The "killing floor" is mentioned in alot of blues songs. What is the kiling floor?

Killing Floor

Literally, the location in a slaughterhouse where animals are killed prior to processing. Figuratively, it is a fairly common blues motif, denoting a state of high distress or hopelessness (see Skip James' "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," and Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor").

bookmark the link, I had a great time reading it

Killing Floor Song

I lived in Omaha Nebraska from 1972 - 1998. Omaha used to be one of the largest centers of packing houses in the country.

I've worked in them, had friends who worked in them, and have been out on the kill floor plenty of times, knee deep in blood and guts, hides and hooves.

That's what a kill floor is. There is a huge drain in the bottom of the floor that gets opened up once the blood is a certain number of feet deep in there, and all the big chunks and material is combed through and taken out, the blood all drains down the drain. Then the room is hosed down, cleaned, and prepared for the next shift.

It's extremely gross, and the smell is horrific. I didn't last long at that job, but I knew people who were third generation families working there.

"Killing Floor" was written and played in 1964 by Howlin' Wolf. It is a very popular blues song. Hubert Sumlin' the wolf's long time guitarist still plays it at his gigs. Has that sort of "One Way Out" kind of beat that is very catchy which attracted many rock bands and blues/rock bands to play versions of the song.

My interpretation is Howlin' Wolf was using the term as a metaphor for a personal relationship gone awry as if to say my baby hurt me like an animal on the killing floor so I should have left her a long time ago.

Yes the "Killing Floor" actually defined the area where animals are slaughtered........however, it is often used a metaphor in blues and other genres for a place where killing (literally) or misery " is taking place.

One of the most famous uses of this metaphor was the song entitled "Killing Floor." It was performed by an R&B group known as Electric Flag in the 60's. Killing Floor in this case, referred to the battle fields in Viet Nam.

Skip James recorded it in 1930. "These hard times will send you from door to door ..." refers to conditions during the Great Depression, so I doubt it goes back much further than that. My totally favorite version is the one by R.L. Burnside. He interpolates spoken renditions of his (chilling, horrifying) life growing up in Chicago, and instead of "door to door" he strictly uses the more brutal line "These hard times will kill you, this I know," which was used previously by other singers, alternating with the "door to door" version in at least one version I have heard. I used to listen to it as we drove home along Madison in Chicago from UIC to Oak Park, through Mad-Pal (infamous scary drug sales area) when the freeway was too crowded. It gave the goings on outside the car somewhat of a cinematic flavor in my perception. But it still made me angry that any human being should have to live in the kinds of conditions they still have on the West Side. Apartments with sewage running down the hallway for months at a time. Etc. We lived half a block outside the city limits -- on our side of the street it was all Currier & Ives, kids with sleds; and right across the street it was not uncommon to hear gun battles break out. Breaks your heart. So anyway all that is to say it makes sense that that song would resonate with people generation after generation, being recorded so many dozens of times. The slaughterhouse truly is a good metaphor for life in a huge part of this world.

I think "The Killing Floor" is used in blues songs as a metaphor for unrequited love or an unfaithful lover - the singer is dragged in by love and then left to die

One popular song that makes reference to a killing floor is "No Time" by The Guess Who.

In this case, the Guess Who's "No Time", they say that "distant roads are callin' me" and I think it refers to Vietnam, given when the song was released.

The location where animals destined for slaughtering were killed. Cows, pigs, rabbits etc. were generally hit in the back of the head with a small bat like device, the workers were known as "Knockers"