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That'll Never Happen No More - Meaning

27 Mar 07 - 01:08 PM (#2008636)
Subject: That'll Never Happen No More - Meaning
From: GUEST,cmt49

Can anyone provide a reasonably authentic interpretation of the last verse of this song? I have known and played the song for year, but this bit baffles me:

Met a woman just a pigmeat some
Big fat mouth me followed her
She pulled a gun, take my joint
Didn't leave me hard on, didn't get sore

Some of it makes sense, but the last line in particular is strange. Any experts in archaic slang out there?


27 Mar 07 - 03:32 PM (#2008743)
Subject: RE: That'll Never Happen No More - Meaning
From: Murray MacLeod

cmt49, you might like to take a look at This thread


27 Mar 07 - 05:31 PM (#2008866)
Subject: RE: That'll Never Happen No More - Meaning
From: 12-stringer

McTell, in his "Last Session" recording from 1956, describes this song as "one of my original jives." (Elsewhere in the same session he mentions that "I'd jump [my songs] from other writers, but I'd 'range 'em up my way.")

Assuming as I do that he learned the song from Blake's recording, he seems to have had a little trouble understanding the lyrics as well. His first verse is pretty similar to Blake's in all respects, but there is some variation in the second, most of which seems to improve the sense of the lyrics. McTell's vocal is not always that clear either (he was polishing off a bottle of corn whiskey during the session), and there are portions of two lines where I don't quite understand him. These are italicized.

When it's Chicago, women fall,
Got to make your date in your overalls,
Got broke, weren't my fault,
I had to eat my porkchop without any salt.
Met a girl, pigmeat spur,
Big fat mouth me followed her.
Took a gun, took my dough,
I didn't even holler, hell, I wouldn't get sore,
That'll never happen no more,
That'll never happen no more.