Friday, June 25, 2010

It's time, once again . . .

. . . for another song analysis, this time to the tune of "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters (1955):

Ooooooh, yeah, ooh, yeah

Everythin', everythin', everythin's gonna be alright this mornin'
Ooh yeah, whoaw
Now when I was a young boy, at the age of five
My mother said I was, gonna be the greatest man alive

Now, that's really high hopes for a mother, right? What had he done at age five that was so great? I feel that's setting a kid up with some pretty big expectations, but Muddy did pretty much bring electric guitar to the masses, so . . .

But now I'm a man, way past 21
Want you to believe me baby,
I had lot's of fun
I'm a man
I spell mmm, aaa child, nnn
That represents man
No B, O child, Y
That mean mannish boy
I'm a man
I'm a full grown man
I'm a man
I'm a natural born lovers man
I'm a man
I'm a rollin' stone
I'm a man
I'm a hoochie coochie man


He really was the Hoochie Coochie man. It's a wonder Muddy and Charo never hooked up.


Sittin' on the outside, just me and my mate
You know I'm made to move you honey,
come up two hours late
Wasn't that a man
I spell mmm, aaa child, nnn
That represents man
No B, O child, Y
That mean mannish boy
I'm a man
I'm a full grown man
Man
I'm a natural born lovers man
Man
I'm a rollin' stone
Man-child
I'm a hoochie coochie man
The line I shoot will never miss
When I make love to a woman,
she can't resist
I think I go down,
to old Kansas Stew

I looked up Kansas Stew, and I have no idea what in the hell it means. Little help?

I'm gonna bring back my second cousin,
that little Johnny Concheroo


This is the lyric that got me wanting to do another analysis. It turns out Johnny Concheroo is a slang term for the root of a plant that is used in voodoo, enhancing sexual prowess, and as a laxative. Based on the contextual clues, I think old Muddy is using it to get some led in his pencil.

All you little girls,
sittin'out at that line
I can make love to you woman,
in five minutes time
Ain't that a man


Well, some would say that five minutes isn't too good. Sting is supposed to be able to go for hours, tantra-style, but maybe Muddy means that he's slayin' 'um one after the other as they're waiting in line ("sittin' out at that line"). In that case, five minutes at a crack is totally understandable.



I spell mmm, aaa child, nnn
That represents man
No B, O child, Y
That mean mannish boy
Man
I'm a full grown man
Man
I'm a natural born lovers man
Man
I'm a rollin' stone
I'm a man-child
I'm a hoochie coochie man
well, well, well, well
hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry
Don't hurt me, don't hurt me child
don't hurt me, don't hurt, don't hurt me child
well, well, well, well

Yeah


You get the idea. Hey, remember this song in Risky Business when a young Tom Cruise is walking the streets gathering up Johns to come to his parents' house where he was runnin' ho's out of there while his folks were out of town? Classic shit right there. Muddy would have been proud to have been associated with that scene. I think . . .

5 comments:

Heff said...

All I've got to say is : PROPS FOR POSTING A PICTURE OF CHARRO !

JerseySjov said...

you listen to a lot of man/child songs...

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater said...

Heff: Charo was hot back in the day. I only remember her when she was old-looiking for the last 30 years.

Jov: I think you're onto something . . .

Candy's daily Dandy said...

Hoochie Coochie Man?

That's hilarious.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater said...

Candy: Yeah, Old Muddy had a way with words and a way with young girls.