Topic: Georgia Yellow Hammers - "Black Annie"

[BlindSockeyeSalmon]

Can anyone help me out with the lyrics to this, one of the weirdest songs ever? I think I've got most of it -- need help with a couple words towards the end of the second verse, and whatever it is the band was playing towards the end -- Bombay Shave?

Thanks in advance,

John

Here is "Black Annie":

Well-ah me'n my baby had a little falling out
Won't you stop and let me tell you what it's all about
She woke me up in the morning just at half-ah past three
Thinks I'm goin' to work but that ain't me

Well before I go to work let me tell you what I do
Get another woman just as wild as you
I packed my trunk and I thought I had her dashes
Of a hundred dollar bill in my passion shed

Ah, you may go but this is going to bring you back
Well I don't know, I'm really disgusted
At the way you've acted
You took all my furniture you put it in pawn
To buy them there tailor-mades that you got on
You may go but this is going to bring you back

Well I went downtown and I fell in the saloon
I got my head loaded, got desperate soon
I went right back to the place I been before
And she wouldn't recognize me, wouldn't let me in

I got myself together and I knocked down the door
Great big bully sittin' there by my stove
Skillets and lids I began to throw
When I thought I heard my baby say the coon went out the door
You may go but this is going to bring you back

Well she bought me a wheel for to ride around
You know my wheel's called one of the finest in town
Bicycle suit of the finest kind
None of them coons could equal mine
I got on my wheel and I started out
Out to buy my babies when I hear my honey shout
Kill 'em kid, you sweet thing, my honey
Well you sure look hot, you sure look hot
You uptown coon you had rather be shot, rather be shot
Than to see my baby coming down the street
With a pocket full of money and a place to sleep
Pay no attention to who we meet
Just kill 'em, kill em kid

Well I carried my girl to the dance last night
Just to show show them coons that we were right
When we entered right through the door
I thought some a-soldiers gonna raise a fight
But when the band began to play, began to play
That Bumbeeshay
I was swingin' in the air when I heard my baby say
Got a brand new man
Got a foldin' bed to sleep on
Got a brand-new sofa, got a-plenty to eat
Brand new man and he can't be beat
I got a swell-headed lady and she can't be beat

[banjochris]

I think I have this at home and will take a listen later, but the bamboushay is a type of dance. It's also mentioned in Jelly Roll Morton's "Animule Dance."
Chris

[banjochris]

Man, that is a weird song. I can't make out those lines either. But that song is like eight songs in one.

[frankie]

Bud Landress - now he musta been an interesting guy to hang out with...

Can't say I can really make out those lines, but here's my best guess before coffee:

I packed my trunk and I thought I [heard her dash]
She shoved a hundred dollar bill in my [face and said]

[BlindSockeyeSalmon]

Thanks Chris & Frankie!

Chris, you're the man with the "bamboushay" reference -- glad I was phonetically close. I tried googling just about every spelling I could think of but missed that one.

And Frank, I'm sure you're right about "She shoved a hundred dollar bill in my face and said" -- thanks! Still not sure about the preceding syllable or two.

It is a seriously weird song. Post-structuralist country blues?

And I want to know what kind of "wheel" he was riding, and what a "bicycle suit" looks like!

[uncle bud]

I'm no help with the lyrics, since I don't have this number, but reading the nutty lyrics, I notice this:

Kill 'em kid, you sweet thing, my honey
....
Just kill 'em, kill em kid

This is the first time I can recall seeing the phrase (slightly different here) that Willie McTell uses for Kill It Kid in another song. Just curious if it appears in others as well. Was this a common expression of the time? Similar to "knock 'em dead" I'm presuming.

[BlindSockeyeSalmon]

OK, revised lyrics below. Notably, I think the woman is speaking in the 3rd verse and in a couple other places.

Well-ah me'n my baby had a little falling out
Won't you stop and let me tell you what it's all about
She woke me up in the morning just at half-ah past three
Thinks I'm goin' to work but that ain't me

Well before I go to work let me tell you what I do
Get another woman just as wild as you
I packed my trunk and I thought I had her da (?)
She shoved a hundred dollar bill in my face and said,

"Ah, you may go but this is going to bring you back
Well I don't know, I'm really disgusted
At the way you've acted
You took all my furniture you put it in pawn
To buy them there tailor-mades that you got on
You may go but this is going to bring you back"

Well I went downtown and I fell in the saloon
I got my head loaded, got desperate soon
I went right back to the place I'd been before
And she wouldn't recognize me, wouldn't let me in

I got myself together and I knocked down the door
Great big bully sittin' there by my stove
Skillets and lids I began to throw
When I thought I heard my baby say's the coon went out the door,
"You may go but this is going to bring you back"

Well she bought me a wheel for to ride around
You know my wheel's called one of the finest in town
Bicycle suit of the finest kind
None of them coons could equal mine
I got on my wheel and I started out
Out to buy my babies when I hear my honey shout,
"Kill 'em kid, you sweet thing, my honey
Well you sure look hot, you sure look hot
You uptown coon you had rather be shot, rather be shot
Than to see my baby coming down the street
With a pocket full of money and a place to sleep
Pay no attention to who we meet
Just kill 'em, kill em kid"

Well I carried my girl to the dance last night
Just to show show them coons that we were right
When we entered right through the door
I thought some a-soldiers gonna raise a fight
But when the band began to play, began to play
That Bamboushay
I was swingin' in the air when I heard my baby say,
"Got a brand new man
Got a foldin' bed to sleep on
Got a brand-new sofa, got a-plenty to eat
Brand new man and he can't be beat"
I got a swell-headed lady and she can't be beat

The band seems to have trouble at times agreeing on what key they're in -- I know the feeling and can't blame them given the non-structure of this song.

