‘Mississippi Queen’ is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic, it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. Drummer Corky Laing explained that he had developed some of the lyrics and the drum part prior to his joining the band. Later, when guitarist Leslie West was looking for lyrics for a guitar part he had written, Laing pulled out "The Queen" and the two worked out the song together; bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi and lyricist David Rea also received songwriting credits.
Mountain guitarist Leslie West explained how ‘Mississippi Queen’ came together: "When Corky (Laing, drummer) brought me the idea, it was a one-chord dance song. We got real high, took out a napkin, and I came up with the main riff and the chords. Then we fit the words over the sound." Laing says of the song: "I was madly in love with The Band, and I decided to put a 'Cripple Creek' feel behind it. Later on, I told Levon Helm that I felt bad about ripping him off, but he said that he didn't hear any similarity between the two songs, and that we didn't owe them any money!"
The song is about a seductive woman who teaches the singer a thing or two about the ways of love, but with the success of ‘Proud Mary’ a year earlier, it almost sounds like this could be another song about a riverboat. In 1976, the ‘Mississippi Queen’ riverboat was put into service by the Delta Queen company, taking its last cruise in 2008. This is one of the most famous cowbell songs of all time, but the band didn't envision the instrument in the song. In a Songfacts interview with Leslie West, he explained: "The cowbell in the beginning was just in there because Felix wanted Corky to count the song off. So, we used the cowbell to count it off - it wasn't put in there on purpose. And it became the quintessential cowbell song."
‘Mississippi Queen’ appears at number 10 on a 1995 chronological list of the "50 Heaviest Riffs of All Time" by Guitar magazine editorial staff. Author Scott R. Benarde describes the song as "an enduring anthem" with a "guitar riff that sounded like a carnivore choking on dinner". The song is ranked 230th in The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time by biographer Martin Popoff; it also appears at number 10 on the Ultimate Classic Rock 2011 list of the "Top 10 Southern Rock Songs". Spin magazine described it as "the cowbell jam to end all cowbell jams. Mountain are to the cowbell what Dostoevsky is to the Russian novel" in naming it number one on its 2004 list of the "Fifteen Greatest Cowbell Songs of All Time".
Label – Windfall
Songwriters – Leslie West, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David Rea
Producer - Felix Pappalardi
SONG LYRICS
[Chorus]Mississippi queen
If you know what I mean
Mississippi queen
She taught me everything
[Verse 1]
Way down around Vicksburg
Around Louisiana way
Lived a Cajun lady
They called her Mississippi Queen
[Pre-Chorus]
You know she was a dancer
She moved better on wine
While the rest of them dudes were getting their kicks
Boy, I beg your pardon, I was getting mine
[Chorus]
Mississippi queen
If you know what I mean
Mississippi queen
She taught me everything
[Verse 2]
This lady she asked me
If I would be her man
You know that I told her
I'd do what I can
[Pre-Chorus]
To keep her looking pretty
Buy her dresses that shine
While the rest of them dudes were making their bread
Boy, I beg your pardon, I was losing mine
[Solo]
[Pre-Chorus]
You know she was a dancer
She moved better on wine
While the rest of them dudes were getting their kicks
Boy, I beg your pardon, I was getting mine
[Outro]
Hey, Mississippi queen