James Iron Head Baker - Black Betty (1933)

"Black Betty" (Roud 11668) 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. Some sources claim it is one of Lead Belly's many adaptations of earlier folk material;[1] in this case an 18th century marching cadence about a flint-lock musket.
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.
The Lomaxes were recording for the Library of Congress and later field recordings in 1934, 1936 and 1939 also include versions of "Black Betty". It was recorded commercially in New York in 1939 for the Musicraft label by blues artist Lead Belly, as part of a medley with two other work songs: "Looky Looky Yonder" and "Yellow Woman's Doorbells".Lead Belly had a long association with the Lomaxes, and had himself served time in State prison farms.
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 musket with a black painted 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 In this interpretation, the musket was superseded by its "child", a musket with an unpainted walnut stock known as a "Brown Bess".
In "Caldwells's Illustrated Combination Centennial Atlas of Washington Co. Pennsylvania of 1876", there is a short section describing wedding ceremonies and marriage customs on page 12. Caldwell describes a wedding tradition where two young men from the bridegroom procession were challenged to run for a bottle of whiskey. This challenge was usually given when the bridegroom party was about a mile from the destination home where the ceremony was to be had. Upon securing prize, referred to as "Black Betty" the winner of the race would bring the bottle back to the bridegroom and his party. The whiskey was offered to the bridegroom first and then successively to each of the grooms friends.
The earliest meaning of "Black Betty" in the United States (from at least 1827) was a liquor bottle.In January 1736, Benjamin Franklin published The Drinker's Dictionary in the Pennsylvania Gazette offering 228 round-about phrases for being drunk. One of those phrases is "He's kiss'd black Betty."
David Hackett Fischer, in his book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (Oxford University Press, 1989), states that "Black Betty" was a common term for a bottle of whisky in the borderlands of northern England/southern Scotland, and later in the backcountry areas of the eastern United States.
In an interview 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 penitentiary transfer wagon.

Category:

Education

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• asperger
• duke618
• james
• iron
• head
• baker
• black
• betty
• alan
• lomax
• john
• ruby
• ram
• jam
• spiderbait
• leadbelly
• huddie
• leadbetter
• prison
• field
• recording
• sugarland
• farm
• library
• of
• congress
• blues
• folk
• rock
• roll
• 1933
• texas

[waspeer]

Man, where can I buy this?

[PositivFritid]

I can send you the MP3!!! Send a msg!!

[TheDSil]

Iron Head and Lead Belly: The greatest Metal band that never was.

[sgreen4]

I wonder what happened to Iron Head

[pravljicezaotroke]

@sgreen4 We can't be really sure. Documents say he made several dozen songs in different prisons. His life outside is not well documented... From the artistic point of view he surely achieved more when he was in jail.

[simzap1]

This is the best version I've heard.

[jessmrow]

I don't know if the building actually dated to antebellum plantation times but, it was that style and was large and had collunms as you described. I think it might have faced hwy 6. I remember a sign for jester unit nearby. If I find anything out I will let you know. Thanks for your reply.

[LoneTinaja]

@jessmrow I seem to recall a large 2 story

building that had columns on the front that

faced either US59 or TX6. If so, it may have

been the HQ of Imperial Sugar Company. I

don't recall an Antebellum plantation home

on Central Unit. I suggest contacting the

Fort Bend County historical museum,

Sugarland public library, & Texas Prison

Musuem. I would like to know what you

find.

[jessmrow]

@LoneTinaja did the central Prison property have a white antebellum plantation building with columns on it an the property? When I was a kid living in surgarland I had seen this building on a prison farm. Now I have been reading about Baker, Lead Belly and American Folk music I was wondering if that is the same property I had seen.

[LoneTinaja]

The State of Texas has sold the Central Prison

property to real estate developers, & they're tearing

down the building where Baker & the others were

housed when they weren't working in the crop fields.

I remember the prison from the '70s when I worked

at another prison farm in the region

[AntonioFDZ]

I forgot to add "in my opinion" !

[AntonioFDZ]

@juan13579run well.. it's not a bad version .. but i don't think Ram Jam knows what it feels like to be enslaved and-or imprisoned.. true emotions is what makes Iron head's version better(my English is not that good .. hope you know what i mean by "emotions")

[juan13579run]

ram jam version is better...

[BillyBughead]

About the guy posting about this recording not being up to the high standards of pop-radio (omg, I can't say that sentence out loud without breaking down and snickering): Don't feed the trolls.

lol and there are also noobs who hear the Spiderbait version and say it's racist for calling Betty "black" *rolls eyes* Yeah, I guess IronHead and LeadBelly are really klansmen in disguise...