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27 Jun 98 - 02:20 PM (#31510) Subject: Lyrics for From: Billy D. I'm looking for the lyric to what I believe to be an old Bo Didley tune called "Who Do You Love?" - It's got a line about a "rattlesnake for a neck tie..."- very funky lyric with that driving swamp blues feel and slide guitar. May have been covered most recently by Colin James or George Thorogood. Can't find it anywhere, even though some cat in the 70's had a top ten single covering it, though not with all the lyric. Help Me, Pleeeeze! Billy |
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27 Jun 98 - 10:41 PM (#31537) Subject: RE: Lyrics for "Who Do You Love?" From: RS Is it possible this was in the movie "The Last Waltz"? (about the final concert of The Band, featuring many associated famous artists). That's my association, I can hear the phrase "Who do you love" repeated over & over in a definite powerful bluesy style ... |
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28 Jun 98 - 07:59 PM (#31568) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: Roger Himler Billy D. Here's the verse which I remember. Obviously, it has been strongly folk-processed (i.e. forgotten).
I walked forty-seven miles of barbed-wire. For ancient folkies, Tom Rush did this on his "Take a Little Walk With Me" vinyl. If I get a chance, I'll check and see if there are additional lyrics. Roger in Baltimore
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28 Jun 98 - 08:34 PM (#31573) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: harpgirl John Hammond does a version of it on "The Best of John Hammond." He gives credit to E. McDaniels. harpgirl |
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28 Jun 98 - 09:55 PM (#31576) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: S.P. Buck Mulligan E. McDaniels is Bo Diddley. |
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28 Jun 98 - 10:14 PM (#31579) Subject: Lyr Add: WHO DO YOU LOVE (Bo Diddley=E McDaniel) From: Roger Himler Here's the complete version:
I walked 47 miles of barbed wire,
I got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind,
Eileen took me by my hand,
I'm goin' round town with a rattlesnake whip.
BRIDGE:
The night was dark, the sky was blue,
Repeat first verse. From Tom Rush's album, "Take a Little Walk With Me". Roger in Baltimore |
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28 Jun 98 - 10:44 PM (#31583) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: Barry Finn I thought it came first from Screaming J Hawkins? No? Does it back before him? Barry |
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29 Jun 98 - 02:38 AM (#31598) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: Bo Its great to have all the lyrics. Thanks Roger. I love the Thorogood version. I think he says
Eileen took me by my hand, I've sang this in bars before and I always thought the words were--
I got a brand new house on the roadside, Bo |
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29 Jun 98 - 10:19 AM (#31620) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: Billy D. Roger Thanx for the lyric & info. What a great party tune! BillyD. |
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30 Jun 98 - 09:16 PM (#31731) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: O'Boyle Quicksilver Messenger Service did a version of the song that took a whole side of the album "Happy Trails". Rick |
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30 Jun 98 - 09:34 PM (#31737) Subject: RE: Lyrics for From: O'Boyle Oh yeah, and the Doors did a live version with a drunk Jim Morrison slurring "hello Philadelphia" to start the song. Don't know which album though. Rick |
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17 Jul 06 - 12:44 AM (#1785316) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Gypsy Well, to refresh an old thread.........anyone out there have an idea as to what he was talking about? Just being the biggest dog on the block, or what? Anyone have an idea? Thanks all! |
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18 Jul 06 - 12:33 AM (#1786083) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Gypsy Refresh one more time......... |
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18 Jul 06 - 12:59 AM (#1786089) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Peace I think you aced it, Gypsy. I saw Bo on TV one time and he was telling the world how he 'started the whole thing', meaning rock and roll. However, that's one helluva tightrope act if he really did. |
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18 Jul 06 - 06:50 AM (#1786252) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Azizi "anyone out there have an idea as to what he was talking about? Just being the biggest dog on the block, or what? Anyone have an idea?" Gypsy, I think you nailed it. I think the man is bragging in that song that he is 'bad] [bad meaning very good]*. I think the singer is rapping [in the old meaning of that word], trying to impress Eileen so she will become 'his lady. * Michael Jackson's "Bad" is in this braggadocio tradition, and so are many Blues, Calypso, Hip-Hop songs. Here are my guesses about some of the lines of the song in question: When the singer says "I walked 47 miles of barbed wire, he saying he was locked up [behind barbed wire] and survived that...[???] When he said "I used a cobra snake for a necktie, I got a brand new house on the roadside, Made out of rattlesnake hide." he was braggin about how he was so bad he not only killed the cobra snake but he made it in to a necktie...Maybe ditto for the rattlesnake, but in any event those who see the house made out of rattlesnake hide will know he got the power... Why are snakes "bad"[meaning good?]snakes are mean because they strike without warning. Their venom needs powerful antidotes to avert death. And speaking of power, these snakes skins probably also give the singer mojo because of their cultural [if not religious] symbolism. Snakes have long been of heavy duty spiritual importance and symbolism. In traditional Africa and elsewhere snakes have been symbols of wisdom and seeing a small snake in the house may mean that an ancestor or positive spirit is visiting that person. Do a google search on the symbolism of snakes; snake worship; Papa Loa; voodoo; Orisha vodu; Yoruba Religion, Nigeria & Benin West Africa. Back to that song, I think that the lines "There's a little bitty chimney built up on top, Made out of a human skull." are made in the in the self-boasting tradition of African Diaspora songs [I'm so bad I ahow off what I do, even to putting the human skull on the top of my chimney". This may show that he has the power to deal death [cause death]. And it may also mean that he is mocking death [see the next lines "I got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind, I'm just 22 and I don't mind dyin'". Note that this "I aint afraid of dying" meme is throughout hip-hop compositions. As to the line "Who do you love?" it almost strikes me as saying "given all I said, how could you not love me?". I can't remember what Blues song has this title/line, but it reminds me of "Take a Whiff of me now". These are only guesses. And they may or may not be what was going on in the song composers head. But I'm thinking that some folks listening to that song may have 'gotten' these not so very coded messages from those lines. **** Btw, since I believe that the voodoo/human sacrifice connection is a Hollywood creation, I don't think that song's line about the human skull has any voodoo reference. -Azizi |
