This post showcases the Willie Dixon song "Hoochie Coochie Man" as performed by Muddy Waters. This is Part I in a three part series of post on three Blues songs that include references to the power of the number seven. Each of these songs are examples of "bragging Blues" and not the "sad Blues" that many think are the only way that Blues can be.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/willie-dixon-seventh-son-video-lyrics.html "Willie Dixon - Seventh Son (Videos, Lyrics, Comments) for Part II of this series.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/jt-funny-paper-smith-seven-sisters.html "J.T. "Funny Paper" Smith - Seven Sisters Blues (Video, Lyrics, Comments)" for Part III of this series.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
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FEATURED VIDEO: MUDDY WATERS -hoochie coochie man (1960)
Uploaded by BestMasterGuitar on Jul 8, 2010
Newport 1960...
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LYRICS: Hootchie Cootchie Man
(written by Willie Dixon)
The gypsy woman told my mother
Before I was born
I got a boy child's comin'
He's gonna be a son of a gun
He gonna make pretty women's
Jump and shout
Then the world wanna know
What this all about
But you know I'm him
Everybody knows I'm him
Well you know I'm the hoochie coochie man
Everybody knows I'm him
I got a black cat bone
I got a mojo too
I got the Johnny Concheroo
I'm gonna mess with you
I'm gonna make you girls
Lead me by my hand
Then the world will know
The hoochie coochie man
But you know I'm him
Everybody knows I'm him
Oh you know I'm the hoochie coochie man
Everybody knows I'm him
On the seventh hours
On the seventh day
On the seventh month
The seven doctors say
He was born for good luck
And that you'll see
I got seven hundred dollars
Don't you mess with me
But you know I'm him
Everybody knows I'm him
Well you know I'm the hoochie coochie man
Everybody knows I'm him
Lyrics reposted from http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/martinscorsesebestoftheblues/imyourhoochiecoochieman.htm
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COMMENTS ABOUT THE SONG "HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoochie_Coochie_Man
“‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ (sometimes referred to as "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man") is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954 in Chicago. The song was a major hit upon its release, reaching #8 on Billboard magazine's Black Singles chart....
The song was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984. The song was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998. The song is a part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll list. The song was featured on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, where it was voted number 225 by representatives of the music industry and press.
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoochie_coochie
"The hoochie coochie was a sexually provocative belly dance that originated at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. It became wildly popular during and after the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Described by the New York Journal in 1893 as "Neither dancing of the head nor the feet", it was a belly dance performed by women of (or presented as having) an Eastern European gypsy heritage, often as part of travelling "sideshows". Gooch, goochie or gootchie was apparently already a Southern US term for a woman's vagina, and hoochie coochie has been suggested as referring directly to sex."
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What those song descriptions don’t include is the fact that beginning of the word “hoochie” is the same as the beginning of the word "hoodoo”. I don't think that's a coincidence because the song "Hootchie Coochie Man” includes references to African American hoodoo beliefs & supersitions such as the power of the “black cat bone”, the power of the plant called “John The Conqueror", and the power inherent in the number seven”. Furthermore, notice that the song "Hoochie Cootchie Man" starts with a prediction from a gypsy woman before the singer was born that he would be a special person. This further solidifies that this song isn’t about a man who is sexual potent, but a man whose sexual powers are just one part of his overall super human nature that was bequeathed to him because of when he was born
On the seventh hours-snip-
On the seventh day
On the seventh month
The seven doctors say
He was born for good luck
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Conqueror
"John the Conqueror, also known as High John the Conqueror, John de Conquer, and many other folk variants, is a folk hero from African-American folklore. He is associated with a certain root, the John the Conquer root, or John the Conqueroo, to which magical powers are ascribed in American folklore, especially among the hoodoo tradition of folk magic...
The root and its magical uses are mentioned in a number of blues lyrics. Regardless of which name is used, in these contexts "conqueror" is pronounced "conker" or sometimes "conqueroo"...
The plant is known in some areas as bindweed or jalap root. It has a pleasant, earthy odour, but it is a strong laxative if taken internally. It is not used for this purpose in folk magic; it is instead used as one of the parts of a mojo bag. It is typically used in sexual spells of various sorts and it is also considered lucky for gambling."
[Italics were added by me to highlight this sentence.]
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COMMENTS ABOUT THE MEANING OF THE NUMBER SEVEN
From http://www.luckymojo.com/number7.html
"Why is 7 so fortunate? The following colloquy, begun in a Freemasonic mailing list in 1995, was continued in the alt.lucky.w newsgroup and the pre-war blues e-list from 1997 - 1999. It is currently my most complete summary of the LUCKY SEVEN concept.
From: Rick Reade (email address deleted)
“There are seven visible planets and luminaries (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). Each one rules a day of the week (Sun=Sunday, Saturn= Saturday, Moon=Monday, etc.) and that is where the seven day week came from. Each one is supposed to have a particular virtue or power.”...
From: catherine yronwode (email address deleted)
...In African-American hoodoo there is are several formulas for anointing oil, soap, and floor wash that use the numebr seven. Among them are Seven Herb Bath, Gambler's Gold Lucky Seven Hand Wash, Seven-Eleven Holy Type Oil, and a relatively modern line of products marketed under the name Seven African Powers. These "powers" are better known in the African-Caribbean Santeria religion as the Orishas or natural forces of the African Yoruba people, who during slavery days became identified with seven Catholic saints. Images of the Seven African Powers can be found on Santeria votive candles...
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From http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406300275.html
"The number seven has been regarded with superstitious awe for centuries—some consider seven to be lucky; others, unlucky. Rather than being viewed as bringing good fortune or misfortune, the number seven has long been considered a digit of great power. For example, there are seven ecstasies of Zoroaster, the seventh day that celebrates the Sabbath, the seven days of the week, the seven golden candlesticks of Solomon's temple. Among various early peoples, the seventh son of a seventh son was believed to be born with supernatural powers, a boy who would become a wizard when he grew to manhood. Likewise, the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter was believed to be born with gifts of prophecy and healing."
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Other quotes about the meaning of the number seven can be found on the other pancocojams post in this series.
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RELATED LINKS
http://www.muddywaters.com/home.html Official website for the great American Blues musician and vocalist Muddy Waters (April 4, 1915 - April 30, 1983)
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http://www.nairaland.com/1473/life-possessed-number-seven-7/1
This is a Nigerian blog ["Naira" is a contemporary vernacular term for Nigeria, West Africa]. In particular read the posts by cushman. A number of his posts are quotes from http://www.luckymojo.com/number7.html
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http://www.seiyaku.com/reference/seven/seven-church.html
This article discusses the significance of seven in the Bible & Christian religion
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to Willie Dixon for composing "Hoochie Coochie Man" song, and Muddy Waters for performing that song. Thanks also to those whose transcriptions and comments I quoted in this post, and thanks to the uploader of this post's featured video.
Finally, thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
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