TEXT ANALYSIS: "BLACK BETTY" IN AFRICAN AMERICAN SONGS

"Text Analysis" is an ongoing Cocojams.com series that provides text analysis of selected playground rhymes, and other songs from oral traditions.

This page examines the use and the meanings of "Black Betty" in African American work songs and in other 19th century and early 20th century songs.

These examples and comments are posted for folkloric, educational, and entertainment purposes.

In addition to the lyrics of several songs that include the name or term "Black Betty", this page presents information and opinions about the meaning of "Black Betty". Hyperlinks are provided to the websites from which this material is quoted. Compiling information from those sites on one page such as this makes that material more accessible.

After reading this information, my conclusion is that in different songs, or sometimes in the same song "Black Betty" has been used as a referent for more than one thing. Also, as per the information on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Betty the phrase "Black Betty" has also been used as a colloquial expression for getting drunk. However, I don't believe that use of "Black Betty" is found in the 19th and 20th century songs that are featured on this page.

INTERNET AND OTHER SOURCES FOR THE LYRICS
The lyrics used for "Black Betty" by Ram Jam (and by other Rock groups) are found in one of the comments below. Those lyrics are readily available online. In contrast, most of the lyrics presented on this page, particularly the lyrics sung by James "Iron Head" Baker" are very difficult to find online.

The majority of the lyrics and other comments that are featured on this page are from http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm (Mudcat Discussion Forum). I was an active poster on that online forum from August 2004-December 2009 when I voluntarily decided not to post there any longer. However, as per my agreement with that website's founder, Max Spiegel, I can repost any guest comments and any comment from inactive members. Thank you, Max!

This page also includes postings from Mudcat members who are still active. If any person prefers that I not include his or her comments, please contact me at cocojams17@yahoo.com, and I will remove those comments.

My thanks to all those individuals from http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm/threads.cfm, http://www.youtube.com/ and p://answers.yahoo.com/ whose comments and video are reposted here.

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THE ORDER IN WHICH EXAMPLES ARE PRESENTED
I have chosen to present examples according to the date of the post that the example is found in, with the example from the oldest post presented first and so on. However, there is no date for the above example which was posted in the collection of songs that is called the Digital Tradition (DT). Because that examples is referenced in the earliest comment that I found about "Black Betty", I'm posted it as version #1 of Lead belly's version of that song. Note that examples that are attributed to a particular singer or group presented on this page as versions of each other.

The numbers given these examples do not necessarily have anything to do with which version is older than another.

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INTERNET SOURCES FOR VIDEOS
Selected videos of "Black Betty" are also embedded on this page. All videos embedded on Cocojams .com are from http://www.youtube.com/ . Videos are posted on this site for educational, entertainment, aesthetic, historical, and folkloric purposes. All rights to these videos remain with their respectful owners.

I sincerely thank all the video uploaders whose videos I have reposted on Cocojams.com. I also sincerely thank YouTube.com for helping to make these videos available to the general public. If an uploader of a video sends a request to cocojams17@yahoo.com for me to remove his or her video from Cocojams.com, I will do so. Please note that links to YouTube videos or to other online resources may not remain viable.

Please be aware that comments posted on YouTube viewer comments threads may not be suitable for children or otherwise may not meet the standards of Cocojams.com.

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Notice: Cocojams.com usually does not showcase songs or comments that contain any profanity. However, because of the folkloric importance of the featured songs, and because of it is considered a mild curse word. I am including lyrics on this page that include the word "damn".

DISCLAIMER:
This text analysis page doesn't purport to be a comprehensive documentation of the use of "Black Betty" in African American culture.

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As is always the case at Cocojams.com, your input regarding this subject is welcomed. Please email any comments and/or examples of work songs or Bluesthat include the name "Black Betty" to cocojams17@yahoo.com
-Ms. Azizi Powell, January 18, 2011

EXAMPLES
(Presented in chronological order according to the posting date of the comment.)

DOWN THE LINE
A flatweeding song from the prison work gangs sounds somewhat similar.

