Black Betty

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"Black Betty"
Language English
Form work song, marching song, jody call
Original artist Iron Head
Recorded by Iron Head, Lead Belly, Ram Jam, Ministry_(band), Spiderbait
Performed by 10,000 Maniacs

"Black Betty" (Roud 11668) is a 20th century African-American work song often credited to Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter as the author, though the earliest recordings are not by him. Some sources claim it is one of Lead Belly's many adaptations of earlier folk material;[1] in this case an 18th century marching cadence about a flint-lock rifle.

Contents

[edit] Early recordings

The song was first recorded in the field by U.S. musicologists John and Alan Lomax in 1933, performed a cappella by the convict James Baker (also known as Iron Head) and a group at Central State Farm, Sugar Land, Texas.[2]

The Lomaxes were recording for the Library of Congress and later field recordings in 1934, 1936 and 1939 also include versions of "Black Betty". It was recorded commercially in New York in 1939 for the Musicraft label by blues artist Lead Belly, as part of a medley with two other work songs: "Looky Looky Yonder" and "Yellow Woman's Doorbells".[3] Lead Belly had a long association with the Lomaxes, and had himself served time in State prison farms.

[edit] Post-1939

While Leadbelly's 1939 recording was also performed a cappella, most subsequent versions added a guitar accompaniment. These include folk-style recordings in 1964 by Odetta (as a medley with "Looky Yonder"), Dave "Snaker" Ray,[4] Harry Belafonte,[5] and Alan Lomax himself.[6] In 1976 a Cincinnati band, Starstruck, recorded a rock version of the song on the Truckstar label which had little success.

In 1977, the rock band Ram Jam — whose members included Bill Bartlett, formerly of Starstruck and The Lemon Pipers — rerecorded the song with producers Jerry Kasenatz and Jeff Katz under Epic Records. The song became an instant hit with listeners, as it reached number 18 on the singles charts in the United States and the top ten in Australia. At the same time, the lyrics became the cause of a boycott by civil rights groups NAACP and Congress of Racial Equality, who claimed it insulted black women.

1990 Dance remixes of Ram Jam's version made the top twenty of the US dance charts and top thirty in Australia. Other notable artists such as Nick Cave (1986) and Tom Jones (2002) have covered the song. Australian band Spiderbait released a version which reached #1 on the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia May 2004 and stayed there for three weeks. This version was later accredited double platinum in Australia and was the third-best-selling single in Australia in 2004.

In 1992 notable remixer Hank Shocklee of The Bomb Squad used a riff from the Ram Jam single as a sample for a remix of Live's "Pain Lies on the Riverside". It was not until 1997 that the remix became commercially available.

In 2006 the University of New Hampshire administration controversially banned the playing of Ram Jam's "Black Betty" at UNH Hockey games. UNH Athletic Director Marty Scarano explained the reason for the decision: "UNH is not going to stand for something that insults any segment of society"[7]

[edit] Meaning

The origin and meaning of the lyrics are subject to debate. Some sources claim the song is derived from an 18th century marching cadence about a flint-lock musket with a black painted stock; the "bam-ba-lam" lyric referring to the sound of the gunfire. Soldiers in the field were said to be "hugging Black Betty". In this interpretation, the rifle was superseded by its "child", a rifle with an unpainted walnut stock known as a "Brown Bess".[8]

Other sources[who?] claim the term was a contemporary reference for a prostitute, a prison bullwhip, or the "paddywagon".

David Hackett Fischer, in his book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (Oxford University Press, 1989), states that "Black Betty" was a common term for a bottle of whiskey in the borderlands of northern England/southern Scotland, and later in the backcountry areas of the eastern United States.

In Lead Belly's version of the song, Black Betty is characterized as a woman with a child:

Woah, Black Betty
bam-ba-lam
Woah, Black Betty
bam-ba-lam

Black Betty had a child
bam-ba-lam
Black Betty had a child
bam-ba-lam

Damn thing gone wild
bam-ba-lam
Damn thing gone wild
bam-ba-lam

In an interview (see The Land Where the Blues Began, 1st Edition, Alan Lomax, Pantheon Books, 1993) conducted by Alan Lomax with a former prisoner of the Texas penal farm named Doc Reese (aka "Big Head"), Reese stated that the term "Black Betty" was used by prisoners to refer to the "Black Maria" -- the penetentiary transfer wagon. Below is a song in which the term "Black Betty", used to refer to the wagon, appears in the context of a prison work song.[citation needed]

Black Betty's in the bottom,
I can hear her roar,
She's bringing some po sucker,
With an achin soul.

