Fixin' to Die Blues
Encyclopedia
Fixin’ to Die is a blues
song written by Mississippi
bluesman Booker T. Washington White, generally known as Bukka White. Initially released on Okeh Records
, catalogue OK 05588, it is unique amongst blues
“dying” songs in that its main focus of concern is how death affects the surviving family, as opposed to the more typical blues opinion that death is the natural consequence of a life lived hard and to the full. It was reissued on album
in 1959 as a track on The Country Blues
. Booker White actually wrote the song in a studio just prior to recording at the request of the record executives, as they were not impressed with White's other material.
Bob Dylan
recorded a version that appeared on his debut album
in 1962. The melody line is significantly different from White’s, and Dylan modified some of White’s lyrics and even added entire verses of his own. It has been noted that Dylan was influenced by Dave Van Ronk's
version of the song, given Van Ronk's claim that Dylan used his version of "House of the Rising Sun" which also appears on Dylan’s first album.
In the late 1960s, the author of The Country Blues
and compiler of the album of the same name Samuel Charters
began working with the San Francisco psychedelic band Country Joe and the Fish
. Fixin' to Die is alluded to in Country Joe's signature song
"I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag," from the group's second album
.
Other covers include the version by Spacemen 3
rewritten as "Come Down Easy" and released on their second album The Perfect Prescription
in 1987. British guitarist and singer Cypress Grove, in collaboration with Jeffrey Lee Pierce
of The Gun Club, recorded the song for a blues album in 1992 under the title Ramblin’ Jeffrey Lee and Cypress Grove With Willie Love, which did not get released. In 2002, Robert Plant
released a version of the song under the title "Funny In My Mind (I Believe I’m Fixin’ To Die)" on his album Dreamland
, to which he added an additional chorus. Led Zeppelin would sometimes play the song live during medley performances of "Whole Lotta Love
," as documented on Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions. In 2007, Chuck Ragan
of Hot Water Music
recorded a live version for the album Los Feliz. In 2010, G. Love
and The Avett Brothers
recorded the song under the title "Fixin' To Die" for G. Love's twelfth studio album, "Fixin' To Die" on Brushfire Records
.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
song written by Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
bluesman Booker T. Washington White, generally known as Bukka White. Initially released on Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
, catalogue OK 05588, it is unique amongst blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
“dying” songs in that its main focus of concern is how death affects the surviving family, as opposed to the more typical blues opinion that death is the natural consequence of a life lived hard and to the full. It was reissued on album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 1959 as a track on The Country Blues
The Country Blues
-Side two:...
. Booker White actually wrote the song in a studio just prior to recording at the request of the record executives, as they were not impressed with White's other material.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
recorded a version that appeared on his debut album
Bob Dylan (album)
Bob Dylan is the debut album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in March 1962 on Columbia Records. It features two original compositions, the rest being old folk standards, and was produced by Columbia's legendary talent scout John H...
in 1962. The melody line is significantly different from White’s, and Dylan modified some of White’s lyrics and even added entire verses of his own. It has been noted that Dylan was influenced by Dave Van Ronk's
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
version of the song, given Van Ronk's claim that Dylan used his version of "House of the Rising Sun" which also appears on Dylan’s first album.
In the late 1960s, the author of The Country Blues
The Country Blues (book)
The Country Blues is a seminal book by Samuel Charters, published in 1959 and generally acknowledged as the first scholarly book-length study of country blues music. An album of the same name was issued on Folkways Records as an accompaniment to provide examples of the artists and styles discussed...
and compiler of the album of the same name Samuel Charters
Samuel Charters
Samuel Charters, born Samuel Barclay Charters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1929 , is an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet...
began working with the San Francisco psychedelic band Country Joe and the Fish
Country Joe and the Fish
Country Joe and the Fish was a rock band most widely known for musical protests against the Vietnam War, from 1966 to 1971, and also regarded as a seminal influence to psychedelic rock.-History:...
. Fixin' to Die is alluded to in Country Joe's signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
"I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag," from the group's second album
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die is the second album by the influential San Francisco psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish, released in 1967...
.
Other covers include the version by Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
rewritten as "Come Down Easy" and released on their second album The Perfect Prescription
The Perfect Prescription
1989 re-issue Adds b-sides from the "Take Me To The Other Side" single as bonus tracks:1995 re-issue Adds two tracks from the "Walkin' With Jesus" single and the Transparent Radiation EP as bonus tracks:...
in 1987. British guitarist and singer Cypress Grove, in collaboration with Jeffrey Lee Pierce
Jeffrey Lee Pierce
Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the 1980s punk band The Gun Club...
of The Gun Club, recorded the song for a blues album in 1992 under the title Ramblin’ Jeffrey Lee and Cypress Grove With Willie Love, which did not get released. In 2002, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
released a version of the song under the title "Funny In My Mind (I Believe I’m Fixin’ To Die)" on his album Dreamland
Dreamland (Robert Plant album)
Dreamland is singer Robert Plant's seventh solo album and the first with the band "Strange Sensation". The album was released in July 2002.Many of the songs are cover versions, mainly blues, but also some rock...
, to which he added an additional chorus. Led Zeppelin would sometimes play the song live during medley performances of "Whole Lotta Love
Whole Lotta Love
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is featured as the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released in the United States and Japan as a single. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold on 13 April 1970, when it...
," as documented on Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions. In 2007, Chuck Ragan
Chuck Ragan
Chuck Ragan is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. From 1993 until 2006 he was one of the lead singers for Gainesville, Florida-based punk rock band Hot Water Music...
of Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music is a punk rock band from Gainesville, Florida. The members of the band are Chuck Ragan, Chris Wollard, Jason Black, and George Rebelo. HWM first formed in 1993...
recorded a live version for the album Los Feliz. In 2010, G. Love
G. Love
Garrett Dutton , better known as G. Love, is the frontman for the band G. Love & Special Sauce.-Biography:Dutton, the son of a banking lawyer, was born in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, and began playing guitar at age eight. He wrote his first song by the time he was in the ninth...
and The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers is a folk rock band from Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass. Joe Kwon, cello, and Jacob Edwards, drums, are touring members of...
recorded the song under the title "Fixin' To Die" for G. Love's twelfth studio album, "Fixin' To Die" on Brushfire Records
Brushfire Records
Brushfire Records is a Haleiwa, Hawaii based record label owned by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. The label, formerly known as The Moonshine Conspiracy Records, was originally made to release soundtracks for Woodshed Films, a surfing movie production owned by Jack Johnson, Emmett Malloy, and...
.