Well I believe I'll roll on down the line
Well I believe I'll roll on down the line
Well I believe I'll roll on down the line
It takes a number one driver down the line
(same structure as above for the rest)
Oh well Black Betty's in the bottom
Well my gal's in Huston
I'm calling on you lead row
I'm calling on you tail row
I believe I'll move on down the line
-Barry Finn; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8348 Buddy---down the line ; December 31, 1998

Editor:
Barry Finn was a beloved member of the Mudcat Discussion Forum. He was a singer of shanties (nautical work songs), and was a person who I considered to be an online friend. Barry unexpectedly passed in 2009. I very much believe that he would have approved of me reposting these comments of his on this site. RIP Barry.

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BLACK BETTY (Leadbelly, Version #1)
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bam-ba-lamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bamhalamb,
Black Betty had a baby,
Bambalamb,
Black Betty had a baby,
Bambalamb.

Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bam-ba-lamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bam-ba-lamb,
It de cap'n's baby,
Bam-ba-lamb,
It de cap'n's baby,
Bam-ba-lamb.
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bambalamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bambalamb,
But she didn' feed de baby,
Bambalamb,
But she didn' feed de baby,
Bambalamb.

Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bamhalamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bambalamb,
Black Betty, where'd you come from?
Bambalamb,
Black Betty, where'd you come from?
Bambalamb.

From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Lomax
Note: Black Betty was the whip used in some southern prisons.
@chaingang @work ; http://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=656

*****
BLACK BETTY (comment/fragment)
…Incidentally, that "Black Betty" is a reworking of an old prison song, "Black Betty" being the name of the transfer wagon that took prisoners to the pennitentiary. "Black Betty's in the bottom, let your hammer ring".
My reference...for Black Betty, "The Land Where Blues Began" by our own, beloved, Alan Lomax, Delta, 1993.
M. Ted; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=24624#283758 Worst pop song ever!; August 24, 2000

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BLACK BETTY (Leadbelly, Version #2)
I checked Black Betty in the Digital Tradition and it's not Leadbelly's version. My dad learned the song from Leadbelly himself many years ago, this is what I remember of it:
Hey Black Betty Bam da lam
Hey Black Betty Bam da lam
Black Betty had a baby, Bam da lam
Black Betty had a baby, Bam da lam
Dat thing gone crazy (x2)
Dat thing gone crazy Dat thing gone blind
Was the captain's baby Warn't none of mine
Hey Black Betty (x4)
- tradman; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2649#335171 RE: Lyric Req: Woah Back Buck, by Leadbelly; November 5, 2000

Here's a video of Lead belly singing a version of "Black Betty"

RagtimeDorianHenry | April 15, 2009

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HAMMER RING -Henry Scott and group Example #1
...[The song"Hammer Ring" is ] on Wake Up Dead Man: Black Convict Worksongs from Texas Prisons (Rounder CD 2013) [with sound clip].

HAMMER RING
(Henry Scott and group, crosscutting, Ellis, August 21, 1965)
I'm goin' down to the bottom*, let your hammer ring... (2x)
A-just to ring my hammer*...
I got a nine-pound hammer...
I'm gonna ring it in the bottom...
Well my partner's got worried...
I can't hear my partner's holler...
I'm gonna call a little louder...
I'm goin' down to the Braley [Brazos]*...
Oh just to cool my hammer...
Oh well I believe I call baby...
Oh well my baby's Evalina...
Oh Evalina I call you...
I got a letter from baby...
'Cause well my baby's Elnora...
'Cause well I believe I spied [the] rider*...
Oh well who was [the] rider...
Oh well he rode 'em on the Brazos...
Oh jack O Diamonds [was] a ruler...
A well he drove 'em on the Brazos...
A well butt-cut* crackin'*...
You better watch-a my timber...
'Cause there won't be no more jackin'*...
Why don't you bring me a drink a water...
Oh well a pull-do* can't hold 'em...
A he's a number one driver...
I don't believe he can hold 'em...
Why don't you drop 'em down together...
I'm gonna cool my hammer...
Oh well my partner's got worried...
Oh well he worried aout his baby...
I can't hear nobody holler...
Oh well drop 'em down together...
I'm gonna cross the big Brazos...
(shouted: Timber gettin' limber!)
Oh just to cool my hammer...
Oh Black Betty's* in the bottom...
Why don't you call a little louder...
Oh Evalina, Evalina...
(spoken: Jack, jack it off!* You're no goin' burn down... Rollin' it up here*... etc....)

