Talkin’ an’ Signifyin’ Songtext
von Harry Belafonte

Man, it sure is hot in here tonight
Yeah, must be a hundred and twenty degrees in the shade
Course you all don′t have to stay in the shade you know
(Hahahaha)

Hey Dallas, yeah
You know what the cook having for dinner?
Yeah, he having a thousand things for dinner
Yeah, every one other than beans
(Hahaha)

Beans well done
Beans smothered in beans
Beans medium rare
And one other thing
Beans
Don't leave them out
You got to put some beans in there


You know when I was a kid
I used to go out into the pasture late at night
Kick the old cow and make her get up
So I can lie down on the warm ground where she′d been
Then I just
I just lie there and wait for the 10.20 train to go by
And I'd watch all them fine folks sitting upon that train
Everybody going somewhere
Maybe somebody waiting at the end of the line to say howdy

But I tell you right then and there I said to myself
Someday I'm gonna have me a ride on a train
And when I get where I′m going
There′ll be somebody waiting there for me too

Well I got me a train ride alright
One way right in here
With a whole bunch of
Unfitting people to be with

And when I got to the gate
There was somebody waiting
Old captain
And he didn't have the decency to say hello
Now I didn′t intend to stay this long, you know
But I wasn't gonna leave here till he says hello


Hey Dowbally
Yeah, Look at that possum
Sure looks good enough to eat
Hey Billy Blue
You know how to cook a possum?
Don′t everybody?
Not like my old lady
Man the way old lady cook a possum

The first day
She's stick it in a bottle of scorn squeezing′s
And juice it up there a little while
Then next day she put in a bottle of bourbon
And juice that one up a little while
Then she put in a bottle of dandelion wine
And juice that up a little bit
Then the possum man sure was,some good gravy

Hey Dowbally, yeah
What you figure your old lady's doing in Memphis tonight?
Man one of these days
I'm gonna put my footprint on the top of your head
I told you I don′t play that
Hey look here naked ape
Tell ′em I was only asking
He only asking Dow, yeah

I sure got hard luck being in here
Don't knock it man
If I didn′t have hard luck
I wouldn't have no luck at all

Look at that new prisoner over there
He sure look lonely don′t he?
That sure is a waste of time
Hey new prisoner
Don't look so lonely man
You just climb up in your bunk
You′ll have more friends then you know what to do with
And you be so busy scratching
You don't have time to get lonesome

Anybody ever figured a way to get out of here?
Nobody would ever made it
I figured a way to get out of here once
I figured the only way to get out of here was to
Make friends with old Rattler
The lead hound?
Yeah that's him

So every morning for six months I sneaked out and gave old Rattler
All my breakfast grits
Six months
Then I made my getaway
But man sure enough
They turned old Rattler out
And sure enough he treat me
And sure enough the captain brought me right back in here

Why you reckon old Rattler done that to you?
That dirty lousy old flea bitten
He got so used to them grits
I guess he didn′t wanna let ′em go
That's old Rattler
Well Shh, there goes the guard

Man just listen to that rain
This the only bunkhouse
It rains inside
And leaks outside