Sam Lightnin' Hopkins - Cotton

[olbuddyrow]

yeah good shit! havent heard that 1 before

[SammyBoy328]

This guy has my name :P

[kariaudar]

Next to Mississippi John Hurt, Lightnin´ Hopkins is my favourite bluesman. The emotion, soul and heart in this man´s music are extraordinary.

[teganwaffle]

FUCK YEAH.FUCK YEAH.  ;0

[berryphly]

Man I just got turned on to this incredible man. Amazing! Thanks ! To all. Youtube, Fischkopf , Mr. Lightnin!

[wolfiherz]

danke fischkopf das ist wahrer blues

[ELVIS4221]

WHEN YOU HEAR HIM YOU FORGET THE REST

[AITETLYTIETTLYM]

After listening to this song, my brain got really quiet...

[iloveumyra]

@AITETLYTIETTLYM

amazing...the exact same thing happened to me..

[gorgeredfield]

as far as bluesmen... this guy has it together...

[ATOMICOELIA]

weeee super capolavoro!

[TheOneday9]

He really does sound like the baddest mofo to ever testify over the strings. Hands Down.

[guidotellini]

the best blues I have ever heard

[EwolDJ]

I used to have a live version of this on tape back in the 80s from some now-obscure anthology, As I recall Lightnin' was complaining about the sound while playing, there was no bassist, and there was an extra verse about getting mixed up in some gambling game. Don't have it now, but it must be out there somewhere, good luck in tracing it. 

[ElDesmadreGriego]

Awesome pictures! And I agree with gorgeredfield, Lightnin' be ma favourite aswew!

[rasdennis]

Love it great video

Thanks for posting

Lightning is a legion

[gorgeredfield]

I THINKS DAT LIGHTNIN'S BE DA BESS

[jcandstonesfollower]

i dont think it gets any better then this... does it??

[jackwarrenguitar]

this is inspiring, and humbling, it kinda puts it in perspective,, im thinking things aint so bad, this is the blues!

[ariesmajor]

My grandma was a sharecropper down in Mississippi and texas still out there pickin cotton for dem boys. I didn't know too much about it at the time she say. But, Lightnin hopkins is talkin bout that sharecropper cotton down south back in the early days.

I had no idea he grew up in that. But I guess down there where white men gotta get work done, have e runnin around passin out the bread, black man gotta get that food somehow. And if it meant pickin cotton for a spoonful thats what it is.

[Heysatan]

@1:39 Afro Samurai!

[cocacolaloca]

chorizo y queso de cabra

[greenebum]

I think the video makes me love this song more. I have to watch this video when I listen to this song; it's a part of the song for me now....lol

[moovgirl]

Just fantasic classic blues!! Love it!!!

[magnvsmarcvs]

Jesus !!!!

[kinitow]

This may confuse the situation, but i have a generic 'Best of Lightnin' Hopkins' cd and this track (a different recording) is listed as 'Cotton Field Blues'. Anyone looking for comparisons, the cd version i have is the one where he trips up on the lyric about how he's too little to carry the heavy load. Great song but it's no 'Last Affair' or 'Blues in the Bottle'.

[DictionRedaction]

Oh man, that is one fantastic piece of music--wow!

[BordiniBlues85]

blues is the wisdom

[voodoochildblu]

my second favorite blues guitarist, right next to hendrix. love this guy.

[fischkopf]

@deramr the CD is labeled as "Best of Blues" and is a 2CD set - this song is no. 19 which is misnamed as Jake Head Boogie. The company is Radio Star Records and produced it in 1999. I tried to post the link but it didn't let me, but you can go to musik sammler and type 86804 for more info, or just google this.

[escadrielle]

@fischkopf i've got about a dozen or so lightning hopkins albums on vinyl after reading your guys comments i looked through them lookn for this song but i didnt see it , perhaps its called something else other than "Cotton" so i've got a great excuse to sit down fire up the turntable and listen to all my lightning albums

[detroitos]

@fischkopf picked up that set a few years ago and wore the cd out playing it so much

[climiscd]

Listening to this song, you can almost feel the suffering they went through.