Glossary
Black Betty: Wagon or truck used to take men from the county jails to the prison farms
bottom: fertile land neart one of the rivers
Brazos: river on whose banks all the "lower farms" (Ramsey, Retrieve, Harlem, Darrington) are located
butt-cut: the thickest cut on a felled tree
crackin': the noise a tree trunk makes as the tree is about to fall
hammer: axe
jack: pause in the working
pull-do: bad worker, clumsy worker
Rollin' it up here, boss: call telling the rider in charge of a squad that one is pausing to roll a cigarette
rider: guard on horseback
Bruce Jackson (editor of the CD) collected 7 versions of "Hammer Ring", and published them in his book Wake Up Dead Man: Afro-American Worksongs from Texas Prisons (Harvard University Press, 1972, pp. 193-201; two versions are with music).
-masato sakurai; Lyr Req: Hammer Ring (Let Your Hammer Ring) ; June 25, 2002

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Here is additional information that was posted on the same thread/same date by Barry Finn*
"Masato's version above is only one Jackson recorded of 19 from the Texas prison system alone. On the same collection (& on the same CD) note that the song "Timber Getting Limber" (sung by Joe "Chinaman") also recorded at Ellis farm (both, Texas 8/21/65 & both crosscutting) is yet another variation on the same. Lomax also has a version of "Hammer Ring" on his Deep River Collection (Big Brazos) sung by "Lightning" Washington from the Darrington farm (Texas 1934). Yet another version of this song (on the Arhoolie lable) by Harry Oster was recorded at Angola farm, Louisiana 1959. Oster claims this was used at Angola as a spike driving song until the dimise of the RR at the farm & then was used as a wood-chopping song (by wood chopping I take it to mean crossing cutting)."

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Here's a video of a version of Hammer Ring:

Jesse Bradley & Group - Hammer Ring

themickyman | May 12, 2010
A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings 'Negro Work Songs and Calls' [1930/1940]

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BLACK BETTY (Ram Jam lyrics)
The one that has always made me shudder is "Black Betty"
(about the whip) I remember the line "dipped in gravy" on an old Lomax recording we have.
I googled it, and found it cleaned up and released as a song about a woman. Thus:
Black Betty
By: Ram Jam
(Huddie Ledbetter)
1977

Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
Black Betty had a child (Bam-ba-Lam)
The damn thing gone wild (Bam-ba-Lam)
She said, "I'm worryin' outta mind" (Bam-ba-Lam)
The damn thing gone blind (Bam-ba-Lam)
I said Oh, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)

Oh, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
She really gets me high (Bam-ba-Lam)
You know that's no lie (Bam-ba-Lam)
She's so rock steady (Bam-ba-Lam)
And she's always ready (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)

Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
She's from Birmingham (Bam-ba-Lam)
Way down in Alabam' (Bam-ba-Lam)
Well, she's shakin' that thing (Bam-ba-Lam)
Boy, she makes me sing (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)
Whoa, Black Betty BAM-BA-LAM
-Mehitabel; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2864
Lyr Add: BLACK BETTY (from Huddie Ledbetter) ; November 5, 2003

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BLACK BETTY / HAMMER RING, Example #2 (with other comments & lyrics)
Who ever said Black Betty was a person?
Black Betty - see 'Wake Up Dead Man' Bruce Jackson, "Another name for Bud Russel's truck; more frequently used for the truck that takes inmates from one prision unit to another".
Black Betty - crossing cutting song (axe song)

"Chinaman's A-text (8/19650 sequence p. 193 'Hammer Ring' about Black Betty's crazy baby sired by Jack O Diamonds (prison unit guard in the 1940's, white reputed to have killed more black inmates than any other) illustrates the perceptual quirk: what a black man sings doesn't count, so he can sing things in peace which if spoken WOULD INFURIATES WHITES. Chinaman puns on Black Betty - it of course is the truck that carries people around the farms. but he makes it mean a woman also".

