Lightnin Hopkins: Self
Photos
Quotes
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Lighthin' Hopkins : Now, I'll tell you about the blues down here. The blues dwells with you everyday and everywhere. You see, you can a blues about that you're broke. You can have a blues about your girl's that's gone. The blues comes so many different ways until its kind of hard to explain. But, when's ever you get a sad feeling, you tell the whole round world you got nothin' but the blues.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : Next thing I heard, a big siren comin', "wheeeeeee, whee, whee." And do you know what the man was doin'? He was comin' down there because I was in the ditch. He drove up down and stopped and got out and said, "Boy!" "Yes, sir." He said, "Listen, what you doin' parked here?" "I'm not parked, sir. I'm stuck." "You got to talk better than that to me." I said, "Well, sir, you see my wheels is all down in the mud." I say, "I can't do no better. What can I do?" He said, "How did you get here?" I said, "I drove up there." "What happened to you to get in the ditch?" "I said, I sees a fat black pig runnin' across the road and I got on my brakes to keep from runnin' over him and I curved in the ditch, sir. Is that clear?" He said, "You're goin' with me. We're goin' before the Judge." The man take me in his car, carried me off to an old grocery store, to an old butcher who went to cuttin' meat. "Hey, Judge!" The Judge said, "Yeh!" "I got you one!" Poor Lightin'. He say, "Yeh, yeh, I be with you in just a minute." So, he pulled off that bloody apron that old hood he had on and he up him on a clean one and walked out. "So, what is it here, man?" "Well, he was parked down there on the wrong side of the road and I asked him what he was parked there for and he came up with some of that fandanny." "Well, boy, listen. Now, you knows better than that, don't you?" I said, "I done the best I could, sir." "Well, why do you park there?" I said, I sees a big, fat, black pig runnin' across the road and I got on my brakes to try to keep from runnin' over him, sir, and my back end curved in the ditch and," I said, "is that clear?"He said "$500". I said, "Well, now, what is I'm gonna do?" He said, "Listen, boy" That was the Judge, he said, "You ever been up before me before?" I said, "Well, what time do you get up?" So, if you ever go back to North Carolina and see a black pig runnin' across the road, run over him!
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Lighthin' Hopkins : [singing] How long have it been since you been home? How long have it been, childr'n, since you been home? Poor Mama, sittin' by the window rockin' down home, You know, Mama, Rockin' by the window, before the sun go down, You know she's rockin' there, by the window, before the sun go down, Prayin', Lord have mercy, my childr'ns can't be found, You know you can leave your home, boy, and stay too long, You can leave your home, boy, stay too long... I asks you how long have it been since you been home?
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Lighthin' Hopkins : The blues is something hard to get acquainted with.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : We don't know one snake from another. They says a bar snake, if it bites you, you'll die in a few minutes. So, I didn't mean to do the snake too much harm; but, I did it by breakin' it's neck.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : [singing] I might have to tell you in the mornin', Little girl and you may have to go, I might tell you go ahead, go ahead on, Little girl never come back no more, Alright...
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Lighthin' Hopkins : When he get up there and put his whole soul in there and you can feel it, it's just like a preacher. You go to church, a real preacher, real preachin' the Bible to you. He's honest to God, tryin' to get you to understand these things. Well, that's just the same as singin' the blues. It's the same thing.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : When I play guitar, I plays it from my heart and soul. And I plays it my own, *own* music. And, I jes keeps it up; because, the blues is something that the people can't get rid of. Yeah. And if you ever have the blues, remember what I tell yeh, you'll always hear this in your heart. That's the blues.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : I'm gonna tell you what she done.
[singing]
Lighthin' Hopkins : That woman named Mary, She go and stay out all night long, That woman named Mary, She'll go and stay out all night long, Well, you know, she wouldn't come back to the house, Until poor Lightin's blues is gone.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : [singing] I know you got another man, Mary, That's why you treat me so unkind, I know you got another man, Mary, That's why you treat me so unkind, You know the blues gonna dwell with you, I can't get these blues off of my mind.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : The blues. Lord have mercy!
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Lighthin' Hopkins : [singing] You know the blues, just a funny feeling, And people call it a mighty bad disease.
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Lighthin' Hopkins : [singing] Good mornin' little school girl, Good mornin' little school girl, Can I go home with you? Can I go home with you?
