Talkin' An' Signifyin'

(album: Swing Dat Hammer - 1960)

Man it's sure hot in here tonight
Yeah, must be a hundred and twenty degrees in the shade
'Course you all don't have to stay in the shade you know
He Dallas, you know what the cook having for dinner?
He having a thousand things for dinner
Every day other beans. Beans well done, beans smothered in beans, beans medium rare and one other thing beans
Don't leave them out. You got to put some beans in there
You know when I was a kid, I used to out into the pasture late at night
Kicked the old cow and made her get up, so I could lay down on the warm grass where she'd been
Then I just lay there and wait for the 10.20 train to go by
And watch all them fine folks sitting upon that train, everybody going somewhere
Maybe somebody waiting at the end o' line to say howdy
I tell you right then and there I said to myself, someday I'm gonna have me a ride on a train, and when I get where I'm going there'll be somebody waiting there for me too
Well I got me a train ride alright, one way right in here, with a whole bunch of unfitting' people to be with. And when I got to the gate, there's somebody waitin'; old capt'n
And he didn't have the decency to say hello
Well I didn't intend to stay this long you know, but I wanna ain't gonna leave here 'til he says hello
He Billy Blue, you know how to cook opossum?
Don't everybody?
Not like my old lady
Man when my old lady cook opossum
The first day she digging in a bottle of scorn squeezings and juice it up a little while
The next day she put in a bottle of bourbon and juice that up a little while
Then she put in a bottle o' dandy lion wine and juice that up a little bit
Then the 'possum man sure was ,some good gravy
Oh Dowbally, what you figure your old lady's doing in Memphis tonight?
Man one day I'm gonna put my footprint on top o' your head, I told you I don't play that
He look here you naked ape tell 'em I was only asking
Yeah I sure got hard luck being in here
Don't knock it man. If I didn't have hard luck I wouldn't have no luck at all
'Course it's true
Look at that new prisoner over there, he sure look lonely don' he?
That sure is a waste of time
Hey new prisoner don't look so lonely man
You just climb up in your bunk, you'll have more friends then you know what to do with and you be so busy scratching, you don't have time to get lonesome
Anybody ever figured a way to get out o' here?
Nobody would ever make it
I figured a way to get out o' here once
I figured the only way to get out o' here was to make friends with old Rattler
The lead hound?
Yeah that's him
So every morning for six months I sneaked out and gave old Rattler all my breakfast scraps
Six months, then I made my getaway
But man showing up, they turned old Rattler, and showing off he treat me and showing off to capt'n brought me right back in here
Why you reckon old Rattler would have done that to you?
That dirty lousy old flea bitten, he got so used to them scraps, I guess he didn't wanna let 'em go
That's old Rattler. Sshh, there goes a guard
Man just listen to that rain
This is the only bunkhouse it rains inside and leaks outside