Remembrance Of Charlie Patton - Bukka White

Always wanted to be like old Charlie Patton

Long ago when I was a kid, I hear him an

Play those numbers about:

'i'll hitch up my buggy and saddle my black mare'

An I used to pick cotton an come around

In Clarksdale after them cafes, eatin' cheese

An cracker

None of the other boys they didn’t have an idea

What I was thinkin'

I say, I wants to come to be a great man like

Charlie Patton, but I didn’t want to get killed

He did, the way he got killed, the way he had to go

I’ve always realized I knew I had to die but I didn’t

Want one of those ol' sand-foot woman, womens to

Come up and cut my throat or do somethin' to me

That was unnecessary

And so goes on down and got me old piece a-guitar

And I always wanted to play about

'Hitch up my buggy, saddle up my black mare'

'i wanna find my baby in this great big world, somewhere.

'

And I got chance before he was passed

So, he wasn’t even thinkin' about passing

And I shaked his hand once, his brother in Clarksdale

Have a brother that work at The Compress

And I said, if I ever lived to get half way grown

Or grown, I would wanna be just like Charlie Patton was

An after I heard about his death

After I got might near grown

I would have liked at that time

To met the one that caused

Him to have that dead.

'Cause he was a great boy

And ah, he used to play-a, a number by

'Old blue jumped the rabbit and they runnin' one sold mile'

'When the rabbit fell dead, he cried just like a child'

And you know I felt so good over that I quit eatin' rabbit

'Cause them rabbit you know do holler when the dog

Catch up to 'em.

He could bit in a newborn baby

And they was screamin' and cry’nin'

And ah, after I hear, Charlie Patton went on

An play that number, I 'cide I just stop eat rabbit

If had my dog catch 'em and I take away from 'em

And so as I went on to say, you know Clarksdale

Is a little old small town that-a-way

A lot of good boys been in there

But in traveling through them little small town

Like that, a good thing I found a good man can do

Is take it easy and take his time and don’t fool with

Things that you don’t have.

Ah, that’s not worthwhile

You don’t have time even, to fool around with

Just take life easy

'Cause ev’rything shine like gold

And gold you know, they’s a lot of brass

You know, shine like gold

And so Charlie Patton used to sing that song about

'Hitch up my buggy and saddle up my black mare'

And I hear, would just knock me off my feet

I was bare-feeted, little bare-feeted boy, too

And I like it so well after I growed up, the first

Record I put out when I was comin' up about

'Downtown women sickin' them dogs on me'

I was one that kind-a compare with it

Ah, I think I made a pretty good hit on that!

But now, I done forgot I don’t play it so much

But at that time he was goin' so good, you know?

And ah, if he’s got any friends or relative

His mother or father wherever might be

To hear me sayin' that I just wanna let 'em know

That:

'Old remember, never do be forgotten'

Things that then went on, you know

So, I gratulates to it

To all his friends, his cousins, to ev’rything

I tried to be the second behind old Big Charlie Patton

He really did

And to tell you the truth

The first drank of whiskey that I ever dranken

Charlie Patton give me a little in a spoon

He said, 'You're too young to drink too much whiskey'

But I’m 'onna give you enough to know what it’s about

And I still think about that

I wish I’d aks him to gimme the spoon

And so, while we’re here

I rather thinkin' of old time thing like that

We’ve got to take thing 'un of consideration

You know thing like that

Suppose to bring a man mind back

If you’re goin' too fast

You’re suppose to take a consideration

An settle down, and think about

'Cause that’s your best you can hardly get over

I just wish the day I could shake Charlie Patton hand