In this column: Milk Cow Blues, meaning, Kokomo Arnold, earliest recording, Freddie Spruell, Sara Martin, Mean Tight Mama, Clarence Williams, Son House, My Black Mama, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Johnson, Milkcow's Calf Blues
Milk Cow Blues (Kokomo Arnold)
Well I woke up this mornin', Looked outdoors
I can tell my milk cow, I can tell by the way she lows
If you see my milk cow, Please drive her on home
Cause I ain't had no milk and butter, Since that cows been gone
Well you gotta treat me right honey, Day by Day
Get out your little prayer book, Get down upon your knees and pray
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Milk Cow Blues is a blues song written and originally recorded by Kokomo Arnold in September 1934. The song was widely adapted by artists in the blues, Western swing and rock idioms.
Meaning
The lyrics is about a man who has lost his lover and is consumed by heartache. This metaphorical representation of a milk cow is used to symbolize a source of comfort and nourishment that the man has lost, leaving him emotionally drained and desperate.
The song captures the profound pain and longing experienced by individuals in oppressive situations, such as the African American community during a time of racial discrimination and economic hardship.
Through its evocative lyrics, “Milk Cow Blues” serves as an expression of the blues, a genre born out of the African American experience, and offers a glimpse into the struggles faced by those who endured difficult circumstances (Oldtimemusic.com).
Kokomo Arnold -Milk Cow Blues
Earliest recording 1926 (Freddie Spruell)
The earliest documented recording of a song titled "Milk Cow Blues" was by Freddie Spruell in 1926. The lyrics are largely on a lost dairy cow theme:
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She's a full-blood Jersey, I'm going to tell you boys the way I know
People just screamin' for my milk cow, I don't care where my Jersey go
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with one hint at a lost lover:
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Say my bed is lonesome my pillow now it sure won't do
I wake up out of the midnight I really have those milk cow blues
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Freddie Spruell- Milk Cow Blues
Milk Cow and female lover (Sara Martin, 1928)
The metaphor of a milk cow for a female lover was already established in recordings with the same title (see below). It is also found in "Mean Tight Mama" by Sara Martin in 1928.
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Now my hair is nappy and I don’t wear no clothes of silk
But the cow that’s black and ugly has often got the sweetest milk
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Sarah Martin – Mean Tight Mama
Milk cow and female lover (Son House, 1930)
The fourth verse of Son House's My Black Mama Part 1 reads: ("My Black Mama Part 1" by Son House in 1930):
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Well, you see my milk cow tell her to hurry home
I ain’t had no milk since that cow been gone
If you see my milk cow tell her to hurry home
Yeah, I ain’t had no milk since that cow been gone
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Son House – My Black Mama Part 1
Milk Cow Blues and a female lover (Mississippi Fred McDowell, 1962)
If you see my milk cow, please drive her home
See my milk cow, please drive her home
I ain’t had no milk, mama, since my cow been gone
Had no milk, since my cow been gone
Lord you milked old Chaney, Lord, you turned old Cherry dry
Milked old Chaney, turned old Cherry dry
Some black cow, baby, she ain’t been milked today
Some black cow, ain’t been milked today
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Mississippi Fred Mc Dowell – Milk Cow Blues
Different in melody, same in lyrics (Big Bill Broonzy, 1934)
Another different song was recorded by Big Bill Broonzy in March 1934.
A dairy cow theme:
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I haven't seen my milk cow in three long weeks today
I haven't had no rich cream, mama since my milk cow strayed away
Have you seen a big brown cow she have no horns at all
You don't need a chair to milk her she will back right in your stall
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and a departed human lover:
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When I got up this morning she had had every dime I had
I said that's all right, mule cow your daddy understand
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Big Bill Broonzy – Milk Cow Blues (1934)
Robert Johnson - Milkcow's Calf Blues (1937)
Cow theme:
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Now, I feel like milkin' and my, cow won't come
I feel like shootin' and my milk won't turn, I'm cryin' please
Please don't do me wrong
If you see my old milkcow, baby now, hoo, drive her home
Departed lover:
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My milkcow been ramblin', hoo, for miles around
My milkcow been ramblin', hoo, for miles around
Well, now she in trouble with some other man bull cow, hoo, in this strange man's town
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