3.01.2010

These Pinchbacks, Take Them Away

What is a pinchback? I'm not really sure. It might refer to P. B. S. Pinchback, or to a miser, or to someone who produces cheap and/or tawdry goods. Or possibly it simply refers to pinch-back suits, which were fashionable in the 19-teens. Bessie Smith cannot tell us, so we must speculate. I kind of prefer the title I thought up when I found this track unlabeled: Working Man.

I fell in love with a sweet man once
He said he loved me too
He said if I'd run away with him
What nice things he would do
I've traveled around from town to town
How happy I would feel
But don't you know he would not work
Girls, take this tip from me

Get a working man when you marry
And let all these sweet men be
Doll, it takes money to run a business
And with me I know you girls will agree
There's one thing about this married life
That these young girls have got to know
That if a sweet man enters your front gate
Turn out your lights and lock your door

Yes, get a working man when you marry
And let all these pinchbacks be
Doll, it takes money to run a business
And with me I know you girls will agree
And if this panic stays on much longer
I'll hear all these young girls say
That it's a long way to Oklahoma
But these little pinchbacks, take them away.

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