Dave Van Ronk
Jivin’ Man Blues
All right, look out, brother; don't try to get slack
I'd like to take something from you and never give it back
Folks, I was a jivin' man from the west
Everybody called him the Jivin' Express
He jived his ma and he jived his pa
You know, he even jived his own mother-in-law
He jived every soul, he jived a mule named Maude
He was so game, he jived the Cadillac Squad
He had a habit of jivin', and that ain't all
With his lord, lord, lord, lord, lord...
He jived so much he was a mystery
He even jived the gang that wrote policy
He jived the whole creation, seemed like a star
With his lord, lord, lord, lord, lord...
He even jived a gal they called Pretty Bright Eyes
He beaucoup'd her so, you know the poor kid cried
He said, "I'm a jiver from my birth!"
He jived so hard he died and left this earth
Down below he looked around once or twice
He even jived the devil and the devil's wife
He jived the little imps, big ones, and all
He said, "Get back, here comes the windin' ball!"
He jived so strong, he raised so much sand
He said, "Lord, I'm just a jivin' man!"
Jived like lightning and he just wouldn't quit
He said, "Everybody get set and get your mind on it!"
After jippin' and jivin' they backed him up against the wall
The imps said, "Lord, he's gonna jive us all!"
Don't you worry and don't you fret
I'm the Jivin' King and I ain't started yet
He made the sky turn green, he made the grass turn red
He even jived pretty hair on Grandma's bald head
He made the moon back up, even pushed back time
He jived the tuti outta fruti, had the devil drinkin' wine