Aretha Franklin

Songwriter: Peter DeRose Harry Richman Jo Trent

[Verse 1]
Baby we’ve got to have us a little talk
Gonna have to pack up my things I’m gonna walk
You say a dollar goes from hand to hand
But before I see you go from woman to woman

[Chorus]
I’d rather drink
Muddy water
Sleep out in a hollow log
Yes, I would

[Verse 2]
I love you baby but you just won’t be fair
I don’t believe you know how to be on the square
Now go on and have your fun and if you must
But before I have another man that I cannot trust

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
You promised me you were gonna live by the golden rule
I work all day and walk just like a fool
For you my kisses are sweet as they can be
But before I see you make a stone fool out of me

[Chorus]
I’d rather drink muddy water
Yes I’d rather drink muddy water
I’d rather drink muddy water
Oh yes I would

[Outro]
I’d rather drink muddy water
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yes I would
Show me the way, way, way, way, way down
To that place I can find that muddy water
I’ll go ahead and turn it on up
I say I’d rather drink muddy water
I’d rather drink muddy, muddy, muddy water
Sleep out in a hollow log

Aretha Franklin is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known simply by her first Aretha. She is the reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” with a legacy that spans five decades. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Aretha began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Aretha embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records with modest success.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, she released a steady string of US top ten hits through 1973 including “Spanish Harlem”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Baby I Love You”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Daydreaming”, “The House That Jack Built”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", ”Think“ and her first chart-topper “Respect” – a song that also won Aretha her first of 18 Grammys. During this time, several of her songs were also successful overseas.

By the mid-70s, Aretha’s commercial success waned and she left Atlantic for Clive Davis' Arista Records in 1980. Her 1982 song “Jump to It,” returned her to the top 40 for the first time in six years. 1985’s Who’s Zoomin' Who? got her back into the top 10 twice with its title track and “Freeway Of Love”. Four more songs reached the top 40 through 1986.

more tracks from the album

Aretha Sings The Blues

From the album

Aretha Sings The Blues (1980)

Aretha Franklin popular songs

Muddy WaterAretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Sings The Blues