Three Songs About Joe The Grinder

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information "Joe The Grinder" and also showcases three examples of recorded songs about that African American folk character. The songs that are showcased in this post are Slim Harpo's "Jody Man", Johnny Taylor's "Jody Got Your Girl And Gone", and Bobby Newsome's "Jody, Come Back And Get Your Shoes".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

INFORMATION ABOUT JOE THE GRINDER
From http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/02/who-is-he-and-w.html
"wordorigins.org
The military use of jody was introduced to the U.S. Army by African-American soldiers. Jody is a clipping of the name of Joe the Grinder, a slightly older character in jazz and blues mythology.
Joe the Grinder is the name of mythical ladies man in blues tunes who seduces the wives and sweethearts of prisoners and soldiers. He’s also known as Joe De Grinder and Joe D. Grinder. The term dates to at least 1939. Grinder is from an old slang verb, to grind, meaning to copulate."
-snip-
Reading this excerpt reminds me of a slow couple’s dance called "The Grind". That dance was done by African Americans (and probably other people) in Atlantic City, New Jersey and I'm sure elsewhere from at least the 1960s. Couples grinded to slow songs, the male holding the female very close and "dancing" to the beat of the song while basically standing in place. My sisters and I and our girlfriends weren't allowed to "grind" because it was considered "nasty".

FEATURED SONG FILES, VIDEO, AND LYRICS
(These examples are presented in chronological order.)

Example #1: Slim Harpo - Jody Man



Uploaded by sugarmamaaa on Nov 14, 2011
Information about Slim Harpo is provided in the sound file from http://www.bluesharp.ca/legends/sharpo.html

LYRICS: JODY MAN
(Slim Harpo)

Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
Jody man.
You betta leave my baby alone.
You gonna find yourself wasted.
Leave my door.
You’s just keep steppin on.*

I can purry like a chicken.
And I can roar like a lion.
But when you mess with my baby
You know you ain’t on my time.

Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
You gonna find yourself wasted.
Leave my door.
You’s just keep steppin on.*

[Instrumental]

Well I can purr like a chicken.
And I can roar like a lion.
But when you mess with my baby
You know you ain’t on my time.

Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
You gonna find yourself wasted.
Leave my door.
You’s just keep steppin on.*

[Spoken]: Ah let’s play the blues a while
[instrumental]

-snip-
Slim Harpo is the stage name for James Moore (1924-1970). "Jody Man" was recorded in the mid 1960s.

This transcription is by Azizi Powell, 8/19/2012.
*I believe that the words "You's just keep" are slurred together, but I'm unsure about that. Corrections to this transcription and the actual date of the recorded are very welcome.

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Example #2: Johnnie Taylor - Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone (1972)



Uploaded by seezurefall on Oct 22, 2010
-snip-
This song was actually recorded in 1971. The video shown above was filmed in 1972 as part of the music documentary "Wattstax".

LYRICS: JODY'S GOT YOUR GIRL AND GONE
(Songwriters: James Wilson, Kent Barker, Don Davis)

Every guy I know
Trying to get ahead
Working two jobs
Til you're almost dead
(You tell em)

Work your fingers
Right down to the bone
There's a cat named Jody
Sneaking around in your home

There's a cat named Jody
In every town
Spending lots of cash
And just riding around

Ride on, Jody
Ride on, ride on
With your bad self
Jody

The ashes in your ashtray
Footprints on your carpet
While you work all day
He even got the nerve
To sleep in your bed
Sit down at the table
Eat your bread

When you get home
After working hard all day
Jody's got your girl
And he don't play

I said
Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone

(It ain't no sense in going home)
(You gotta get home but
You work too hard)
(It ain't no sense in going home)
(You gotta get home but
You work too hard)

Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone)
I tell you, Jody's got
Your girl and gone
(Ain't no sense in going home)

When you discover
Your gross neglect
It'll be too late to
Give your woman respect

You'll hunt down Jody
Dead or alive
Ten thousand dollar reward
For Jody's hide

Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/johnnie_taylor/jodys_got_your_girl_and_gone.html

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Example #3: Bobby Newsome "Jody, Come Back And Get Your Shoes" [1972]



Uploaded by sirc73 on Oct 23, 2011

LYRICS*: JODY, COME BACK AND GET YOUR SHOES
(composer/s ??)

Everybody talkin bout Jody
Had himself a real good time.
He stole the wife of my next door neighbor
And the cat done lost his mind.

????
????
He’s gone down there walkin talkin to himself
with a 38 in his hand

Talkin about Jody
Come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.
I’m talkin bout Jody.
Come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.

????
????
gone for a month or so
Jody got everything that he wanted.
And he won’t be back no more.

????
????
Only thing less than life
Is my next door neighbor’s wife.

Talkin about Jody.
Come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.
Jody, Jody, Jody, Jody.
Jody, come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.

[instrumental]

Sound off
1,2
Sound off
3,4
Sound off
1,2
1,2
1,2,3,4

Well men let this be a lesson
In this world we live
You gotta keep your eye on everyone
‘Cause you never know who Jody is

Now Jody could be the milkman
And he could be the mailman too.
And Jody could even be your very best friend
Just makin a fool of you.

Now I’d ask you to come to see me
When the state ??
walkin around in a padded room
How did that happen [they know]?

Talkin bout Jody
Come back and get your shoes, Jody
Jody Jody Jody Jody
You left your shoes under my bed.
Jody, come back and get your shoes, Jody
You left your shoes under my bed.

Jody!
Keep your eye on your neighbor...
??? [song fades out]

-snip-
*This is a partial transcription made from the sound file. The question marks and the words in brackets followed by a question mark signify that I'm unsure about what words are being sung. Corrections and additions are very welcome. Identification of the composer is also very welcome.

-snip-
Here's some information about "Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes" and the preceding featured song "Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone" from http://stepfatherofsoul.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html:
"[Johnny] Taylor had the biggest hits of all the "Jody" songs with "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" and "Standing In for Jody." The former song made it all the way to #1 on the R&B charts in 1971, one of several chart toppers Stax Records would have that year (if I recall correctly, Rufus Thomas' "(Do The) Push and Pull" had been #1 the week before). Bobby Newsome's "Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes" was an answer record to the Taylor hit and features a stomping, stripped down funk groove and military-chant background vocals (a nod to "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone"). It's my favorite "Jody" record."

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RELATED LINKS
In the United States, another term for military cadences is "Jodies". Click http://cocojams.com/content/military-cadences-other-cadences to find the Military Cadences page of my Cocojams website for examples that mention "Jody". One example on that page is ‘Till I Get Back Home". An excerpt of that cadence is:
"Ain't no use in going back
Jody's got your Cadillac
Ain't no use in calling home
Jody's got your girl and gone
Ain't no use in feeling blue
Jody's got your sister too."

**
Also, Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/jodys-got-your-girl-and-gone-why.html for a pancocojams' post about military cadences (also known as "jodies").

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
My thanks to the composers, singers, and musicians on these featured sound files and this video. Thanks also to the uploaders of these sound files and this video.

Thanks for visiting Pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.