Oh Black a Betty, Black a Betty, let your hammer ring (2x)
Oh Black a Betty's in the bottom (rich fertial land), let your hammer ring
Oh Black a Betty got a baby, let your hammer ring
A-well he crazy like his daddy
Tell me who was his daddy.....
Oh if you don't you tell it....
A Jack O Diamonds was his daddy....
A-well a God told Norah....
I want you to build me a ark-a....

Anoher name for the truck Bud Russel drove [was] "Black Annie"

"Younder come Bud Russel, how in the world do you know?
I can tell bey his wagon & the chains he wore.
Big pistol on his shoulder big knife in his hand
He's coming to carry you bach to Sugarland
(I heard him tell the captain, I'm the transfer man)

Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me....

Down The Line (flatwedding song)

A well Black Betty's in the bottom, down the line (3x)
It takes a number one driver down the line

American Ballads & Folk Songs (John & Allen Lomax) p.60
"Black Betty is not another Frankie, nor yet a two-timming woman that a man can moan his blues about. She is the whip that was & is used in some Southern prisons. A convict on the Darrington State Farm in Texas, where, by the way, whipping has been practically discontinued, laughed at Black Betty & mimicked her in conversation in the following song.

Black Betty
"Oh, Lawd, Black Betty, Bam-ba-lamb (2x)
Black Betty had a baby, Bam-ba-lamb(2x)
It's the cap'n's baby, Bam-ba-lamb(2x)
But she didn't feed the baby......
Black Betty where'd you come from"

The Hammer Song (Hammer Ring)p. 61
"This work chant is to the same air as Black Betty"

I see this as a prison work song no more or less than a shanty
is a sea song used for work, for many reasons. Content not much different either & seems to me that they were sung for the same reasons. I see no offense in their origins. What I do see is a lot of reasons to leave well enough alone. If it ain't broke don't fix it, if it ain't disgusting don't dis it. At least check out the bloody, & I mean bloody sources & origins.

Now please sing the song like it was meant to be sung.
-Barry Finn; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=88788#1669034 ; Black Betty banned; February 15, 2006

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LOOKY, LOOKY YONDER / BLACK BETTY / YELLOW WOMAN'S DOORBELL
To the best of my ability, these are the lyric's to Leadbelly's 1939 a capella version of "Looky, Looky, Yonder/Black Betty/Yellow Woman's Doorbell" medley.

But I could use some help. First words in parentheses- ( ) - are there to clarify the true word from it's- sometimes very different- phonetic use in the song.

Second, words in brackets- [ ] - are those words I'm not sure are right. If anyone can fill in these blanks, that would be fantastic.

Also, if I screwed up the lyrics anywhere else, I'd love to hear about it.

Leadbelly is an amazing historical musical legend, and this song practically possessed me to put together the lyrics. But I've searched all over the web and this thread is the best (free) source I've found.

Please be kind to all copyrights, etc.

Looky looky yonder
Looky looky yonder
Looky looky yonder
Where the sun done gone.

The cap'in' [captain] can't hold 'em
Cap'in' can't hold 'em
Cap'in' can't hold 'em
The way I do.

Yes Addie gotta gold mine
Addie gotta gold mine
Addie gotta gold mine
Way above her knee.

Looky looky yonder
Looky looky yonder
Looky looky yonder
Where the sun done gone.

[I's just] walking
[I's just] walking
[I's just] walking
All day long.

[She's] been talking
[She's] been talking
[She's] been talking
Babe, all day long.

Looky looky yonder
Looky looky yonder
Looky looky yonder
Where the sun done gone.