The Cliff's Notes version of the story seems to be:

Man and woman have fight, man leaves woman, woman accuses man of hocking furniture for fancy clothes, predicts his return, man gets drunk, tries to go back, woman pretends not to know him, man knocks down door and chases away bully, woman repeats prediction that man will come back, then buys man fancy unicycle (!) and natty bicycle suit, man goes to buy babies (?) when woman complements him on his appearance and encourages him to engage in violence, man takes woman to dance and is threatened by soldiers, whereupon band plays Caribbean dance song and woman celebrates the joys of domesticity including food, 2 types of sofa, and a "brand new man" (our narrator?), who now seems to be in agreement that this is an agreeable union.

Do I have that all straight?

John

[BlindSockeyeSalmon]

Honking Duck has the song if you want to give it a listen...

[uncle bud]

And I want to know what kind of "wheel" he was riding, and what a "bicycle suit" looks like!

Perhaps one of these:



[attachment deleted by admin]

[uncle bud]

Honking Duck has the song if you want to give it a listen...

Thanks, John. Great to hear it. What a nutty song.

Another high-wheeler:



[attachment deleted by admin]

[Stuart]

For the line, "Get another woman just as wild as you," I hear, "Get another woman just as warm as you."

That's about all I have to offer.

Talk about an "alternate reality"--I'd love to have some insight into what went into the composition of this gem.

[banjochris]

Thanks to Frankie and Stuart's deciphering, I think I have that verse:

Well before I go to work let me tell you what I do
Get another woman just as warm as you
I packed my trunk and I thought I had her there
She shook a hundred dollar bill in my face and said,


Chris

[BlindSockeyeSalmon]

Thanks guys! I agree and I think we've got the whole thing now.

My only remaining questions are about "buy my babies" (what's that mean? prostitutes?) and who's speaking in this part:

Well I don't know, I'm really disgusted
At the way you've acted
You took all my furniture you put it in pawn
To buy them there tailor-mades that you got on

A friend and I agree that the woman is saying "You may go but this is going to bring you back" but he thinks the man is saying the stuff above and I think that's also the woman talking (after all, we see in later verses that he likes clothes and she likes furniture).

[BlindSockeyeSalmon]

So here's a more or less final version of the lyric. Thanks all for the help!

Well-ah me'n my baby had a little falling out
Won't you stop and let me tell you what it's all about
She woke me up in the morning just at half-ah past three
Thinks I'm goin' to work but that ain't me

Well before I go to work let me tell you what I do
Get another woman just as warm as you
I packed my trunk and I thought I had her there
She shoved a hundred dollar bill in my face and said,

"Ah, you may go but this is going to bring you back
Well I don't know, I'm really disgusted
At the way you've acted
You took all my furniture you put it in pawn
To buy them there tailor-mades that you got on
You may go but this is going to bring you back"

Well I went downtown and I fell in the saloon
I got my head loaded, got desperate soon
I went right back to the place I'd been before
And she wouldn't recognize me, wouldn't let me in

I got myself together and I knocked down the door
Great big bully sittin' there by my stove
Skillets and lids I began to throw
When I thought I heard my baby say's the coon went out the door,
"You may go but this is going to bring you back"

Well she bought me a wheel for to ride around
You know my wheel's called one of the finest in town
Bicycle suit of the finest kind
None of them coons could equal mine
I got on my wheel and I started out
Out to buy my babies when I hear my honey shout,
"Kill 'em kid, you sweet thing, my honey
Well you sure look hot, you sure look hot
You uptown coon you had rather be shot, rather be shot
Than to see my baby coming down the street
With a pocket full of money and a place to sleep
Pay no attention to who we meet
Just kill 'em, kill 'em kid"

Well I carried my girl to the dance last night
Just to show show them coons that we were right
When we entered right through the door
I thought some a-soldiers gonna raise a fight
But when the band began to play, began to play
That Bamboushay
I was swingin' in the air when I heard my baby say,
"Got a brand new man
Got a foldin' bed to sleep on
Got a brand-new sofa, got a-plenty to eat
Brand new man and he can't be beat"
I got a swell-headed lady and she can't be beat

Probably worth noting the similarity of the line "You may go but this is going to bring you back" to the Memphis Jug Band/Carolina Peanut Boys' song "You May Leave But This Will Bring You Back" -- as well as the fact that the Black Annie of this song's title isn't mentioned by name in the lyric. There is a very different fiddle tune called "Black Annie" and I almost wonder if that title really belongs to this song or if it was some sort of mistake/mixup by the recording engineer or record company...

[samjessin]

I LOVE this song have have since the first time I heard it, would love to hear/see your rendition!

[BlindSockeyeSalmon]

Belated update: I noticed that a similar discussion got started on mudcat and someone over there posted this bit from another "Black Annie" song which interestingly references the bamboushay:

BLACK ANNIE
By Hillman and Perrin, 1897

The dance we're going to introduce is the very latest craze,
Observe those wenches coming down the "chute" with their gaudy, winsome ways,
'Tis very simple, you will plainly see, yet up to date and new,
Now, with your kind attention, we will plainly show to you,

CHO:
Gents, politely hug and kiss your Mammy,
Wheel around now, ladies, dance Black Annie,
To the World's Fair on Darby Day, everybody dance the "bom-ba-sha[y],
That's the way to introduce Black Annie.

Don't we look swell coming down the line, with our sweethearts by our side?
First the mas-ma-la, next the Mobile Buck, and then we do the glide,
Gents honor the girls as you pass them by, all single out in space,
Now, each salute your partner, view each other face to face,