The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #24774   Message #450951
Posted By: dr soul
28-Apr-01 - 05:10 AM
Thread Name: What does 'CC Rider' mean?
Subject: RE: What does 'CC Rider' mean?
Not wanting to muddy the waters - as it were - but going to do so anyway: A long time ago I heard that the term CC Rider came from . . . small rural communities in the American south were too spread out to have their own preachers, so Southern Baptist preachers traveled from town to town - i.e. rode a circuit - county circuit riders - CC Rider. I understood the song "CC Rider" (the most famous version of which was recorded by Chuck Willis for Atlantic Records in about 1956) to be the theme of someone who fell in love with the itinerant preacher, shucked their main squeeze, and then were left broken hearted when the preacher moved on. ("You done made me love you, and now my good gal is gone"). HOWEVER - having read the thought-provoking responses in this thread, I was moved to look up CC rider in "Living Country Blues" (Harry Oster, Minerva Press, NY, 1975) and found railroad references. Oster says that this tune is similar to "Corrina", which in turn was a variant of an old them called "Alberta" (dating to 1906).

Since the original question was about early lyrics, here's a quote from the book (p. 421)

"Well now CC Rider, gal will see what you have done?
You know you made me love you and now your man has come.

It was a great long engine, and a little small engineer,
Took my woman away along and left me standing here.

But if I had listened, to my second mind
I wouldn't be here wringing my hands and crying. [Note: Howlin' Wolf used this in "Killing Floor"]

There aint no mo potatoes, the frost done killed the vine, and the blues aint nothing but a good gal on your mind.

Now if you see Corrina, tell her to hurry home. I aint had no true love, since Corrina been gone."

This quotes Herman Johnson's "C.C. Rider", which comes from Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Corrina Blues" (1926).

Hope this helps!