Black Betty Song Meaning

Leadbellys version and all subsequent versions could mean just about anything but at the roots black betty is a musket.

Black betty song meaning. And in that case he was apparently referring to succinctly put liquor. A musket a bottle of whiskey a whip or a penitentiary transfer wagon. It is by ram jam and anyone who thinks that black oak arkansas did black betty will know who really sang the song by reading my comment and all of the rest. Historically the black betty of the title may refer to the nickname given to a number of objects.

The origin and meaning of the lyrics are subject to debate. Some sources claim black betty could have been used as early as the beginning of the 19th century to describe a musket or a liquor bottle and it is very plausible those could be. Ian from whitby england i remember reading the sleevenotes to a leadbelly album and black betty was a work song and the betty in question was the whip used to keep the workers in line. Song meaning black betty is a direct reference to the originals creator s love for the flinstones.

The source of the song is regularly contested as well as the original meaning of what a black betty could have been whether it be an object or a person. Bambam was her child and in the show was a rather wild boy as described in the song. Meaning of black betty 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.