I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On

Song Meaning

The narrator is caught in a cycle of misfortune, a persistent and familiar despair they call "that old feeling." This isn't a new sorrow, but a recurring one, underscored by the insistent repetition of "I feel that old feeling coming on." It suggests a resignation to bad luck, a sense that this state of being is almost predestined. The phrase "ever since I was born" anchors this feeling not to a specific event, but to a lifelong condition. The core tension lies between the narrator's perceived victimhood and a potential agency, hinted at in the bridge. The narrator directly addresses a "pretty baby," questioning her actions and warning her against letting someone "make a fool of you." This implies a dynamic where the narrator, despite their own woes, sees a parallel struggle in another, perhaps even offering a cryptic piece of advice born from their own experience. The lyrics employ a stark, almost bluesy fatalism. The repetition of "I been buked" and "I been scorned" in Verse 1 emphasizes a history of being mistreated and overlooked. This is amplified by the numerical references in Chorus 2: counting to 21, being the "mother's seventh son." These details paint a picture of someone who feels inherently marked by bad luck, perhaps even superstitiously so, as if their very birth order or a simple count could dictate their fate. What makes these lyrics resonate is their raw, unvarnished expression of persistent hardship. The narrator isn't seeking pity but stating a fact of their existence. The "old feeling" is a tangible, recurring presence, and the direct address in the bridge suggests a desperate, almost weary attempt to impart wisdom gained from a life of being "buked" and "scorned."