[ncpacemaker]

Great picture video. Lightnin would like it I bet.

[rachelreplay]

where can i get the lyrics for this song?

[Scherpo1]

Great blues the one good thing of the shameles american slavery . R I P Sam

[MrCHICAGO2011]

This song was recorded Oct 4 or 5 in1965,Los Angeles,CA.

「Lightnin' Strikes」(Verve-Folkways LP9022) is the album title.

There is another album titled [Lightnin' Strikes」(Vee Jay),so please don't

misunderstand it.

[petespencer51]

Great tune, great video!

[kariaudar]

Hot dang! Lightnin´ Hopkins has to be one of the most soulful musicians who ever lived.

[TheVIRUTE]

Blues!! Blues!! Blues!!

[rakita13]

fuck rap and listen to some good old blues

[mdsanford74]

"Whitey" here. Sorry kids. But, it all comes from the slaves. No slaves in the Caribean or the mainland...no blues, no rock, no country, no bluegrass, no rap, no r&b, no reggae. NOTHIN'! IT ALL COMES FROM AFRICA! Research the progressions and the melodies and you'll see.

[kariaudar]

@mdsanford74

Yes, in the case of Lightnin´ Hopkins you can clearly hear Africa shine through every note . . .

[mrallcz]

Blues is blues. This blues is the Blues.

[YoGroucho]

without words.

This is the biggest shit blues

[staticviewing]

subtle detail performed here.  blues

[kennyz6979]

I think he meant . . . get me some more weed

[TheTater1984]

im going to go mix a drink...ill be back

[deramr]

I really want to buy this album but I can't find this particular recording anywhere. I found two albums called "Lightnin Strikes" and one called "Lightnin Strikes Twice", and this song isn't on any of them. Does anybody know where this is from?

[dragonspine]

@deramr Been a lightnin' fan for soooo long. I think I may have this song on one of my discs. Will look for it and the name.

[deramr]

@dragonspine thanks! It's taken me a while to get to lightnin', but now I'm completely addicted.

[azizdiagne]

@deramr a store in bayou rd in new orleans have the vynil . iwill post there email or ads

[fischkopf]

@deramr i stumbled upon this song by coincidence when I purchased a CD in Germany. The song list had this one as Jakehead Boogie, which is another of Lightnin's great songs, but it was a pleasant surprise as a Blues Fan...I did my research on what album this song belonged to but nothing came up, so I decided to post this song hoping someone could come up with the answer...

[deramr]

@fischkopf

thanks! Was the CD you purchased in germany commercial? If so, could you give me the name in case I could track it down.

One of the wonderful, though rather inconvenient, things about lightnin' is that he recorded an enormous number of songs and variations. It's almost impossible to keep track of which song comes from where.

[mikasarg]

@fischkopf Can you advise what the name of the CD is please that you bought in Germany with this track on it? Thanks...

[dmholman]

@deramr Not sure if there are others, but I know that it is on his "The Texas Bluesman" album from 1969 (its the one I have). I did a quick search and found several albums of his going under that name. Don't know why. The right one starts with "Mojo Hand" as the first track and has "Cotton" as the second track.

[AaronBaker12345]

@deramr if you cant find the album just go to vid to mp3.com and convert this video to an mp3. cheers.

[brooklynsweb]

@deramr I can rip this track from this video into a 320 quality mp3 for you. You can then burn it on a cd.

[deramr]

@brooklynsweb

I think I've figured out how to do that, but thanks for the offer!

[bigamble]

A terrible price to pay for such beautiful music.

[FuckStaub]

fischkopf?? XD are you german?

[WonderWomanFan4life]

i love this style. thank you for posting.. i love it. wow some of this music i have never heard of

[staticviewing]

love this vid, song

[19CACTUS51]

black hands, white cotton...

[Voochl]

hate these 4 who missed the like buttom

[xanglat]

GREAT !

I appreciate a lot !

Really

Thank you very much for sharing !!!