Oh Black Betty, Bam da lam
Oh Black Betty, Bam da lam

Black Betty had a baby, Bam da lam
Black Betty had a baby, Bam da lam

Damn thing gone crazy, Bam da lam
Damn thing gone crazy, Bam da lam

Oh Black Betty, Bam da lam
Oh Black Betty, Bam da lam

Oh baby Black Betty, Bam da lam
Oh baby Black Betty, Bam da lam

Black Betty had a baby, Bam da lam
Black Betty had a baby, Bam da lam

Damn thing gone crazy, Bam da lam
Damn thing gone crazy, Bam da lam

Baby wasn't none of mine, Bam da lam
Baby wasn't none of mine, Bam da lam

Damn thing gone blind, Bam da lam
Damn thing gone blind, Bam da lam

Yeah Black Betty, Bam da lam
Whoa Black Betty, Bam da lam

Black Betty, Black Betty, Bam da lam
Black Betty, Black Betty, Bam da lam

Looky here, Black Betty, Bam da lam
Looky here, Black Betty, Bam da lam

Jump steady, Black Betty, Bam da lam
Jump steady, Black Betty, Bam da lam

Last Monday, baby I was arrested
[Lawd [Lord], lawd, lawd]

On Tuesday, I was locked up in jail
[Lawd, lawd, lawd]

On Wednesday, my child was attested
[Lawd, lawd]

On Thursday, [nobody's gonna call my bail,] here's some mo'

Almost done, here's some mo'
Almost done, here's some mo'
Almost done, [Lawd, lawd]

And I ain't gonna, ain't done, [ya'll don't gimme no bail]
[Lawd, lawd, lawd, lawd]

Last Monday, baby I went a'walking
[Lawd, lawd]

On Tuesday, I shot me a'dog
[Lawd, lawd, lawd]

On Wednesday, we was sittin' down a'talking
[Lawd, lawd]

On Thursday, she pawned all of my clothes
[Lawd, lawd, lawd]

-: Guest ;WAveryguest; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2649 Lyr Add: WHOA BACK BUCK (Leadbelly); May 29, 2006

Editor: Here's a response to this post from Jim Dixon (same thread, May 31, 2006)
I suspect it's "On Wednesday, my trial was attested."

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Here's a YouTube video of these songs along with that uploader's summary statement:

422. Black Betty Trilogy (Traditional American)

raymondcrooke | February 09, 2009
These three chain-gang songs - "Looky Looky Yonder", "Black Betty" and "Almost Done (Yellow Woman's Doorbells)" were recorded as an a capella trilogy by Lead Belly in 1939, though John and Alan Lomax were recording renditions of "Black Betty" by prisoners as early as 1933, for the Library of Congress, including one by a prisoner known as Iron Head (real name - James Baker).

The origins of the song "Black Betty" are lost in the mists of time, and a "black betty" has been variously interpreted as an 18th Century flint-lock rifle, a bottle of whiskey (originating in the border area of England and Scotland), a prostitute, a whip and a prison wagon. It was also the name with which members of the Ringwood Folk Club christened my old black guitar!

"Black Betty" was recorded in 1964 by Odetta, together with "Looky Looky Yonder", and by Harry Belafonte and Koerner, Ray and Glover in the same year. Since then the song has been given new life as a rock song. In 1976 it was recorded by Starstruck, a rock band, but did not take off until the following year, when it was recorded by Ram Jam, which included Bill Bartlett, one of the original Starstruck members. It became a big hit, but several Civil Rights groups organised boycotts of the song because they felt it was insulting to African American women.

Since then it has been recorded by Nick Cave (1986), Sheryl Crow, Tom Jones (2002) and Meat Loaf (2006). In 2004, the Australian band, Spiderbait, had a big hit with their cover of the song.

"Yellow Women's Doorbells", also known as "Almost Done", "On a Monday" and "Take These Stripes (From Around my Shoulder)", has been recorded by several folk groups and singers. Some notable recordings are by The Weavers, Ry Cooder and Johnny Cash.

A "yellow" girl was a common term for a prostitute, generally of mixed race. The gist of the set of songs seems to be that the cause of the prisoner's crime and consequent imprisonment was a woman (shades of Adam and Eve) and so, when he gets out of jail he is going to keep well away from women of this type.

