Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up,
it unlocks many cool features!
- Lightnin’ Hopkins - Mr. Charlie Lyrics
- Uploaded by LOVE4LYRICS at Pastebin.com
- (spoken, without accompaniment:)
- Once in the country there was a little boy; every morning that he
- would go to the table with his little two sisters and brothers, you know,
- he would go there, he couldn't talk but his mother didn't know what
- was wrong with him so... she would go to the table in the morning, she
- would fix for breakfast, she'd fix toast and coffee, enough, coffee for
- the tin, toast for the eggs for the church, then she would ask and say,
- "what you want this morning?" Oh mama, toast and milk, you know
- things like that you know. But the little old boy he couldn't talk good,
- so she asked him say "what you want son"? Said "sa-sa-a I want-t
- t-t-t-" She said "Hush". Say "I tell you what to do. You just hush, I just
- go bring you what I bring the rest of 'em, cause one of these days I'm
- gonna learn you how to talk."
- She goin' back and she fixes, the next morning same thing. "So what
- would you children want this morning?" "Butter 'n toast mama." Get
- around to the little old boy, say "What you want"? He say, "bu-bu-bu-
- bu-bu-bu..." she say "Lord, have mercy," that's what mama said and
- she walked away, say "wonder what's wrong with my child?"
- He heard her. But you know the little boy couldn't do no better. So
- after he'd find out that mama couldn't understand him, and he couldn't
- understand the way his mama was doin' him, he packed up his little
- flower sack, and he decide that he would leave.
- So when he left, on his way, he run up on a old rollin' mill, what they
- call Mister Charlie's. So he walked up to mister Charlie, mister Charlie
- was workin' round in his rose bushes 'n things... so he taps him: "mi-mi-mi..." say "Mister!" But he didn't know his name that time. The man
- straightened up and said "my name is mister Charlie". He say
- "mi-mi-ch-ch-ch-ch-" He said "but boy I ain't got to fool with you, you
- can't work." He said, "me-me can work!"
- So the man went on workin' and he'd tap him again. He said "me-me-me
- wanna home". He said "look, boy, I've got a old bunk house out in
- the back," said "and if you promise me that you will stay in this bunk
- house, and watch my mill, and keep the fire from burning my mill
- down," say "I live two blocks up the road," say "and if you see the
- mill's on fire, say you run up and tell me the mill's on fire, you got a
- home and meal as long as I've got it." "Ta-ta-ta-ta-thank you mister
- Charlie." So the little old boy went to bunkin' that night.
- Sho' enough, late one Sunday morning, mister Charlie's mill caught on
- fire. Which he'd forgot about what he had told the little boy. The little
- boy run up to him, he was cleaning out his front yard, makin' it
- beautiful with them rose bushes, you know with them red rose bushes
- you know how to keep 'em red those rose bushes, and the little boy
- run up there, tapped him on his back, and he raised up and said
- "Hey son, why here's you again."
- "Ye-ye-ye-ye-ye-ye-ye" and he was pointing back toward the mill, tryin'
- to tell him his rollin' mill was on fire. So mister Charlie said, "I ain't got
- time to fool with you." So the little boy stuttered too bad for him to
- understand. So mister Charlie stooped over him again, he pat him on
- the back, said "ye-ye-ye-ye-your ro-ro-" he said "Wait a minute." He
- said, "if you can't talk you must sing", and he hollered:
- (sings)
- Whooooooooa mister Charlie
- Do you know your rolling mill is burnin' down?
- Mister Charlie
- Do you know your rolling mill is burnin' down?
- Mister Charlie said if you ain't got no water boy
- Just let that old mill burn on down
- Little boy was lonesome, he walked off and cried, he said--
- (guitar solo)
- He walked back and he said it one more time
- Whooooooooa mister Charlie
- I won't have no place to stay
- Mister Charlie
- I won't have no place to stay
- Mister Charlie said Boy, you'll have a home with me
- Just as long as there is a day
- Little boy sighed and he tell it one more time
- He hollered at him:
- Whooooooooa mister Charlie
- Do you know your rolling mill is burnin' down?
- Mister Charlie
- Do you know your rolling mill is burnin' down?
- Mister Charlie said if you ain't got no water boy
- Just let that old mill burn on down
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment