#Caravan palace black betty lyric manual#

I donвЂ™t think it has anything to do with a rifle or liquor. Furthermore, it charted impressively in several other countries, including Canada. It made it to 7th position in Britain (UK Singles Chart). It peaked at the 18th position on AmericaвЂ™s Hot 100. It appeared on their self-titled debut album.ДЄnd as aforementioned it was a hit. Ram Jam released their hit version in 1977 via Epic Records. The producer of Ram JamвЂ™s version of вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ is Kasenetz Katz.

The credited writers of this song are Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter, 1888-1949) and вЂњTraditionalвЂќ.В ThatвЂ™s another way of saying that while Lead Belly is one of the first-known artists to record this tune, it actually predates him to the degree that its exact point of origin cannot be ascertained. So this is a unique case where a White rock band has taken what is considered to be a vintage African-American tune and was actually able to transform it into a modern hit.В And taking into account that the titular term dates all the way back to at least 1736, its meaning has changed throughout the generations.В Indeed before closing it should be noted that even in the 1930s, some people also considered this song to be about a woman.В And that is the way Ram Jam apparently interpreted it when they decided to drop their own rendition of вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ. So conclusively,В it has been agreedВ that in Ram JamвЂ™s case at least вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ is indeed a woman.В But for all we know maybe the reason they decided to record the tune was simply because they could cover it well, considering that at the end of the day it proved to be their only hit. But that being said, the aforementioned phrase can also be applied to an object like a whip. So the lyrics have remained the same.В For instance, when it is said вЂњBlack Betty had a childвЂќ, maybe going way back this would have been a reference to a musket ball.В But by the time Ram Jam got their hands on it, it could literally be referring to a child which was conceived via an intimate relationship with a Black lady.ДЄlso all lyrics considered, вЂњbam-ba-lamвЂќ in their case could be referencing something like bedroom fun or the fact that Black Betty вЂњmakesвЂќ the narrator вЂњsingвЂќ, meaning that he is smitten by her to the point where he canвЂ™t hold it in.В Indeed he states that she is вЂњshaking that thingвЂќ, which is a term that even we in the contemporary world recognize as being a reference to a womanвЂ™s body. Now given this background, itвЂ™s only logical that Ram Jam (an all-White rock band) would beВ accused of racismВ in dropping this song.В However, it is also feasible that they themselves did not know the particulars of what вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ meant in the past.В Indeed it has been suggested that in their version, they are actually singing about a romantic relationship with a Black woman.

#Caravan palace black betty lyric manual#

Now the first known recording of this song, circa 1933, is attributed to an artist by the name of James вЂњIron HeadвЂќ Baker.В And a researcher who interviewed Iron Head stated that вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ is rather a whip which prison officials used to punish prisoners.В These prisoners, many of whom would have been Black Americans, were indeed forced into slave-like manual labor.В Moreover it should be noted that Iron Head was actually such an inmate himself when he recorded вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ.В So whereas Black BettyВ may have been a popular term for liquor or a gun predating the 20 thВ century, by the time the 1930s came around, it had acquired a different meaning. A Song sung by African American SlavesД«ut with that being said вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ, as in the song Ram Jam is covering, is recognized as an African-American labor chant.В In other words, oppressed African-Americans (who were oft employed in physically-taxing, monotonous work) used to sing certain songs, such as вЂњBlack BettyвЂќ, to add rhythm to the work and thus complete said labors more efficiently.В And it was very unlikely that they were singing in reference to a musket, though it is more feasible that they can be celebrating inebriation. an old-timey gun with black paint.В And in that regard, the phrase вЂњbam-ba-lamвЂќ, as recited in the lyrics, is said to be intended to imitate the sound of gunfire. Now going back to the British, it is also said that вЂBlack BettyвЂ™ was a nickname for a certain type of musket, i.e.

And accordingly, it seems that вЂњblack BettyвЂќ was synonymous with a bottle of whiskey in particular dating as far back as 17 thВ century London. For instance, in researching the history of the term, it has been noted that none other than American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin himself used the expression back in 1736, some 250 years before Ram Jam dropped this song.В And in that case he was apparently referring to, succinctly put, liquor.