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REFERENCES TO BUD RUSSEL IN SEVERAL SONGS
Uncle" Bud Russel was the "Transfer Man" for the Texas Prison System
for 40 yrs starting in 1912. He had already beem in the employ since 1908 as assistant transfer agent. The transfer wagon was called originally the Black Maria, "We call Uncle Bud's old wagon Black Betty". "Then one morning I heard chains rattling down the corridor of the jail & somebody hollered that Uncle Bud had come & Black Betty was waiting" (290-291, The Land Where the Blues Began-Allan Lomax), Black Betty would take you there but it wouldn't take you away. Bud Russel would travel around picking up the convicted prisoners from around the different counties & bring them to Huntsville (also called "The Walls") which I believe would've been the "new man house" from there the "cons" or "victs" would be eventually be transfered to other state prisons or farms. When Bruce Jackson was collecting in the mid to late 60's "Bud Russel's name was still used throughout the system: 'We'll, let's go go get Uncle Bud's cotton,' or 'Let's get some a Uncle Bud's cows' Whatever it might be, it's still uesed"(p. 290-291 Wake Up Dead Man-Bruce Jackson). Bruce Jackson says that Bud's wagon was also called Black Annie.

From "The Midnight Special"

"Younder come Bud Russel, how in the world do ya know
I can tell by the his wagon & the chains he wore
(or I know him by his big hat & his 44)
Big pistol on his shoulder, big knife in his hand
He come-in to carry you back to Sugarland

He walks into the jail house, with his cahins in his hand
I heard him tell the captain "I'm the transfer man"

"Go Down OLd Hannah"

Well I see Bud Russel, WELL, WELL, WELL
Little boy, with his ball & chain, WITH HIS BALL & CHAIN
Little boys he gonna take you BACK TO SUGERLAND

"Sure Make A Man Fell Bad"

"Wouldn't mind working, IT SURE MAKE A MAN FELL BAD
For Uncle Sam, IT SURE MAKE A MAN FELL BAD
Workin for Uncle Bud IT SURE MAKE A MAN FELL BAD
It ain't worth a damn, IT SURE MAKE A MAN FELL BAD."
-Barry Finn; Lyr Add: 'Uncle Bud' Obscene Southern US Song http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=78973 ; December 1, 2006

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BLACK BETTY (Leadbelly, Verrsion #3); With A Fragment of a Prison Work Song
Question:
Who is the original artist that played "Black Betty", ?

Answer:
…Black Betty" 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. 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. Lead Belly was associated with the Lomaxes. Some sources claim it is one of Lead Belly's many adaptations of earlier folk material; in this case an 18th century marching cadence about a flint-lock rifle.

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 rifle with a black head-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 known as a "Brown Bess".[2]

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

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

Damn thing gone crazy
bam-ba-lam
Damn thing gone crazy
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.

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.

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 the theme that all 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. As such, the characterization of the prison wagon as a woman is not unprecedented.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Betty *

-Marilyn B; http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080819152119AA5lTvO ; 2008

*Editor's Note: Although that Wikipedia link is still viable, those lyrics are no longer included on that page [1/17/2011]

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Comments about The song "Black Annie"
...There are Hobart Smith recordings of the banjo piece [Black Annnie] on Rounder's second volume of the Alan Lomax Southern Journey series, and a very different version on the Smithsonian/Folkways Hobart Smith CD, In Sacred Trust: The 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes.
Here are Stephen Wade's notes on the song from the Folkways CD:

32. BLACK ANNIE
Though Hobart credits his father for this instrumental, he admitted to the Old Town School students that he had “pepped it up a little more.” More recent banjo recordings of Dink Roberts and Joe and Odell Thompson, a fiddle and banjo team, reveal it to be an entire song. In both their versions, it tells of a woman named Black Annie getting shot to death. I asked Joe Thompson about the lyric, and he said of the song's narrator, "He shot the door and and hit her next. He just run into the wrong lady. Related songs, like the Thompsons' “Georgia Buck” and “Wish to Lord I'd Never Been Born" played by Irvin Cook and Leonard Bowles (also a Black fiddle and banjo duet), likewise include a verse about Black Annie. Stemming from a different musical tradition, James "Kokomo" Arnold's 1935 slide blues recording of "Black Annie" also conveys forboding and gun play.

