Editing Lightnin' Hopkins (section)

==Musical style==
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Hopkins's style was born from spending many hours playing informally without a backing band. His distinctive [[fingerstyle]] technique often included playing, in effect, [[Bass guitar|bass]], [[Rhythm guitar|rhythm]], [[Lead guitar|lead]], and [[percussion]] at the same time.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} He played both "alternating" and "monotonic" bass styles incorporating imaginative, often chromatic [[Turnaround (music)|turnarounds]] and single-note lead lines. Tapping or slapping the body of his guitar added rhythmic accompaniment.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Much of Hopkins's music follows the standard [[Twelve bar blues|12-bar blues]] template, but his phrasing was free and loose. Many of his songs were in the [[talking blues]] style, but he was a powerful and confident singer.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} Lyrically, his songs expressed the problems of life in the segregated South, bad luck in love and other subjects common in the blues idiom. He dealt with these subjects with humor and good nature. He often referred to himself as "Po' Lightnin'" in his songs when talking about himself or referring to himself as the protagonist of the song. This is also the name of one of his albums. Many of his songs are filled with [[double entendre]]s, and he was known for his humorous introductions to songs.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

Some of his songs were of warning and sour prediction, such as "Fast Life Woman":

{{blockquote|<poem>You may see a fast life woman sittin' round a whiskey joint,
Yes, you know, she'll be sittin' there smilin',
'Cause she knows some man gonna buy her half a pint,
Take it easy, fast life woman, 'cause you ain't gon' live always...<ref name="russell"/></poem>}}