10 Jun 08 - 10:26 AM (#2362278) Subject: Reworking of a folk song? From: *Laura* I might be on a path to nowhere here but Jack White (of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs) has written a song on the Raconteurs new album which I love, and I'm just curious because the story sounds familiar and I might have just listened to it too many times but also the kind of story and the characters in the song make me thing it COULD possibly be a version of an older song... anyway here it is. Any ideas? Carolina Drama "I'm not sure if there's a point to this story But I'm going to tell it again So many other people try to tell the tale Not one of them knows the end It was a junk-house in South Carolina Held a boy the age of ten Along with his older brother Billy And a mother and her boyfriend Who was a triple loser with some blue tattoos That were given to him when he was young And a drunk temper that was easy to lose And thank god he didn't own a gun Well, Billy woke up in the back of his truck Took a minute to open his eyes He took a peep into the back of the house And found himself a big surprise He didn't see his brother but there was his mother With her red-headed head in her hands While the boyfriend had his gloves wrapped around an old priest Trying to choke the man Ah Ah Ahhh... Billy looked up from the window to the truck Threw up, and had to struggle to stand He saw that red-necked bastard with a hammer Turn the priest into a shell of a man The priest was putting up the fight of his life But he was old and he was bound to lose The boyfriend hit as hard as he could And knocked the priest right down to his shoes Well, now Billy knew but never actually met The preacher lying there in the room He heard himself say, "That must be my daddy" Then he knew what he was gonna do Billy got up enough courage, took it up And grabbed the first blunt thing he could find It was a cold, glass bottle of milk That got delivered every morning at nine Ah Ah Ahhh... Billy broke in and saw the blood on the floor, and He turned around and put the lock on the door He looked dead into the boyfriend's eye His mother was a ghost, too upset to cry, then He took a step toward the man on the ground From his mouth trickled out a little audible sound He heard the boyfriend shout, "Get out!" And Billy said, "Not till I know what this is all about" "Well, this preacher here was attacking your mama" But Billy knew just who was starting the drama So Billy took dead aim at his face And smashed the bottle on the man who left his dad in disgrace, and The white milk dripped down with the blood, and the Boyfriend fell down dead for good Right next to the preacher who was gasping for air And Billy shouted, "Daddy, why'd you have to come back here?" His mama reached behind the sugar and honey, and Pulled out an envelope filled with money "Your daddy gave us this," she collapsed in tears "He's been paying all the bills for years" "Mama, let's put this body underneath the trees and put Daddy in the truck and head to Tennessee" Just then, his little brother came in Holding the milk man's hat and a bottle of gin singing, La la la la, la la la la, yeah La la la la, la la la la, yeah La la la la, la la la la, yeah La la la, la la la... La la la la, la la la la, yeah La la la la, la la la la, yeah La la la la, la la la la, yeah Well now you heard another side to the story But you wanna know how it ends? If you must know, the truth about the tale Go and ask the milkman" Ring any bells? |
10 Jun 08 - 12:26 PM (#2362390) Subject: RE: Reworking of a folk song? From: Charley Noble That's certainly a weird one (the final verse), but certainly not based on any traditional song I'm familiar with. Charley Noble |
30 Jul 12 - 02:46 AM (#3383518) Subject: RE: Reworking of a folk song? From: GUEST,Loki sometimes I love this song! Such an odd write. I'm actually trying to figure out the meaning. Like was it just something odd jack wrote, or dose it have some deeper meaning? u know what I mean? If u find anything out, will u let me kno! PLEASE-O-PLEASE! |
30 Jul 12 - 09:00 AM (#3383609) Subject: RE: Reworking of a folk song? From: GUEST,Grishka Interesting. I just spent 15 minutes searching the web, and did not find anything yet that convinced me. The general idea seems to be that the song refers to an existing story, from literature, film, or (less likely) folklore. On the other hand, if it were true that "So many other people try to tell the tale", and this is just "another side to the story", one should be able to find it in one minute on the net. So the "original story" may be imaginary. The only puzzling part is the last six lines. The gin suggests that Billy (probably identical with the milkman, who had left it with his hat in his milkman's truck) was drunk, so that none of his various accounts of the story is reliable. Second degree murder, Your Honor. When I have more time, I'll continue the search, unless someone beats me to it. |