Hi, Mysha.

It took me a moment or so, but I'm pretty sure you are referring to my question in 2005 about this Stagolee verse that was included in Dorothy Scarborough's 1925 book On The Trail Of Negro Folk Songs :

Stagolee was a bully man an' everybody knowed,
When de seed Stagolee comin', to give Stagolee de road.
Oh dat man, bad man, Stagolee done come!

-snip-

One point I was trying to make in my post was that I had just realized that the word "seed" meant "seen".

But I appreciate the way you wrote

"Stagolee was a bully man, an' everybody knowed ... TO give Stagolee de road."

because I was reading it as

"Everybody 'knowed' that Stagolee was a bully."

But what you're saying is to act like that comma in that verse isn't there and read the sentence like this:

"Stagolee was a bully. And everybody knew that when they saw him coming, they'd better give him the road (meaning "get out of his way").

**

Thanks Mysha for breaking that down for me.

This kind of text analysis isn't necessarily that important in the scheme of things. But it can be fun. And sometimes-like in this example-you can learn how a "misplaced" period or comma can give a whole new meaning to what is said (or read, as the case may be).

Come to think of it, a "misplaced period" could lead to a whole 'nuther line of inquiry. But I'm not going there. :o)