SMILE

6******

[Catsbobs]

my all time fav hopkins track

[BIKELUVRPICSES64]

sing it sam love it, i can never get enough of some good ole blues does my soul so so good love the feeling .i too remember grandma , mom, and my aunts telling me about picking cotten.when i feel this life is to much i remind my self of my ancesters that worked so hard from dawn to dusk and through the great depression. and im strong again to keep movin on miss you grandma YOU MADE ME A STRONG WOMAN! THANK YOU:)

[BIKELUVRPICSES64]

sing it sam love it, i can never get enough of some good ole blues does my soul so so good love the feeling .i too remember grndma , mom, and my aunts tlling me about picking cotten.when i feel this life is to much i remind my self of my ancesters that worked so hard from dawn to dusk and through the great depression. and im strong again to keep movin on miss you grandma YOU MADE ME A STRONG WOMAN! THANK YOU:)

[FuckStaub]

great photpgraphes!

[TheGordonfan]

We need Robert,Lightin,and Muddy now!!!!!! We need that music now!!!!!!! Thank you for the post you know your stuff!!!!

[MrBluesrules]

The Blues is American History. and the Blues is Gods Blessing, Timeless, always was, is and always will be. Bluesers have said so, and they have spoken the truth.

[selene2317]

This a deep song. The true blues song. It also gives me more respect for my relatives who grew up in the south picking cotton for the whole day everyday. My grandparents told me stories of picking cotton and how long the cotton fields were seeing some this pics reminds me of seeing them sitting on their front porches singing the blues/spirituals.

[MrSayyousayme]

"If you ain't lived it, you cain't blow it out your horn" Charlie Parker. Try some Bert Janch (Glasgow).

[AlanHJames]

Lightin' Hopkins is my hero!! What a feeling!! Every string says something, a story.

What a voice!!

[1SOULFIRE]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL! MY RESPECT IS YOURS.

[lionking6199zj]

That Lightning Hopkins was made by the word of God's power; He said, Let there be The Blues - He willed it, and it was done; there was Lightning Hopkins - Such a copy as exactly answered the original idea in the eternal mind. That Lightning Hopkins which God willed, he approved of. God saw The Blues, that Mr. Hopkins was good - 'Twas exactly as he designed The Blues; and Lightning Hopkins was fit to answer the end for which he designed it.

[sebas06061991]

mmmmmmmmmm .......... i love it.... he is one of my favorites.... its just so easy to listen..... mmmmmmmmm........ just close your eyes n let the music hit your mind

[888binis888]

incredible photographs,great work..

[moovgirl]

I love this song. Big fan of the blues and this song just says all about blues and its history and why its so great. Thank you for posting the song.

[kasmirz]

You can feel his transcendental blues vibes

[annabassand]

Skøn søndags blåes....

[mtgoff34]

love it!

[weav62]

go lightnin go

[gmuny86]

this song is one of the greatest ever written.

[pierrevanbentum]

Lightnin', one of the best musicians ever........

[rghunnicutt]

PERFECT

[JLP078]

@rghunnicutt

[JLP078]

@rghunnicutt PERFECT is the right word !!!

From their suffering is born the best music in the world !!

If we can just just nEVER FORGET THEM !!!!!

[staticviewer]

This is my favorite blues. Long live Lightnin's memory and music

[crushsatan]

a true protest song

[crushsatan]

amen and amen

[lionking6199zj]

That first note... that's the claw that never lets go... the first tug on that guitar string has a barbed hook on it...!

[staticviewer]

healin dynamic

[tbuddystrat]

damn blues grab you by the heart and tell u sit down n listen boy

[1gnoramus]

@tbuddystrat yessir, i heard it.

[theblueshotel]

Nice clear recording-good stuff!!!

[mudcatGS86]

mean old gator : tru dat

[staticviewer]

he was the best.

[jakethemustard14]

my favourite blues singer and guitar player, so subtle and understated.. One of a kind..

RIP Lightnin

[MeanOldGator]

Best music video on YouTube, no kidding.

[mudcatGS86]

tru dat

[Huskyman5]

This song sounds an awful lot like another song of his...I think...Grandma told grandpa. But I love that song so I love this one too.

