Thanks for the help, Chris. "Squirrel" it is! Do you have any idea of the sense of the verse that follows? The phonetics are right on, but I sure don't understand the idea of the coat weighing sixteen hundred pounds. I'll make the change you suggested. All best, Johnm
Hi all, Lee Green and his anonymous accompanist recorded "Little Eddie Jones" at the same session as "Bad Man Napper", immediately prior to that tune, working in the same key and playing position, C. Interesting that the lyrics to "Bad Man Napper" make reference to Napper murdering Little Eddie Jones, and the last verse of "Little Eddie Jones" makes it appear that Eddie is no longer around, as the song ends. It seems likely that both individuals were real people of Lee Green's acquaintance. I'm missing the front end of the tagline to the fourth verse and would sure appreciate some help with it. Here is "Little Eddie Jones":
INTRO
I'm gonna do, babe, like Little Eddie Jones Lord, I'm going to do, babe, like Little Eddie Jones Everywhere that he goes, sweet mama, that's where he calls his home
He never lonesome, and he never blue He never lonesome, and he never blue He can get anything he want to, do anything he wants to do
The guns he carry, .38 and .45 Lord, the guns that he carry, .38 and .45 When he can't get what he want to, he takes from dead or 'live
When he goes a-courting, he goes through mud and rain When he go a-courting, he goes through mud and rain Ah, even if his horse snortin', goin' up some lonesome lane
He goes and knocks, on his sweet gal's door He goes and knocks, knocks on his sweet gal's door "Hey, I want to speak to you, sweet mama, you may never see me any more."
"Babe, it do me so much good, look in your smiling face. Do me so much good, sweet mama, look in your smiling face. I just stopped by here, sweet mama, see if anybody could take Mr. Eddie's place."
Edited 7/29 to pick up correction from waxwing
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: July 29, 2021, 09:45:12 AM by Johnm »
Thanks for the help, Chris. "Squirrel" it is! Do you have any idea of the sense of the verse that follows? The phonetics are right on, but I sure don't understand the idea of the coat weighing sixteen hundred pounds. I'll make the change you suggested.
I didn't really get that either; usually it's the wearer who weighs a lot in those verses!
Thanks for the help, Wax. "Horse snortin'" is terrific! It does sound like he's saying "all" at the beginning of the line, but I think think he may have combined "ah" with "well". I'll keep it as "ah". Thanks! All best, Johnm
The Bad Man Napper, wasare the cause of Little Eddie's death today LordA lil' ol' Bad Man Napper, wasare the cause of Little Eddie's death today I think he slipped and he stole his life, out from behind a big stack of hay
2.3 He made his livin' in stealin', and hidin' it all day longalong
Harry, I disagree with your changes in the first verse. Lee Green sings "was" in both of the first two lines. "Lord" was wrong, he just sings "the" again in the second line, but swallows it. I agree with your change to the tagline in verse two and will amke that change. Thanks.
Harry, I disagree with your changes in the first verse. Lee Green sings "was" in both of the first two lines. "Lord" was wrong, he just sings "the" again in the second line, but swallows it. I agree with your change to the tagline in verse two and will amke that change. Thanks.
Sorry start this again but I don't hear "was" at all. I hear "are" clearly. I don't hear "the" on 1.2 either.
I can't help what you hear, Harry. Give it a rest. I'm not making those changes. You can hear the "s" at the end of "was" as plain as day and there is no "r" sound at all.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2021, 06:08:03 AM by Johnm »
In Bad Man Napper, could the line "Stole a coat from a tailor, weighed sixteen hundred pounds" actually be "Stole a colt from a tailor, weighed sixteen hundred pounds"? A draft horse, like a Clydesdale, Belgian, or Percheron, would weigh about that much. Maybe Mr. Napper stole the horse that was pulling the tailor's wagon?
I think the humor is that, as banjochris suggested, Napper weighs 4/5 ton, is a very large man, and the amount of fabric for a coat made it so expensive that he just stole it. The laugh was on him because the coat still didn't reach around his girth. Probably the expectation is that everyone knows the joke so he just needs to hit the high points and everyone gets it.
Wax
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