black cat bone I believe my good gal have found my black cat bone I can leave Sunday mornin’ Monday mornin’ I’m tippin’ ’round home. —Blind Lemon Jefferson, “Broke And […]
Category: Barrelhouse Words
Barrelhouse Word: bird liver
bird liver I wanna give you folks a warnin’, I mean this mornin’, An’ I want you all to strictly understand: Now you can call me what you choose, but […]
Barrelhouse Word: break one’s neck
break one’s neck Way down South you oughta see the women Shimmy and shake Got a new way a-wiggle, make a weak man break his neck. —Blind Lemon Jefferson, “Southern […]
Barrelhouse Word: jellybean
jellybean Down on Franklin Avenue, jellybeans standin’ to an’ fro Well you hear one jellybean ask the other one: “Which a-way did my good girl go?” —”Hi” Henry Brown, “Nut […]
Barrelhouse Word: in one’s whiskey
in one’s whiskey When I’m in my whiskey, I don’t care what I say ‘Cause me and my whiskey, we going to have our way. —Barbecue Bob, “Me And My […]
Barrelhouse Word: butter and egg man
butter and egg man Why don’t you take me pretty mama, make something out of poor me? I’m just a butter and egg man, just as soft as I can […]
Barrelhouse Word: makin’ whoopee
On November 2, 2009, we will publish Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionary by Stephen Calt, which has been in the works since the late 1960s. Periodically, between now and […]