[attic2basement]

i think the song ur thinkn of has "vietnam" in the title...check for it

[omoroomoro]

Cure for the BLUES : Vote your interest of today, not on what you may become. If you base your vote with dreams of a wealthy future only, by the time you are ready to reap your cotton, your farm and your country may be NO MO!!!!

~ Play On Lightnin' ~ Play On

[kingobarstow]

Cure for the Blues is often the cause of it... Figure it out?

[ravner1976]

My mistake.... Earl Palmer on drums! & Jimmy Bond on Bass Jimmy Cobb played harp! damn!

[ravner1976]

I have this record on vinyl. Bought it December 2000 at Jupiter Records in Austin.... best 12 dollars I ever spent. I still play this Album. Lightnin Strikes... Jimmy Cobb on drums, Earl Palmer on Bass

[subterranean47]

In the fifties 100 pounds of cotton sold for 3 to 4 dollars. Now in case you didn't know that is a hell of a lot of fluffy white balls. You'd work from early in the mornin' dragging a 9 foot cotton sack behind you. You work in the mornin' so dew's still on the plants and it makes 'em weigh more.

[liquidyodel]

the best dressed man of the fifties

[lowkeeangel]

Approximately 30,000 Northern Blacks died in the Civil War, but only about 2,800

died of actual combat. The others died of disease due to the living conditions they were exposed to and lack of good food .

[CalypieAndroid]

@lowkeeangel ARE YOU CRAZY 200,000 OR MORE BLACK MEN DIED IN THE CIVIL WAR. OTHERWISE IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WON.

TALKING ABOUT 30,000  YOU MUST MEAN 300,000

[ukandoittowithkandoo]

Its good to no where blues originated from its a lesson we should study before calling ourselves a blues artist.. The blind were the best guitar players in the 30S 40S.

[poontwangdrifter]

much respects.. those folk's back then were under nourished and over worked..it's amaze'n how they even survived to their next meal..damm this hard'ol world anyhow !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bootleggersouth]

Lightning Hopkins is the King of the Blues Men.

If you don't like dat, you can kiss my motherfuckin' ass!

[pablo4]

ufff...

[xXSH4D0WZz]

what with my foot

[davidreif]

just listen to the music and stop fighting..

great song.

[lowkeeangel]

this joint is DEEP...

[spliff4peace08]

cloud!!!!!!!!!! 9.....peace..

[gabrieldix64]

Discovered Sam Hopkins' records as a twelve year old back in 1976 at Slough record centre, berkshire uk. rummaging amongst the rockabilly. Suddenly this.

Still the best!

Thanks for sharing.

[NoRosesForMe]

Love ya Sam.

The best we had.....still have!

[bensmith3200]

This is probably the most soulful song I've heard in the past year and a half. I listen to this everytime I come home from a hard day's work.

[doobiesz]

100 pounds is too much load for me to push..

[charlestoole64]

pull... i'm from mississippi and you pull a cotton sack

[doobiesz]

Touche'

Noted.

Thanks.

[gitfiddlejim]

Just think folks, pickin them bolls all day, real hot, fingers ripped to pieces on the thorns, and draggin that ole 15ft cotton sack.

Hell.

G

[bluegsp]

My dad used to pick cotton in mississippi in the late 40's, for $1.00 for a 100 lb sack. Imagine how much cotton you had to pick to get your dollar.

[gitfiddlejim]

So did your dad work all year then the man would say well you covered your furnish, so you need to do more work next year for hardly anything extra?

Slavery under another name I think.

G

[bluegsp]

no, slavery ended in 1865

[elfcounsul]

No, it still happens. It was made illegal in 1865. They have uncovered some slavery in Florida not too long ago. It is called "human trafficking" instead of slavery. That makes it sound nicer, like calling a dictator a "unitary executive."

[bluegsp]

Yeah, murder was made illegal and still happens, welcome to the human race.

[omoroomoro]

slavery....share cropping ..then came false imprisonment and free labor in factories, mines, farms. It lasted from the end of reconstruction until the start of WWII. The reason that it ended was only because it looked bad and the Japanese were going to use it for propaganda. Thousands of black men were just picked of the streets and sold by sheriffs to corporations for $25 per head. Little is known about it. A book on the subject was released in 2008 or 2009. "Slavery By Another Name"

[Wallbangers]

I bought the book but have not read it yet...I saw an interview with the author on "Bill Moyers Journal" (PBS)...powerful stuff!!

