Yonder Wall
1973 · Shelter SW-8910 · Dallas, Texas
- Artist
- Freddie King
- Title
- Yonder Wall
- Release
- Woman Across the River
- Year
- 1973
- Label
- Shelter # SW-8910
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- Dallas, Texas, USA
- Songwriter
- Elmore James
- Genre
- Blues · Electric Texas Blues
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation
Freddie King covered the track "Yonder Wall" (Shelter Records # SW-8910), updating it for the Vietnam War. James "Beale Street" Clark originally composed and recorded the song, under the name "Get Ready to Meet Your Man" in 1945, about soldiers returning to the US after World War Two. Elmore James recorded a famous version in 1962: "Look on Yonder Wall". King narrated his version from the perspective of a disabled man unable to fight the war ("hand me down my walking cane"). He had started a relationship with a woman whose "man been in Vietnam", but who had since returned home to the US.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Jody Songs
Freddie King covered the track "Yonder Wall" (Shelter Records # SW-8910), updating it for the Vietnam War. James "Beale Street" Clark originally composed and recorded the song, under the name "Get Ready to Meet Your Man" in 1945, about soldiers returning to the US after World War Two. Elmore James recorded a famous version in 1962: "Look on Yonder Wall". King narrated his version from the perspective of a disabled man unable to fight the war: "hand me down my walking cane". He had started a relationship with a woman whose "man been in Vietnam", but who had since returned home to the US. This idea is similar to the "jody" theme - a mythical man in blues and jazz tunes who seduced the wives and girlfriends of soldiers, prisoners, and those away from home. In this case, the narrator played the role of the "jody".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Look on yonder wall / Hand me down my walking cane / I'm looking out your window / And you look upon your man / Your man been in Vietnam / I know you had it kind of rough / I don't know how many men he killed... / Yeah I love you baby, and you just won't treat me right / I give you all my money / And you walk the streets all night
About the artist
American blues guitarist, born 3 September 1934 in Gilmer, Texas; died 28 December 1976 in Dallas, Texas. [Source: Wikipedia]
Themes
In collections
US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years] · Jody Songs · Blues songs