The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #110341   Message #2313915
Posted By: Jim Dixon
12-Apr-08 - 05:46 PM
Thread Name: Lyr ADD: Don't Try It for It Can't Be Done
Subject: RE: LYR REQ: Don't Try - Riley Puckett
I've listened, and I can't make sense of that line either. Furthermore, I find it rather strange that Puckett sings the rest of the song quite clearly, but mumbles this one line. My theory is, he forgot the lyrics himself and just bluffed his way through!
I did find a suitable line with Google Book Search, however:

"You might find a beggar that never does beg."

It's not what Puckett sings in the recording, but it does make sense, and it fits the meter and rhyme scheme, so if you want to sing the song, I recommend you sing that.

That line comes from Prairie Farmer and WLS: The Burridge D. Butler Years, by James F. Evans, 1969, page 218. Since the book is still under copyright, only a "snippet" is viewable online, so I don't have much context, but the song quote seems to accompany a story about Kincaid performing on radio station WLS in Chicago, so it might be the authentic Kincaid composition.

WorldCat might tell you where to find the book in a library near you.