Everything2
Near Matches
Ignore Exact
Full Text
Everything2

Sweet Home Chicago

created by mauler

(idea) by mauler (9.4 hr) (print)   ?   (I like it!) 1 C! Fri Dec 14 2001 at 19:48:34

If Chicago were its own nation, "Sweet Home Chicago," would surely be its national anthem, so often is that song heard in the city's famous blues clubs. Now one of the most famous blues songs ever, "Sweet Home Chicago" was first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936, and apparently written by him. These days the refrain is usually sung, "Back to that same old place, to my sweet home Chicago" but Johnson inexplicably sang it, "Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago." Okay, so maybe he wasn't too keen on geography, but it's still a beautiful song.


Oh, baby don't you want to go?
Oh, baby don't you want to go?
Back to that land of California, to my sweet home Chicago.

Oh, baby don't you want to go?
Oh, baby don't you want to go?
Back to that land of California, to my sweet home Chicago.

Now one and one is two, two and two is four.
I'm heavy loaded, baby, I'm booked, I gotta go.
Cryin' baby, honey don't you want to go?
Back to that land of California, to my sweet home Chicago.

Now two and two is four, four and two is six.
You gonna keep on monkeyin' around with your friend, boy,
You gonna get your business all in a trick
And I'm cryin' baby, honey don't you want to go?
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago.

Now six and two is eight, eight and two is ten.
Friend, boy she trick you one time, she sure gonna do it again,
But I'm crying hey, hey, baby don't you want to go?
To the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago.

I'm going to California, from there to Des Moines, Ioway.
Somebody will tell me that you need my help someday,
Cryin' hey, hey, baby don't you want to go?
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago.


(place) by blondino (6.2 mon) (print)   ?   (I like it!) Tue Jan 15 2002 at 13:42:10

As an addition to mauler's writeup I just thought I'd add what I have found earlier with regards to the the strange phrase "back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago".

In the middle to late 19th century, because of the gold rush, "California" became synonymous with wealth and money. This use was soon abandoned in general use. However, a lot of terminology no longer used in the white community used to remain in black English for much longer, sometimes for over a generation. So it's not unlikely that the term "California" was used to portray gold, wealth and success as Robert Johnson grew up.

From that perspective, the phrase makes a lot of sense. In the 1930s Chicago was certainly the place for a black blues musician to find wealth, success and money.


printable version
chaos

Robert Johnson Chicagoland Hell Hound on My Trail Windy City
Black English California Suite Home Chicago Blues
Little Queen of Spades musician sense a lot
perspective Success Riches Gold
Portray Likely generation terminology
abandon Money wealth Synonymous
Y'know, if you log in, you can write something here, or contact authors directly on the site. Create a New User if you don't already have an account.
  Epicenter
Login
Password

password reminder
register

Everything2 Help

Cool Staff Picks
Just another sprinkling of indeterminacy
Health dangers of leaded gasoline
Ark of the Covenant
Gerontion
Why are homosexuals held to different standards of conduct than heterosexuals?
Mother Sauces
This Land is Your Land
transsexual
the death of a child
L'Académie française
The Holocaust
Zen and the Art of Hacking
hiragana
The Story of the Vivian Girls
New Writeups
octillion369
Frost wyrm(person)
kalen
Three "T"s(idea)
octillion369
Undead(idea)
archiewood
Ico(fiction)
Heisenberg
Why I love Everything2(log)
octillion369
Death Knight(person)
XWiz
Are you hoping for a miracle?(review)
santo
The Host(review)
LostPsion
"Shut the Fuck Up" Theaters(idea)
Vanish
The line between normal and not(place)
Vanish
insanity(thing)
beatrice
You've been slowly taking me over for nearly a year, do you know that?(idea)
Berek
YouTube(thing)
shaogo
How to Pretend to Have a Job(idea)
hapax
Les Provinciales(review)
Everything 2 is brought to you by the letter C and The Everything Development Company