Even without the benefit of a commercial recording to disseminate it, the tune has kept an essentially stable form, showing a melodic connection to “Old Reuben.” But the difference between Hobart’s approach to “Black Annie” and these other recordings reveals just how developed his intense, rapid-fire banjo style was.

Another usage of the name “Black Annie,” related to this piece perhaps only by my own sense of the song’s underlying mood, came from a visit I made to Mississippi’s Parchman prison in January 1997. While I drove around the 22,000-acre facility with a retired guard who had been born there, the elderly sergeant told me “when an in mate got out of line” they fetched “Black Annie,” a six-foot whip, five inches wide and attached to a wooden handle. The superintendent would sign a disciplinary slip, and the man would get ten lashes. “Back then,” the guard added, “they had no kind of disciplinary problems.”
Joe Offer; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=111266 Origin: Black Annie ; May 15, 2008

Editor:
Here's some information from http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3093
about that Folkways CD

"In Sacred Trust: The 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes
Hobart Smith SFW40141
On this album of never-before-released work, mountain music virtuoso Hobart Smith (1897-1965) plays banjo, fiddle, guitar, and piano in addition to singing, clog-dancing, and reminiscing. Taped by fellow banjo player Fleming Brown shortly before Smith died, he brings us back to a vanished era in these deeply personal recordings. 80-page book with historical photos, lyrics, and two tablatures. 36 tracks. 72 minutes. Produced and annotated by Stephen Wade.
Country(s) United States
Culture Group(s) American
Language(s) English
Year of Recording 2005
Record Label Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Source Archive Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Credits Produced by Stephen Wade ; Mastered by Pete Reiniger ; Design by Flood ; Liner Notes by Stephen Wade

-snip-

For the record (no pun intended) , Hobart Smith was Anglo-American. I've read elsewhere that many African Americans musicians and many Anglo-Americans musicians during the 18th and 19th century shared folk music repertoires. Furthermore, African Americans musicians would often play instruments for dancing at White Southerners' social events.

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Here's a YouTube video of an instrumental sound file of Hobart Smith's rendition of "Black Annie"

Intergalactiqe | June 15, 2010

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Also, here's a video of two musicians playing the instrumental tune "Black Annie" with 90 year old Joe Thompson

Joe Thompson at 90 doing "Black Annie"

blueridgehome | April 24, 2009
Joe (fiddle), Alan Julich (banjo) and Larry Vellani (guitar) practicing for their gig at Merlefest 2009, in Joe's backyard, Mebane, NC. April 23, 2009

**
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaoiePsfxP4&feature=related for a video of The Carolina Chocolate Drops performing "Black Annie" (instrumental only)

There is also a Blues rendition of "Black Annie" on YouTube by Kokomo Arnold which is different than these other renditions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P63W1BvEXKk

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BLACK BETTY (James "Iron Head" Baker's lyrics)
Editor's Note: I retrieved this transcription from a no longer available YouTube video. That video had this url:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwxxXt--PQo&feature=related
James Baker and gang - "Black Betty"

This video was uploated by blindboyblue on January 22, 2009

I tried to assess that video on 1/17/2011 and found that it was "removed by user". That which means that the lyrics which were transcribes were also removed. Luckily I reposted those lyrics on a Mudcat thread. I consider this fortunate because I am unable to find these lyrics online. While there are other videos of James "Iron Head" Baker singing this song (see below), none of those video summaries or viewer comments include the lyrics to this version of "Black Betty". I attempted to transcribe this song, but had too many lines that I couldn't understand. That said, I was glad to see that the lines that I did transcribe agreed with the following transcription.

Here is the summary statement from blindboyblue that was included with that video:

"This is the first known recording of this song. Done in 1933 by John Lomax at Central State Farm in Texas. Performed by James Baker and a gang of fellow convicts. Leadbelly recorded his version of this song, again for John Lomax about 3 years later. Taken from Library Of Congress lp.

