy on her shoulder, and dust from a rattlesnake and a black spider bone, all of which are believed to possess magical properties. She claims that if these items do not work, then the man should leave her alone.

The song highlights the Afro-Caribbean religious practice of voodoo, which incorporates elements of Catholicism and traditional African religions. It portrays voodoo as a source of female empowerment, as the singer claims to have the power to control the weather and people's actions through her knowledge of magical rituals.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, they call me the voodoo woman
People refer to me as the voodoo woman

And I know the reason why
I understand why people call me that

Oh, if I raise up my hands now
If I lift my hands up at this moment

Don’t you know the sky begins to cry down
It causes rain to pour down from the sky

I look through water and I spot dry land
I have a unique ability to perceive things that others can't

And I’m gonna tell all you men out there
I'm about to give a warning to all the men listening

If your woman’s got some other man
If your woman is cheating on you

Honey you better hope she doesn’t
You should pray that she isn't

Gotta rabbit foot in my pocket, toad frog in my shoes
I carry lucky charms with me

A crawdaddy on my shoulder looking dead at you
I have a crawdaddy on my shoulder staring at you

I got dust from a rattlesnake and a black spider bone
I possess substances from dangerous animals