DESCRIPTION:
Motherless Child Blues" (or, in dialect, "Motherless Chile Blues") is the name of two distinctly different traditional blues songs. They are different melodically and lyrically. One was first popularized by Robert "Barbecue Bob" Hicks—the other by Elvie Thomas.

The "Motherless Child Blues" recorded by Hicks in 1927 tells of the singer's lack of respect for, and disenchantment with, women in general. The song begins with the lyrics that give it its name:

If I mistreat you gal, I sure don't mean you no harm.
I'm a motherless child and I don't know right from wrong.

This song was later adapted by Eric Clapton on his album From the Cradle and retitled "Motherless Child".