Tag: I’m Walkin’

I bought some records at a relative’s yard sale when I was really young. A Chuck Berry album, The Doors LA Woman album, and this single. So for a dollar, I took home a great deal. This one is an excellent song with a beat that won’t leave you.

Antoine “Fats” Domino Jr. was not flashy and wild like some of his 1950s peers such as Elvis, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The first I heard of Fats Domino was on “Happy Days” and the song Blueberry Hill.

Domino was the youngest of eight children in a musical family, he spoke Creole French before learning English. At age 7 his brother-in-law taught him how to play the piano. By the time he was 10, he was already performing as a singer and pianist.

This song was inspired by a comment a fan made to Domino after Domino’s car broke down: “Hey, look at Fats Domino, he’s walking!” Domino then thought to himself, “Yeah, I’m walking,” and wrote the song as he walked.

Domino wrote this song with Dave Bartholomew, a fellow New Orleans musician who did a lot of work arranging and composing songs for him. One thing about the song that just jumps out is the sax solo by Herbert Hardesty. He also played on Ain’t That A Shame.

It peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100 and #19 in the UK in 1957.

Domino received The Lifetime Achievement Grammy, a National Medal of the Arts from President Bill Clinton, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fats semi-retired in the 80s and said he would not travel outside of New Orleans.

He lived in New Orleans During Hurricane Katrina, he lost most of his possessions and he and his family were rescued by the Coast Guard. He unselfishly made many personal appearances to raise money for the hurricane relief. His house was hit hard and he lost his National Medal and gold records but George Bush gave him another medal to replace the lost one and the RIAA gave him replacement gold records.

To raise money for repairs for his own home, friends and fellow musicians recorded a tribute album, Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, featuring the likes of Robert Plant, Elton John, and Sir Paul McCartney. He was living in New Orleans at the time of his death on October 24, 2017.

I’m Walkin’

I’m walkin’, yes indeed, and I’m talkin’ ’bout you and me
I’m hopin’ that you’ll come back to me (yes)
I’m lonely as I can be, I’m waitin’ for your company
I’m hopin’ that you’ll come back to me
What ‘ya gonna do when the well runs dry?
You’re gonna run away and hide
I’m gonna run right by your side, for you pretty baby I’ll even die
I’m walkin’, yes indeed, I’m talkin’ ’bout you and me
I’m hopin’ that you’ll come back to me

I’m walkin’, yes indeed, and I’m talkin’ ’bout you and me
I’m hopin’ that you’ll come back to me (yes)
I’m lonely as I can be, I’m waitin’ for your company
I’m hopin’ that you’ll come back to me
What ‘ya gonna do when the well runs dry?
You’re gonna sit right down and cry
What ‘ya gonna do when I say bye-bye?
All you’re gonna do is dry your eye
I’m walkin’, yes indeed, I’m talkin’ ’bout you and me
I’m hopin’ that you’ll come back to me