Talk:Black Betty

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[edit] meaning

Okay so we have a well researched page with lots of history...Thought there is no mention at all of what the song is about? Came here yesterday to get a bit more background about the song, spiderbait can be a bit hard to understand, and there was nothing. Any one who knows what it's about care to update the page? Eps 0136 13, July 2006 (GMT)

[edit] Drugs

Does black betty have any drug connotations? Heroin, Hash, etc, something blackish?


This was the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about the meaning of the song and I've also heard several other people talk about the song assuming that it was referring to black tar heroine. I came here to check it out and thought it was strange there was no reference to drugs at all in the wiki article. Cutchins (talk) 23:44, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

It pre-dates black tar heroin by 30 or 40 years, at least . When the song was collected at Sugarland, heroin was white, and a brand name for di-acetyl morphine. Pustelnik (talk) 03:51, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Lynyrd Skynyrd

Wasn't 'black betty' also covered by Lynard Skynard?

Yeah I'm pretty sure it was covered by Lynard Skynard! Insaneassassin247 23:44, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Nope take that back...the version that is often labeled as Lynard Skynard is actually Ram Jam. Insaneassassin247 23:49, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Anon user added Lynyrd Skynyrd again to list. I'll remove it until a citation can be supplied. I did a quick web search and could not find it on a Skynyrd discography. --Design 11:21, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 10,000 Maniacs

I seem to remember them doing it as well, with strobe lights. Does anyone have a referrence? Pustelnik 20:33, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nazareth?

isn't it black betty by nazareth in the dukes of hazzard?

  • No, definitely not. Spiderbait is credited on the soundtrack. Justin Bacon 15:25, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
    • No Spiderbait is not correct either. The Dukes Of Hazzard Soundtrack uses the Ram Jam version. See[[1]]
I've removed Nazareth from the discography. I can't find any discography of theirs that lists the song. --Design 13:09, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Who wrote this song?

Is there an authoritative reference for Leadbelly writing this? The AMG reference says "Leadbelly/Traditional" which is not reflected in the article. The article says it is a work song which suggests it was trad. The fact that the earliest recording was not by Leadbelly also casts a little doubt on his writing it. I can't help feeling that its a trad song that Leadbelly perhaps modified. Nurg 06:53, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

The song started as a "marching cadence" by the pre-revolutionary English foot-soldiers. The "Blam-alam" refers to the two explosions you hear when firing a flint-lock black powder rifle. First, the powder ignition of the flint, and then the actual firing of the chamber. A "Black Betty" was a long rifle that was used in the early 1700's eventually replaced by the "Brown Bess". Black or brown, the names refer to the color of the wooden stock. Here is a quote...

"The fully functional Short Land Service Musket (New Pattern) used by the 64th Regiment of Foot replicates the firearm issued by the British Army as a result of the 1768 Clothing Warrant. This musket came to be affectionately called the "Brown Bess". While the exact origin of this nickname has become obscured over the years, one explanation states that the name came from the colour of the walnut stock. Prior to the "Brown Bess", stocks were painted black."

"Black Betty had a child"... the Brown Bess {uncredited} {unsigned}

... If you have a reference for your anon. comments above please put both in the main article. -- Design 09:39, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I found the source of the "Brown Bess" quote at http://www.cvco.org/sigs/reg64/bess.html [[2]] , but no info. yet about "Black Betty" being a marching cadence--Design 11:44, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I added some information about the possible origins of the term "Black Betty" being used as a reference to the "Black Maria" -- the paddy wagon used for prison transfers. In his book "The Land Where the Blues Began", Lomax has some verses mentioning "Black Betty" and her driver "Uncle Bud" that were sung by convicts working at the state prison farm in Sugarland, Texas. I will add these shortly. Also in his book, Lomax discusses how the Africans and their decendents picked up some songs from Irish workers as well as British colonists. He states further, however, that in most cases the lyrics and rhythm of the original songs were altered to fit a more African idiom.--Johnnydc 00:42, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Could someone clean-up my references a bit. I'm a bit confused on how to do them properly. I tried to put all the relevant info in a "ref" tag, but I don't know if I did it correctly. Thanks. Johnnydc 01:18, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Uncited sentence moved from main article

The term "black betty" has evolved into a derogatory phrase that degrades and is offensive towards black females.[citation needed] Not the kind of thing you want in an article uncited. Λυδαcιτγ 04:30, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] It's Lead Belly

Everybody: it's "Lead Belly", not "Leadbelly". See the discussion. -- Face 09:33, 29 October 2006 (UTC)