S.O.D. "Black Betty" by Ram Jam

9/22/2015     A whip, a prison wagon, a bottle of liquor and a musket.  These are the four main origins that this song may have came from.  Used in southern prisons, whipping was a common practice and the prisoners would sing of the bullwhip they named Black Betty. Also in the south, a penitentiary transfer wagon known as the Black Maria was nicknamed by the prisoners as black Betty.  In the mid-late 1800s it was tradition for two male members of a wedding party to race one another for a bottle of liquor for the groom and groomsmen that was known as Black Betty.  It also became a name for liquor throughout the borderlands of northern England and southern Scotland as well as the eastern United States back country.  

     Perhaps the most convincing meaning for the title is an 18th century flintlock musket with a black painted stock. The lyric "bam-ba-lam" would be the sound that the musket makes when fired and the blind wild child referring to the bullet as the muskets in those times did not shoot straight.  Many other lyrics fit this theory as well, including "she's from Birmingham", meaning Alabama which is where muskets in those days were manufactured.  

     Influential Musician/songwriter,  Huddie William Ledbetter 1888-1949, also known as Leadbelly is often credited with the song.  The first known recording however was done in the field by musicologists John and Alan Lomax at a state prison farm in Sugar Land, Texas and sang a cappella by a convict named James Baker.   The tune has made countless public media appearances and around 30 versions have been attempted with the most popular by Ram Jam, Tom Jones and Australian rock band Spiderbait.  Ram Jam is a hard rock band formed in New York City and were active from 1977–1978. They produced two albums.