What is Black Betty? After reading numerous books and scouring sleeve notes and booklets I can say there is no diffinative answer. Popular meanings are a prison transfer wagon, a bull whip (or guard carrying one), a woman, a whiskey bottle and a gun. A song recorded by Lomax "Let Your Hammer Ring" also refers to Black Betty. Being interviewed by Lomax about the song a prisoner stated it refered to the transfer wagon.

It is of course possible prisoners being interviewed wouldn't want to give away the meaning as being a guard or guard with whip for obvious reasons.

[Thanks to jamesdv54 for additional info].

Prison songs, spirituals and hollers could be used to convey messages to fellow workers and prisoners etc. Say about a revival meeting or whereabouts of guards and such. It's important to remember though the circumstance of the singers. Their workdays were long, hard, unfulfilling and often against their will. As such, for the most part, the songs served as a cadence to get the work done or a means to lift the spirit.

Here's the lyrics as we hear them:

Remember every sentence is followed by a "bam-a-lam"/"bam-ba-lam". The "x2" in brackets indicates the sentence is sung twice. The words in brackets indicate the change for the second repition.
Oh black betty, Bam-ba-lam (x2)
Black Betty where you come from (x2)
Well I come from.....?.*
Well I'm going to Texacana
Black betty what's your number (x2)
750 (x2)
Oh lord black betty
Oh lordy black betty (x2)
Black betty had a baby (x2)
and the damn thing crazy
ah, she dipped it's head in gravy (x2)
Oh lord black betty (x2)
Black betty where she (you) come from (x4)
Blackbetty where she come from
Black betty where you come from
Black betty where you come from
Oh lord (lordy) black betty
Oh lordy black betty
Now (oh) the baby had blue eyes
Oh the baby had blue eyes
Well it must have been the captains (x2)
Oh lordy black betty (x2)

-snip-

* The missing word might be "Alabama". That would fit the rhyme and also would be consistent with other versions of this song.

**
Here's another video of James "Iron Head" Baker singing "Black Betty"

PositivFritid | February 09, 2010

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WHOA BLACK BETTY sung by Rev Mose 'Clear Rock' Platt

RosieKeepinthepromis | April 21, 2009

"I got this recording from the Library of Congress call number AFC 1939/001 2643b2.
It's the infamous song Black Betty. This wikipedia article has some interesting info about this song http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Betty

This particular recording was done in 1939, Rev Mose 'Clear Rock' Platt is singing.
It was recorded in Texas (Taylor, Williamson County) by John and Ruby Lomax

The photograph is from the Library of Congress as well, call number LOT 7414-F, no. N11.

It has a handwritten note on the back"Moses Platt (Clear Rock) Sugarland, Tex. June 1934.", and the photographer is listed as John Lomax.

I am really interested in early recordings of this song. If you know of any recordings of Black Betty that were recorded 1939 or earler please let me know.

Also due to the quality of the recording I have some trouble making out the lyrics/conversation.

If you'd like to take a try at transcribing I'd love to see what you are hearing.

BlindBoyBlue has helped with some transcription (the whoa Black Betty isn't written because...well that's obvious):

Black Bettys in the bottom x2
just chewin' on the timber

Black Betty had a baby x2
well the thing went crazy
just drinkin' river water

Just jumpin' to a number x2

Just stewin' in the bottom
Just stewin' in the bottle

He then gets interupted and asked "who's this Black Betty?" to which he replies "Black Betty was an old n***** woman who...".

Can anyone else out there help make out that conversation at the end?"

-snip-

Interestingly enough, the only comment to date for that song is from blindboyblue 1 year ago (2010? or 2009?). This is probably the same person whose transciption of James "iron Head" Baker's lyrics are posted above. Here's the comment that blindboyblue wrote on this video's thread:

"This is just a treasure!! Thanks for sharing it. Interestingly he seems to say at the end Black Betty was a woman. Moreover she helped him cut a tree down! Black Betty appears to mean different things to different singers.

Reckon I pretty much know what he's singing. I'll send you what I'm hearing at some point."

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