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From: Dave Webster
Date: November 16, 2003
On the subject of the lyrics "sail on little girl sail on". I think you might find that this set of blues lyrics is almost Generic, if you know what I mean. This poetic idea crops up in the blues over and over. Some really first rate songs built around this poetic image are Muddy Waters' storming slide guitar classic written sometime in the forties- "Honey Bee" and an attempt by the great Roy Brown called "Sail on Little Girl" written in the fifties when he was manfully trying to make the crossover from Rhythm and Blues to Rock'n'Roll and cash in on the sound that Fats Domino was bringing to the new integrated teenage audiences. Memphis Minnie probably predates both of these guys, but I get the sneaky suspicion that the originator of that beautiful poetry is some anonymous and unsung hero of the blues.... maybe the same guy who first sang " woke up this morning with an awful aching head." What a great pity that the origins of the blues are shrouded in mystery, and some of the great early artists never wrote or recorded their work.