[joernbo]

is there a guitar turtorial?

[abombinreverse]

look up some basic tab online

all kinds of online instruction.its all practice

[PeaceAndJustice357]

Official!!!

[Needleheadnumb]

One of my favorites.

[buickmonte]

with a fifth in his back pocket and a 38.revolver in the front pocket Sam is the original bad ass mofo. from H-town tex baby

[Wisewoman77]

from my mother's hometown  Oakwood, Texas Centerville County

[gitfiddlejim]

an he did an LP, "King of Dowling Street.

G

[Bobuscattus44]

Fabulous.......what a sound and such a rich voice, luvvin it!!! Thanx for the post I'd never heard of this guy before : )

[2clos4]

hell of a song ama tell you that..

[LEMONHEADFACE]

damn it clicked the wrong thumb =/ lolz

[Facezz]

1:41 cool picture!

[porkythepig16]

its really deep.

[bensmith3200]

The picture of Lightnin' chilling in the projects is soooo cool.

[TREYOLDHIPPIE]

Esquisite sound. Love him.

[shinybald36]

black white or mexican picking cotton or tobacco sucks

[bensmith3200]

The blues knows no racial boundaries. Amen, brother.

[shaserv]

Ha Ha, I agree but I bet Old Lightnin did not see any Mexicans and he damn sure did not see any white folk gettin em a sack ful, I'm talkin bout cotton.....

[greenebum]

whoever made this video to this song is a damn genius!!! it fits perfect. i love the railroad picture at the end. it makes me want to take a road trip.

[Morthund]

these days, my life is fucked and this helps

[Russ3ll23]

same here, music like this eases the pain. and ppl wonder why i listen to this music.

[shrine52]

Roots of country Texas blues. Great!

[AcousticAstro]

It s funny how only so few can find this music, and if your lucky enough to find it. Enjoy it and appreciate what a talent he his and how real this is. Mainstream music these days just dont have a clue! Rappers need to shut up and listen to something real.

[koscheii666]

.....There's soul-less musicians in every mainstream genre, not just rap. The underground hip hop your radio and music stations never play is just as real, and intelligent.........

[tommy2chips]

I am an Black/african-american male who loves blues. So I love Lightin hopkins. It moves me. The blues moves me

[Hendrixking14]

somemore of this texas country blues. Best blues in the world.

[GILLYRUTH]

"My daddy was a sack shaker".Where you gonna hear shit like that on modern records.

[kevsart]

True Blue, a rare fine soul.

[comaradella]

precission, humbleness, cool, yeahhh!!! signs of a true master Hector from Argentina

[milligan503]

pure gold. don't analyze it... just feel it

[mistertimz]

what record is this song on?

[IanNoe1]

Lightnin Hopkins should be a required class in every school in the world!

[adamavacado]

I somewhat recently got into the blues and I absolutely love it. In researching for blues musicians I came across Lightnin, and the first time I heard his music I told myself "YES, this is how I always imagined the blues". And now he is my favorite blues man. Amazing.

[88ragtime]

I know what you mean, when I first heard his song "Bring Me My Shotgun", my first impression was DAMN! This is the heaviest music in the world!

[GILLYRUTH]

Your right ,he is the greatest country blues man.

[MaceGill]

Man, this was the first Lightnin' Hopkins tunes that I heard back several decades ago. He is still one of my favorites.

[senislt]

true story...

[shaneboylan]

Amazing playing - straight from the soul.

[mudcatGS86]

Maybe the definative Blues song - written from the bottom of the emotion. If you only weigh 95 pounds as a man, what does that say about your diet. Cotton pickin' was wicked on the hands too. The burrs and the seeds were killers. Anyone would tell you pickin cotton is straight to the root of the blues.

[knierykniery]

Amen.

[chunoone]

this music is what happens when someone has expeienced life and absorbed it to the bone. An expression of life. we dont have this in music anymore.