"Look on Yonder Wall", or "Get Ready to Meet Your Man" as it was first named, is a blues song first recorded in 1945 by James "Beale Street" Clark. Clark, also known as "Memphis Jimmy", was a blues pianist from Memphis, Tennessee. During the 1940s, he appeared on recordings by Jazz Gillum, Red Nelson, and an early Muddy Waters session, as well as several singles in his own name. In 1961, Elmore James adapted the song, titled "Look on Yonder Wall", which was issued as single. Most subsequent renditions show James's influence.
Origins
"Look on Yonder Wall" was performed as a mid-tempo twelve-bar blues, with a recurrent post-World War II theme. It tells of a "man who is somewhat disabled and has not been drafted and takes advantage of that to entertain lonely married women". When the husband is discharged, the narrator ponders his fate: Jazz Gillum, with whom the song is often associated, recorded a version on February 18, 1946,, four months after Clark. Although the release was retitled, it credits "James Clark" as the composer. Other early versions include Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup as "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" and Boyd Gilmore as "Just an Army Boy".
Elmore James version
In 1961, Elmore James recorded his version as "Look on Yonder Wall" for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records. The session took place at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studios in New Orleans, Louisiana. Backing James on vocal and guitar are Sammy Myers on harmonica, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker on piano, Sammy Lee Bully on bass, and King Mose on drums. The song is one of the few Elmore James songs to feature harmonica, as he typically used saxophone. Fire released the song as the flip side of "Shake Your Moneymaker" in 1961. It was one of the last singles of new material released before James's death in 1963. Most artists who recorded the song after James follow his arrangement, such as Junior Parker, Junior Wells with Buddy Guy, and Paul Butterfield. A related song is "Boot Hill", of which relatively little is known. Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan each recorded versions for their respective albums Guitar Slinger and The Sky Is Crying. The lyrics for "Boot Hill" are more ominous than the earlier variations: "Look on yonder wall, hand me down my walkin' cane" is rendered "Look up on the wall baby, hand me down my shootin' iron".
