"Jody" (a 1966 example of an African American prison work song) with Information about the character Jody In American military cadences

Jody Rosen, Jan 28, 2016

Performed by Benny Richardson & fellow inmates

Recorded at Ellis Unit Prison, Huntsville, Texas, March 24, 1966

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the African American prison work song "Jody".

This post includes a 1966 film clip of prisoners singing that call & response song as well as the lyrics to that song.

This pancocojams post also includes information about the fictional character "Jody" in American military cadences.

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and socio-cultural purposes,

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of this song and thanks to Benny Richardson & other men who were recorded singing this song in this film clip. Thanks to this song's collector and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube. 

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LYRICS - JODY
(sung by Benny Richardson & other men, 1966)

I've been working all day long, [Yeah Yeah] Pickin' this stuff called cotton and corn, [Yeah Yeah] We raise cotton, cane and a-corn. [Yeah Yeah] 'Taters and tomatoes and a-that ain't all, [Yeah Yeah] Back is weak and I done got tired, [Yeah Yeah] Got to tighten up just to save my hide. [Yeah Yeah] Boss on a horse and he's watchin' us all, [Yeah Yeah] Better tighten up, [if we] don't we'll catch the hall. [Yeah Yeah] Wonder if the Major will go my bail. [Yeah Yeah] Or give me twelve hours standing on the rail. BRIDGE: Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. I see the Captain sittin' in the shade. [Yeah Yeah] He don't do nothin' but-a he get paid. [Yeah Yeah] We work seven long days in a row. [Yeah Yeah] Two sacks of Bull and a picture show. [Yeah Yeah] In the wintertime we get dont no lay, [Yeah Yeah] Cuttin' cane and makin' syrup every day. [Yeah Yeah] When it gets wet in the cane field. [Yeah Yeah] All the squads work around the old syrup mill. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Two more months and it won't be long. [Yeah Yeah] Gonna catch the chain 'cause I'm goin' home. Goin' back home to my old gal, Sue, [Yeah Yeah] My buddy's wife and his sister, too. [Yeah Yeah] Ain't no need of you writin' home. [Yeah Yeah] Jody's got your girl and gone. [Yeah Yeah] Ain't no need of you feelin' blue, [Yeah Yeah] Jody's got your sister, too. [Yeah Yeah] First thing I'll do when I get-a home. [Yeah Yeah] Call my woman on the telephone. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Gonna settle down for the rest of my life. [Yeah Yeah] Get myself a job and get myself a wife. [Yeah Yeah] Six long years I've been in the pen. [Yeah Yeah] Don't want to come to this place again. [Yeah Yeah] Captain and the boss is drivin' us on. [Yeah Yeah] Makin' us wish we'd-a stayed at home. [Yeah Yeah] If we had listened what our mama say, [Yeah Yeah] We wouln't be cuttin' wood here today. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Captain and the boss is drivin' us on, [Yeah Yeah] Makin' us wish we'd-a stayed at home. [Yeah Yeah] We had listened what our mama say, [Yeah Yeah] We wouldn't (be) droppin' big timber here today. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. Yeah, yeah. YEAH, YEAH. -posted by @TheWarpedMan, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyhtsOAYHLU -snip- I added the words "Yeah Yeah" in brackets. The "group" sings these words after each line that is sung by the lead singer, except for the lyrics referred to as "the Bridge".
This is an example of a "fixed" (unchanged) form of a call & response song. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/06/did-you-feed-my-cow-yes-maam-example-of.html for information about the types of call & response songs and chants in this pancocojams post. "Did You Feed My Cow? Yes Ma'am" - An Example Of A Call & Response Children's Song With Fixed Responses
-snip- The prison work song "Jody" has the same tune as the song "Hambone Hambone (where you been)", but the tempo for "Jody" is much slower than that other African American originated song. **** INFORMATION ABOUT THE FICTIONAL CHARACTER "JODY" IN AMERICAN MILITARY CADENCES From https://history.army.mil/Portals/143/Images/Research/Jody%20Calls/Jody-Call-Information-Paper.pdf?ver=SOHXf2BR3o_YqvkRaFSHMg%3D%3D ..."The Duckworth Chant In 1944, Private Willie Lee Duckworth, a young Black Georgian stationed at Fort Slocum, New York, introduced an innovation in military cadences which remains a core piece of the Army’s traditions to this day: the jody call. It was on a thirteen-mile road march back to base from a 24-hour bivouac that Pvt. Duckworth introduced the Army’s first jody call, leading his all-Black unit in the iconic call and response: “Sound-off; 1 - 2; Sound-off; 3 - 4; Cadence count; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4; 1 - 2 — 3 – 4.” According to Ft. Slocum’s commander, Colonel Bernard Lentz, the rejuvenating effect of the “Duckworth Chant” (also known as “Sound Off”) was immediately apparent: “It was not long before the infectious rhythm was spreading throughout the ranks. Footweary soldiers started to pick up their step in cadence with the growing chorus of hearty male voices. Instead of a down trodden, fatigued company, here marched 200 soldiers with h the growing chorus of hearty male voices. Instead of a down trodden, fatigued company, here marched 200 soldiers with heads up, a spring to their step, and smiles on their faces. This transformation occurred with the beginning of the Duckworth Chant.” [From “The Cadence System of Teaching Close Order Drill and Exhibition Drills” (p. 70)] Col. Lentz tasked Pvt. Duckworth with formalizing the lyrics to his creation; the finalized lyrics, as copyrighted and disseminated by Pvt. Duckworth and Col. Lentz, also include the first official mention of the eponymous “Jody:” “I had a good home, but I left (you're right) Jody was there, when I left (you're right) I left gal away out west I thought this army life was best Now she's someone else’s wife And I'll be marchin' the rest of my life” The ubiquitous presence of Jody, a fictional character who steals soldiers’ sweethearts and represents the sacrifices made by soldiers in their personal lives, eventually lent the new breed of cadence calls its name. The Origin, Benefits, and Spread of the Jody Call Pvt. Duckworth’s innovation was a unique synthesis of the contemporary Army’s sterile counting cadences and Black cultural innovations, particularly blues-influenced call-and responses popular among Black manual laborers of the day. The figure of Jody, for instance, originated in Black working cadences sung in the decades preceding the Second World War. “Joe the Grinder,” as he was originally known (eventually “Jody Grinder” and finally “Jody”), was a catch-all representation of a n’er-do-well who took advantage of the heroic, long-suffering everyman’s wife while he spent long hours laboring away from home. Lyrics about Jody and the travails of the workingman’s life, set to the blues rhythms popular amongst the Black community of the day, were often sung wherever large groups of Black men conducted repetitive manual labor. They served much the same purpose as the Army’s jody calls, ensuring coordination and bolstering both psychological and physical strength."... **** Thanks for visiting pancocojams. Visitor comments are welcome.