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19 Jul 06 - 01:01 AM (#1786930) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Gypsy Cool. I love having my opinion validated. Husband type had never really listened to the words until recently, when he did, the discussion started. I was looking at the paradigm of the times the Bo Diddley lived in, and that was my take. I would NOT have wanted to be a blues player in the time he started......could NOT have been easy. Needed a lot of bluff and bluster just to survive, no doubt. Thanks all...........i've been gone for a while, now i am back. |
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19 Jul 06 - 02:31 AM (#1787002) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Azizi Announcement-Much of this post is very much off topic [in a manner of speaking] ;o) Hello Gypsy! You wrote: "I would NOT have wanted to be a blues player in the time he started......could NOT have been easy. Needed a lot of bluff and bluster just to survive, no doubt." -snip- Well, that braggadocio that you called "bluff and bluster" is still going on with rap music and dub reggae and other forms of contemporary music/ But then again it's still true that people making that music need a lot of bluff & bluster to survive. But on the other hand, alot of middle class artists make up an "I'm tough from the hood [or from the 'yard' in the case of reggae] image and rapped about that even though 'keepin it real' is [supposed to be] a key credo in music from the hood [or yard or street or Black folk who aint got no bling bling yet but wanna get it]. Why are people faking toughness? Because havin physical-and verbal skills are valued in those communities...For examples of the African Diaspora's admiration for verbal skills think about the African griots, and kaiso & calypsonians and Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf, and-well you can think of some more examples from music-but outside of music there's Muhammad Ali {float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" and Attorney Johnny Cochran and Reverend Mrin Luther King Jr, And Rev Jesse Jackson, and Rev. Al Sharpton, and Senator Barack Obama...and the list goes on. Skills with words as evidenced by using words to promote oneself and diss others found in many contemporary African American children's foot stomping cheers* Check out these two examples of foot stomping cheers: CHECK IT OUT All Check us out Aunt Zizi Check us out Aunt Zizi Soloist #1 My name is Dee Dee And I'm a star You mess me up I'll kick you far Group Ooh, she/he thinks she/he bad Soloist #1 Correction honey I KNOW I'm bad Group Ooh she/he thinks she hard Soloist #1 Chile, Please! Sources: my nieces Yammeshya & Sadiqia Powell [now 13 and 12 years; they said they learned this when they when they were 10 & 8 years old; collected 2005 -snip- ROCK THE BOAT Rock the boat, Rock, rock the boat Rock the boat, Rock, rock the boat My name is Yasmin (rock the boat) I know I'm fine (rock the boat) Just like my sign (rock the boat) My sign is Leo I go bang-bang choo choo train Wind me up and I do my thing Reeses pieces butter cup Don't mess with me, cause I'll mess you up, Rock the boat, rock rock the boat.... Source: Yasmin Hernadez, www.cocojams.com ; 2004 Jasmin wrote that she learned this when she was a teen in the late 1980s living in a Puerto Rican/Black neighborhood of New York City. And there are many more examples of bragging confrontational children's rhymes... *foot stomps are memorized chants that are 'recited' with in-your face attitude by a two or more {usually 7-13 year old} girls using a variant call & response pattern while executing synchronized syncopated like bass sounding foot stomps, hand claps [clapping your own hands], and chest and thigh body pats. The body pattin is testimony to the fact thatjuba patting is still alive. For those who have seen Black Greek letter fraternities or sororities step [in step shows], doing foot stomping cheers are very similar if not the same to the stomping the foot to the beat that these step teams do. Imo, step teams are one of the main sources of this little noted [by adults and by the print or visual media] performance art and oral tradition. |
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19 Jul 06 - 02:36 AM (#1787005) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Azizi Sorry for that formatting. That second chant is supposed to also be divided into the voices of group then speaker. I've noticed in foot stomping cheers that the group voice always starts out the cheers and they usually end with the soloist voice. The cheers are repeated from the beginning-sometimes with minor stock lines substitued by the soloist-sometimes not-until every member of the group has had their chance as the soloist. |
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19 Jul 06 - 02:37 AM (#1787006) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Azizi Gypsy, I meant to say I'm glad to meet you and I'm glad you came back! Positive vibrations, Azizi |
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19 Jul 06 - 06:43 AM (#1787134) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: GUEST,harpgirl Ellas McDaniels (Bo Diddley) lives in Gainesville, Florida. He still encourages musicians like my friends the Folklorries to go for their own sound, fearlessly. |
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25 Jul 06 - 12:58 AM (#1792352) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley) From: Gypsy Harpgirl, since when are you a guest? You've been around here longer than i have LOL! Lucky friends to get encouragement from such a master. Azizi, it is good to meet you. Thanks for the fascinating info, it has been a LONG time since i've been in a schoolyard, and have no childer of my own. Interesting signs of the times. I grew up in military towns, which gives a very different paradigm to growing up. |