#4 “In The Jailhouse Now”
On 10-08-2008
at 5:26 pm
This song has been passed along between a few artists over the years. It has always been a favorite of mine. If this is the first time that you have ever heard of this song, let me put it in some sort of context so you might remember it.
If you are a movie fan, you might have first heard this song on the Coen Brothers’ liberal adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, O Brother Where Art Thou. Incredibly, Timothy Blake Nelson actually delivers a very good vocal performance in a hilarious scene towards the finale of the film. It has been respectively covered by many country legends in past years, but the one that deserves special mention is Webb Pierce’s cover in 1954. He took this, already popular folk song, to #1.
Jimmie Rodgers recorded this song back in 1928. He was a consummate trouble maker, so this song was so apropo. He was a fan of honky tonks. He liked to drink and he was a womanizer. Someone could definitely juxtapose the lyrics alongside his lifestyle. However, tuberculosis was the only prison that Jimmie would ever experience. Here are those famous lyrics:
I had a friend named Ramblin’ Bob
Who used to steal, gamble and rob
He thought he was the smartest guy in town
But I found out last Monday
That Bob got locked up Sunday
They’ve got him in the jailhouse way down townHe’s in the jailhouse now
He’s in the jailhouse now
I told him once or twice
To quit playin’ cards and shootin’ dice
He’s in the jailhouse nowHe played a game called poker
He knuckled with Dan Yoakum
But shootin’ dice was his greatest game
Now he’s downtown in jail
Nobody to go his bail
The judge done said that he will pay the fineHe’s in the jailhouse now
He’s in the jailhouse now
I told him once or twice
To quit playin’ cards and shootin’ dice
He’s in the jailhouse nowI went out last Tuesday
Met a girl named Susie
I told her I was the swellest man around
We started to spend my money
Then she started to call me honey
We took in every cabaret in townWe’re in the jailhouse now
We’re in the jailhouse now
I told the judge right to his face
We didn’t like to see this place
We’re in the jailhouse now
