Mule Skinner Blues


"Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, acquiring the de facto title "Mule Skinner Blues" after Rodgers named it "Blue Yodel #8".
"George Vaughn", a pseudonym for songwriter George Vaughn Horton, is sometimes listed as co-author. Horton wrote the lyrics for "New Mule Skinner Blues", Bill Monroe's second recorded version of the song.
The song was discussed in the Ken Burns 2019 documentary miniseries Country Music and Jimmie Rodgers' rendition was on the soundtrack album for the series.

Structure

The song tells the tale of a down-on-his-luck mule skinner, approaching "the Captain", looking for work. He boasts of his skills: "I can pop my 'nitials on a mule's behind" and hopes for "a dollar and a half a day". He directs the water boy to "bring some water round". The term "Mule Skinner", slang for muleteer, is a driver of mules, and has nothing to do with removing the animal's hide.

Tom Dickson's "Labor Blues"

The first verse of the song is similar to Tom Dickson's 1928 recording "Labor Blues" in which the exchange is clearly between a white boss and an African-American worker who is quitting the job, not applying for it:
"Captain" was a traditional term for the white boss; "Shine" is a derogatory expression for "African-American". After the narrator rebels and quits because he is not being paid, he turns his attention to his "Mississippi gal" and the remaining lyrics concern their romance. In this 12-bar blues recording, muleskinning is not mentioned, and the remaining Dickson lyrics differ from Rodgers', whose other Blue Yodels also used verses previously recorded by Blues musicians, such as Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Versions of "Muleskinner Blues"

;1930s
;1940s
;1950s
  • Monroe re-recorded the song in 1950 as "New Mule Skinner Blues" in his first session for Decca, with new lyrics written by George Vaughn Horton. Monroe apparently never sang the song with Horton's lyrics in concert.
  • Joe D. Gibson recorded a souped up version titled "Good Morning Captain" on tetra Records which served as a model for The Fendermen.
;1960s
This Madison, Wisconsin-based duo reached #5 on the Billboard charts with their version, featuring abbreviated lyrics and strong Fender electric guitar instrumentation. This version is arguably the most widely circulated of recent versions of the song, due to its Billboard chart performance and its subsequent prolific appearances on novelty song collections. The song reached #2 in Canada.
;1970s
"Good Morning, World! Good Morning to you! I'm Wearing my Levi's, Le-hee-hee-hee-vis!"
;1980s
;1990s
;2000s
;2010s