Topic: Les Blank 's Sprout Wings and Fly starring Tommy Jarell

[drywud]

I have a question concerning one sentence at 6:04

Charley Smith run over old man Houston with a load of tanbark on a wagon, killed him,
he was layin? in the road up yonder.
Well he was pretty bad to drink I guess, he just took a notion he'd lay down and
go to sleep I guess.

Is he saying that Charley drank too much, or that drinking made him bad ?

thank you

[banjochris]

I think he means he was heavily under the influence, very drunk. He's talking about Houston being very drunk and lying down to sleep, not Charley in this case.

Chris

[bnemerov]

Hi drywud,
In the southern idiom, "pretty bad to" refers to habitual excessive behavior. You could say someone was pretty bad to shoot dice or pretty bad to lay around and pick the guitar or, even, pretty bad to go to church.

In this case it means old man Houston was an habitual drunk and the death wasn't Smith's fault.

best,
bruce

[drywud]

Hi everybody,

14:48

(...)I'll never stick another plant in the ground for myself. And I never did. I got me some washing tubs and some rivets and i riveted _____them together and I wen right back accross that hill(...)

15:53

          Why did they have so much good liquor up there ?
Well, it had good water to make it, it takes good water to make good liquor downtown. You got to have the good water to make good liquor.

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the word missing after "riveted" may be not so important but I would like to know what he says instead of "downtown"

Thank you