She'll bring you here and leave you,
Let your hammer ring,
For a hundred summers,
Let your hammer ring.

 (and now we hear the most familiar part of the song)

Black Betty's got a baby,
Let your hammer ring,
Damn thing's gone crazy,
Let your hammer ring,
Dipped its head in gravy,
Let your hammer ring.

[citation needed]

 This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (April 2008)

In this interpretation, Black Betty's baby may be the prisoner himself, who has by his own admission "gone crazy" -- seeing as it was "Black Betty" who delivered the prisoners into the prison world ("She's bringing some po' sucker"). In the lyrics above, the phrase "Let your hammer ring" is used repeatedly. In this case, the "hammer" refers to the hoes used by prisoners to break up the ground in the cotton fields. The song itself was used to keep a steady rhythm among the workers as they toiled in the field. It had the added benefit of helping the time go by faster through collective participation.

Many early blues and proto-blues songs follow a theme that the wickedness of man (Adam) is the result of a woman (Eve). A number of early artists sang of how they got mixed up with a woman and ended up in prison as a result; in this context, the personification of the prison wagon as a woman makes sense.

[edit] In the media

[edit] Movies

[edit] Television

[edit] Advertising

  • Was used on a Toyota ad in Australia in 2005 promoting the new Hilux.

[edit] Games

[edit] Books

[edit] Sports theme

  • New Japan professional wrestler Togi Makabe uses the Ram Jam version as his entrance music, as does Ring of Honor professional wrestler Adam Pearce.
  • Boston Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin uses the song when he comes out of the bullpen at home games.
  • Texas Rangers' second baseman Ian Kinsler uses this song as his intro music when he comes up to bat.
  • During his NHL career, Cam Neely reportedly would listen to this song once before every game as part of a supersitious ritual.
  • Chicago White Sox' first baseman-outfielder Darin Erstad uses this song as his intro music when he comes up to bat.
  • The New York Yankees commonly play this song during their home games in Yankee Stadium most often during key rallies.
  • ABN Amro used the name Black Betty for their main boat which won the Volvo Ocean Race 05/06.
  • The Kansas City Chiefs play "Black Betty" before every kick at home games at Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex.
  • The New Zealand A1 GP Team use a modified version of "Black Betty" sung as "Black Beauty" as the new theme song for their "Black Beauty" race car
  • The Carolina Hurricanes use the song to pump up the crowd, usually before a big face-off

[edit] Selected list of recorded versions

[edit] Fleetwood Mac take-off

On Fleetwood Mac's 2003 album Say You Will, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham reworked the chorus of "Black Betty" for his song "Murrow Turning Over In His Grave," a scathing attack on the contemporary news media. For the "Black Betty had a child" line, Buckingham substituted the name of respected 20th Century reporter Ed Murrow.

[edit] Misattributions

Sometimes this song (particularly the Ram Jam version) is misattributed to other '70s rock acts: Golden Earring, ZZ Top, Nazareth or Lynyrd Skynyrd; but none of these bands have ever recorded a version of this song.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Black Betty at the All Music Guide

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Life and Legend of Leadbelly by Charles Wolf and Kip Lornell, Published by Harper Collins, NY, 1992
  2. ^ allmusic ((( Deep River of Song: Big Brazos > Overview )))
  3. ^ Document Records Vintage Blues and Jazz
  4. ^ With "Spider" John Koerner and Tony "Little Sun" Glover on Lots More Blues, Rags, and Hollers (Elektra - EKL 267)
  5. ^ Harry Belafonte - Ballads, Blues and Boasters - LSP2953
  6. ^ allmusic ( Texas Folk Songs > Overview )
  7. ^ Melamed, Kristen. This "Betty" won't play anymore (web reprint). Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
  8. ^ The Brown Bess. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  9. ^ Shanty Tramp (1967)
Preceded by
"My Band" by D12		 ARIA (Australia) number one single (Spiderbait version)
May 23, 2004 - June 6, 2004		 Succeeded by
"F.U.R.B. (Fuck You Right Back)" by Frankee