| Always wanted to be like old Charlie Patton
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| Long ago when I was a kid, I hear him an
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| Play those numbers about:
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| 'i'll hitch up my buggy and saddle my black mare'
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| An I used to pick cotton an come around
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| In Clarksdale after them cafes, eatin' cheese
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| An cracker
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| None of the other boys they didn’t have an idea
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| What I was thinkin'
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| I say, I wants to come to be a great man like
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| Charlie Patton, but I didn’t want to get killed
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| He did, the way he got killed, the way he had to go
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| I’ve always realized I knew I had to die but I didn’t
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| Want one of those ol' sand-foot woman, womens to
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| Come up and cut my throat or do somethin' to me
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| That was unnecessary
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| And so goes on down and got me old piece a-guitar
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| And I always wanted to play about
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| 'Hitch up my buggy, saddle up my black mare'
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| 'i wanna find my baby in this great big world, somewhere. |
| '
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| And I got chance before he was passed
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| So, he wasn’t even thinkin' about passing
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| And I shaked his hand once, his brother in Clarksdale
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| Have a brother that work at The Compress
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| And I said, if I ever lived to get half way grown
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| Or grown, I would wanna be just like Charlie Patton was
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| An after I heard about his death
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| After I got might near grown
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| I would have liked at that time
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| To met the one that caused
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| Him to have that dead. |
| 'Cause he was a great boy
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| And ah, he used to play-a, a number by
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| 'Old blue jumped the rabbit and they runnin' one sold mile'
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| 'When the rabbit fell dead, he cried just like a child'
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| And you know I felt so good over that I quit eatin' rabbit
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| 'Cause them rabbit you know do holler when the dog
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| Catch up to 'em. |
| He could bit in a newborn baby
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| And they was screamin' and cry’nin'
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| And ah, after I hear, Charlie Patton went on
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| An play that number, I 'cide I just stop eat rabbit
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| If had my dog catch 'em and I take away from 'em
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| And so as I went on to say, you know Clarksdale
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| Is a little old small town that-a-way
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| A lot of good boys been in there
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| But in traveling through them little small town
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| Like that, a good thing I found a good man can do
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| Is take it easy and take his time and don’t fool with
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| Things that you don’t have. |
| Ah, that’s not worthwhile
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| You don’t have time even, to fool around with
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| Just take life easy
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| 'Cause ev’rything shine like gold
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| And gold you know, they’s a lot of brass
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| You know, shine like gold
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| And so Charlie Patton used to sing that song about
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| 'Hitch up my buggy and saddle up my black mare'
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| And I hear, would just knock me off my feet
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| I was bare-feeted, little bare-feeted boy, too
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| And I like it so well after I growed up, the first
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| Record I put out when I was comin' up about
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| 'Downtown women sickin' them dogs on me'
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| I was one that kind-a compare with it
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| Ah, I think I made a pretty good hit on that!
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| But now, I done forgot I don’t play it so much
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| But at that time he was goin' so good, you know?
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| And ah, if he’s got any friends or relative
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| His mother or father wherever might be
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| To hear me sayin' that I just wanna let 'em know
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| That:
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| 'Old remember, never do be forgotten'
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| Things that then went on, you know
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| So, I gratulates to it
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| To all his friends, his cousins, to ev’rything
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| I tried to be the second behind old Big Charlie Patton
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| He really did
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| And to tell you the truth
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| The first drank of whiskey that I ever dranken
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| Charlie Patton give me a little in a spoon
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| He said, 'You're too young to drink too much whiskey'
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| But I’m 'onna give you enough to know what it’s about
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| And I still think about that
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| I wish I’d aks him to gimme the spoon
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| And so, while we’re here
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| I rather thinkin' of old time thing like that
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| We’ve got to take thing 'un of consideration
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| You know thing like that
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| Suppose to bring a man mind back
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| If you’re goin' too fast
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| You’re suppose to take a consideration
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| An settle down, and think about
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| 'Cause that’s your best you can hardly get over
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| I just wish the day I could shake Charlie Patton hand |