Goin' down Johnson Street, Bob McKinney was passing by
Goin' down Johnson Street, make trouble in the night,
Wasn't he bad? Wasn't he bad?

Bobby said to Ben Curtis, I'm bound to take your life
You have caused trouble, 'tween me and my wife,
Wasn't he bad? Wasn't he bad?

Bobby said to Marg'ret, Come to me, I said
If you don't come in a hurry, put a .38 through your head
Wasn't he bad? Wasn't he bad?

Bobby said to the high sheriff, Needn't think I'm goin' to run
If I'd had another load, me 'n you'd had some fun
Wasn't he bad? Wasn't he bad?

That's Bob McKinney, and as you may guess from its scansion, it is NOT to the same melody as Take Me Back! It's a standard blues ballad arrangement (first line in I, second line IV-I, third line V-I) but I can't think of another which has a particularly similar melody line.

From this, Henry Thomas segues into Take Me Back and (my copy of the record is a few miles away) maybe a clip or two of yet another song. Several of his performances are medleys of this sort. If you've never heard him, do yourself a favor and buy a CD of his music. (My favorite is Run Molly Run, followed closely by Fishing Blues, but all of his recordings are just wonderful. His guitar is just strumming, though he essays rudimentary knifeblade figures on some pieces but his quill-playing and vocals are a total delight to hear.)

I don't remember what lyrics Henry sings from Take Me Back, and the one I play is just a hodgepodge that may be closest to Mance Lipscomb than anyone else. It doesn't have much story. Sometimes it goes like this:

Oh my babe, take me back
Won't do nothing that you don't like.
I went down the railroad track
Beggin' my baby to take me back.
She turned around, two or three times
Take you back when you learn to grind
I got a girl, her name is Maude
Works down in the white folk's yard
She brings me chicken, she brings me a goose
She brings me cornbread till it ain't no use
Ain't but one thing that grieves my mind
My woman quit me in the summertime

You can improv this stuff forever, with the "Oh my babe take me back" lines thrown in as a chorus.