Black Betty

[Admin]

Black Betty: The song was first recorded in the field by U.S. musicologists John and Alan Lomax in 1933, performed a cappella by the convict James Baker and a group at Central State Farm, Sugar Land, Texas (a State prison farm). Source: AllMusic: Deep River of Song



Lyrics:

Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
Black betty had a child (bam-ba-lam)
The damn thing gone wild (bam-ba-lam)
She said, "i'm worryin' outta mind" (bam-ba-lam)
The damn thing gone blind (bam-ba-lam)
I said oh, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)

Oh, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
She really gets me high (bam-ba-lam)
You know that's no lie (bam-ba-lam)
She's so rock steady (bam-ba-lam)
And she's always ready (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)

Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
She's from birmingham (bam-ba-lam)
Way down in alabam' (bam-ba-lam)
Well, she's shakin' that thing (bam-ba-lam)
Boy, she makes me sing (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, black betty bam-ba-lam

paulmatthis.com/blog/black-betty-on-the-use-of-metaphor-in-blues-or-the-oldest-hook-in-the-book/

[alanbalfour]

Here's a bizarre fact. In 1977 there was a US based "one hit wonder" pop group named Ram Jam. On 10 September 1977 they broke into the UK charts at no.7 with Black Girl and stayed 12 weeks. One of the weekly pop papers, Melody Maker or New Musical Express, when reviewing this 45, noted that across the pond Black Betty and Ram Jam had "bombed".

That said a UK teen beat group, "The Four Pennies" reached no. 20 in the UK charts on 29th October 1964 with Leadbelly's "Black Girl". It too lasted 12 weeks.

(Amended: I was trying to type and take a call at the same time and put in Black GIRL, rather than BETTY. I've only just spotted it....duh).