So the lyrics have remained the same. For instance, when it is said “Black Betty had a child”, maybe going way back this would have been a reference to a musket ball. 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.Īlso all lyrics considered, “bam-ba-lam” in their case could be referencing something like bedroom fun or the fact that Black Betty “makes” the narrator “sing”, meaning that he is smitten by her to the point where he can’t hold it in. Indeed he states that she is “shaking that thing”, which is a term that even we in the contemporary world recognize as being a reference to a woman’s body. Now given this background, it’s only logical that Ram Jam (an all-White rock band) would be accused of racism in dropping this song. However, it is also feasible that they themselves did not know the particulars of what “Black Betty” meant in the past. 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 “Iron Head” Baker. And a researcher who interviewed Iron Head stated that “Black Betty” is rather a whip which prison officials used to punish prisoners. These prisoners, many of whom would have been Black Americans, were indeed forced into slave-like manual labor. Moreover it should be noted that Iron Head was actually such an inmate himself when he recorded “Black Betty”. So whereas Black Betty may have been a popular term for liquor or a gun predating the 20 th century, by the time the 1930s came around, it had acquired a different meaning. A Song sung by African American Slavesīut with that being said “Black Betty”, as in the song Ram Jam is covering, is recognized as an African-American labor chant. In other words, oppressed African-Americans (who were oft employed in physically-taxing, monotonous work) used to sing certain songs, such as “Black Betty”, to add rhythm to the work and thus complete said labors more efficiently. 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. And in that regard, the phrase “bam-ba-lam”, 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 ‘Black Betty’ was a nickname for a certain type of musket, i.e. And accordingly, it seems that “black Betty” was synonymous with a bottle of whiskey in particular dating as far back as 17 th century London. Whoa black betty bam a lam whoa black betty bam a lam black betty had a child bam a lam the damn thing gone wild ba.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. And in that case he was apparently referring to, succinctly put, liquor. Official music video for black betty by ram jam listen to ram jam. The ram jam version of the track with its chorus of whoa black betty bam a lam inspired puns in the 2010s wherein people would write whoa black betty then include an image of an object or text that sounded like bam a lam similar to the whoa were halfway there meme developed with bon jovi. Licensed to youtube by merlin idol distribution wmg the orchard music on behalf of le plan recordings. Woah black betty said ham or lamb got some really cheap thigh ham or lamb oh thats no lie ham or lamb got no beef betty.īlack betty used as an expression for a liquor bottle may ultimately owe its origin to the famous pretty black barmaid who worked at the notorious tom kings coffee house in covent garden london which opened in 1720.ĥ0 videos play all mix caravan palace black betty youtube.Ī dark skinned lady named betty goes to the butcher and asks for some beef. This is codfishs cover of ram jam black betty. Yes i am aware there have been previous black betty memes however i did not take inspiration from any of them nor did i use their exact same audio clip. Whoa black betty memes whoa black betty memes pam ballam memes betty memes ballam memes i dont give a memes. Other sources give the meaning of black betty in the united states from at least 1827 as a liquor bottle. Httpsramjamlnktobestofyd subscribe to ram jam on youtube.
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