Talkin' A Noose Too Far Blues
Lyrical Tease
Daddy, why’s a man gotta where a hood?
Let’s just say he’s up to no good
Daddy, why’s a man gotta ride at night?
He hates hisself so much, he’s trying to feel right
Daddy, why’s a man hanging from a tree?
Why that’s no man, that’s an angel set free
Credits:
Words & Music,
Performance,
Production: Rob Frail
Awards
Finalist, Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, 2006
Back Story
Sometime about 2005, I was watching the PBS show ‘American Experience,’ whose opening includes a video clip from the ’60s of some civil rights protesters being mowed down with fire hoses, probably in Alabama.
This brutal image started some wheels turning, and within an hour, I had a Chorus and a few Verses of a new song, based on a time when lynching was a regular occurrence. The musical setting is not a blues, but a blues-based shuffle, reminiscent of something by John Lee Hooker, or Muddy Waters.
Lyrics
(© 2009, You’d Be Surprised; All Rights Reserved)
We’s behind the barn, after the dance
Mabel & me was enjoying our chance
When a pickup pulled up from out of the black
All these white hoods sittin’ in the back
They said ‘yous get in, & make it quick’
With their shotguns aimed, my heart forgot to tick
Chorus 1
1 hood, 2 hood, 3 hood, 4
Leave my girl alone, what you need her for?
5 hood, 6 hood, 7 hood, 8
Quit your yakking, boy, your making us late
Verse 2
We were driven to the river to meet some folk
They were hangin’ in the breeze from a big old oak
Poor Mabel & me didn’t get the word
Some dumb fool stole Jackson’s bird
Such a lotta fuss for a silly ol’ hen
We used to mind their chill’un, I remember when
Chorus 2
1 hood, 2 hood, 3 hood, 4
Looks like I better sweep my killing floor
5 hood, 6 hood, 7 hood, 8
Seems my date with Lord won’t wait
Verse 3
You complain you’re work’in hard for a lousy check
Well, you don’t know trouble ’til a rope’s around your neck
But when they turned their backs at the thunder crack
I broke for the woods, and didn’t look back
I caught a glimpse of Mabel as I ran by
She had a noose for a necklace and a river in her eyes
Chorus 3
1 sheet 2 sheet 3 sheet 4
That’s a noose too far, I can’t take it anymore
5 sheet 6 sheet 7 sheet 8
Lord, what kinda animals did you create?
Bridge
Daddy, why’s a man gotta where a hood?
Let’s just say he’s up to no good
Daddy, why’s a man gotta ride at night?
He hates hisself so much, he’s trying to feel right
Daddy, why’s a man hanging from a tree?
Why that’s no man, that’s an angel set free
Verse 4
You’ve heard about the devil and the deep blue sea
That’s Sunday mornin’ biscuits, compared to me
Mabel in the tree, swinging in the tree
Oh dear Lordy, how I wished it was me
Daddy, don’t be sad, dry your tears
Mama forgives you, she whispered in my ears
Mama forgives you, she whispered in my ears
Chorus 4
1 hood, 2 hood, 3 hood, 4
The bible says to love your brother next door
5 hood, 6 hood, 7 hood, 8
How do you love your brother when there’s so much hate?
How do you love when there’s so much hate?
Dear Lord, how do you love when there’s so much hate?