BLUES LYRICS and HOODOO:

SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSCRIPTIONS

from HOODOO IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
by catherine yronwode

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TITLE: I Whipped My Woman With A Singletree
MATRIX NO.: 56346-2
SINGER: Memphis Jug Band: Will Shade V; Ben Ramey, k; Charlie Burse, g; Charlie Nickerson, p; Jab Jones, j; vocal trio with Shade in lead
COMPOSER(S): Will Shade
DATE OF REC.: 4 Oct 1929, Memphis
ORIGINAL ISSUE(S): Victor V 38578
REISSUE(S): Frog DGF16 (MJB V.2)....
TRANSCRIPTION:

I WHIPPED MY WOMAN WITH A SINGLETREE
by The Memphis Jug Band

I dreamed my woman had a fallin' out
People in the town want to know what it was all about
Spoken: (What about?)
Same thing, bam bam ba beeble la
Same thing, skeedle am bam
Now, don't you hear me talkin' to ya?
Talkin' 'bout the same old thing
Yes, i whupped my woman
Spoken: (Yeah?)
with a singletree
Spoken: (Yes?)
You oughta heard her holle'ing, "Don't you murder me"
Spoken: (What about?)
Oh, the same thing, bam bam ba beeble lum
Same thing, skeedle am bam
Now, don't you hear me talkin' to ya?
Talkin' 'bout the same old thing

Yes, I went to the Gypsies
Spoken: (Yes?)
to get my fortume told
Spoken: (Uh-huh?)
The Gypsies told me somepin' I didn't want no one to know
Spoken: (What about?)
Same thing, scamp amp ba beedle bum
About the same thing, skeedle am bam
Now, don't you hear me talkin' to ya? (Oh!)
Talkin' 'bout the same old thing

Yes, I went to my back door
Spoken: (Yes?)
and that fucker was locked
Spoken: (Uh-huh)
I went to that front door, you know the stown was locked
[clown, thown, down, town, was locked?]
Spoken: (What was they doin'?)
Same thing, (Oh!), scamp wamp a deedle lam
Same thing, skeedle am bam
Now, don't you hear me talkin' to ya?
Talkin' 'bout the same old thing

Now, don't you wish your easy roller was little and cute like mine?
Spoken: (Why?)
Every time she walks, she reels and rocks behind
Oh, same thing, bamp bamp a beedle lum
Same thing, skaydle lam bam
Now, don't you hear me talkin' to ya?
Talkin' 'bout the same old thing

TRANSCRIBED BY: catherine yronwode (cat@luckymojo.com) 19 Nov 2000

DISCOGRAPHY BY: Taken from Frog reissue liner notes (by Neil Slaven or David French?)

COMMENTS BY CAT YRONWODE: This song has proven difficult to transcribe, due to the slurring of words by Will Shade, but he truly does seem to sing the forbidden word "fucker" in V.4, line 1. As for the questioned word in V.4 line 2 [clown, down, thown, stown, town], it is up for comment or correction by anyone who has an opinion!

Some people will need to be told what a "singletree" is: It is a piece of wood thicker than a a baseball bat, tapered at both ends, and bound with iron to prevent it splitting. It follows behind the horse and ahead of the wagon to balance the load when using draft harness; if two horses are employed in double harness, a more complex balancing arrangement called a doubletree is used. Whipping a woman with a singletree would constitute a gravely violent assault, needless to say.

FURTHER INFORMATION: The following web pages can be consulted for more details about the topics referenced in this song:
V.4 Gypsies [black Gypsies, readers, fortune tellers]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Individual acknowledgements for transcriptions and discographical data appear on each song-page, but i want to note that this Blues Lyrics and Hoodoo archive would never have been possible without the contributions of Gorgen Antonsson, who generously shared with me the format and content of his own personal lyrics archive, and Alan Balfour and Chris Smith, who have devoted a great deal of time to supplying me with tapes, transcribed lyrics, and detailed discographical information. Additionally, i wish to thank the kind members of the prewar blues e-list who have aided my research in innumerable ways. If you have missing data to supply, hear a substantially different take on a transcription, or want to let me know about a song that has been overlooked in these pages, please contact me through the prewar blues e-list: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/pre-war-blues.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Due to certain social, economic, and political paradigms in place at the time of their composition, many early blues songs were improperly copyrighted or not copyrighted at all. Many bore no composer credits. Many were ripped off by unethical music publishers who falsely claimed authorship and copyrighted them in their own names. Many that were once copyright-protected are now in the public domain due to publishers' or composers' failures to properly renew the copyrights. Many have since been ripped off by unethical performers or music publishers who have pretended to be the composers for the purpose of securing a belated copyright or who have claimed "arranger's" credits on songs they falsely swore were "traditional" when in fact the songs were composed by the people who originally performed them on record. It is my sincere belief that the song transcribed on this page bears the implied moral copyright of its composer, whoever that may be. If you believe that you control the copyright by virtue of authorship or legal legerdemain, you may contact me in a civil and polite manner and i will attempt in good faith to satisfy your needs in the matter of obtaining formal permission to quote the lyrics in this scholarly publication.

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