Maybe what we listen to and watch tells us more than we think.

Recently somebody pointed out a popular pop song to me.

So what, you may ask.

Particularly as I'm not interested in the music of the chanteuse in question. . . at all.

But what I am interested in are old blues songs and related items. And this particular song features a sample of one of the various Alan Lomax recordings of Rosie.

Now, Rosie was a call and response prisoner work gang song.  Lomax recorded it at Parchman Farm in 1947 and 1948.  It's lyrics are:

Be my woman gal I'll
Be your Man 
Be my woman gal I'll
Be your Man
Be my woman gal I'll
Be your Man

Everydays Sunday dollar in your hand
In your hand lordy, in your hand
etc.
 
Stick to the promise girl that
You made me (x3)
Won't got married til' uh
I go free
I go free lordy, I go free
Won't got married til' uh
I go free 

Whoa Rosie, hold on gal
etc. 

When She walks she reel and
Rocks behind 
etc.

Aint that enough to worry,
convicts mind
etc.
Whoa Rosie, hold on gal 
etc.

Well, so what you may ask.  Does that mean something?

I think so.

Indeed, let's take the lyrics of the song in question out a bit further, noting that they were written by somebody, who obviously has a knowledge of the legendary Lomax recordings.

Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man
Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man
Yes I'll be your woman
Yes I'll be your baby
Yes I'll be whatever that you tell me when you're ready
Yes I'll be your girl, forever your lady
You ain't ever gotta worry, I'm down for you, baby
Best believe that, when you need that
I'll provide that, you will always have it
I'll be on deck, keep it in check
When you need that, I'm a let you have it
Beating my drum like dum di di day
I like the dirty rhythm you play
I wanna hear you callin' my name
Like, hey ma ma, mama, hey ma, mama
Banging the drum like dum di di day
I know you want it in the worst way
I wanna hear you callin' my name
Like, hey ma ma, mama, hey ma, mama
Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man
Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man
Yes I do the cooking
Yes I do the cleaning
Plus I keep the na-na real sweet for your eating
Yes you be the boss and yes I be respecting
Whatever that you tell me cause it's game you be spitting
Best believe that, when you need that
I'll provide that, you will always have it
I'll be on deck, keep it in check
When you need that, I'm a let you have it
Beating my drum like dum di di day
I like the dirty rhythm you play
I wanna hear you callin' my name
Like, hey ma ma, mama, hey ma, mama
Banging the drum like dum di di day
I know you want it in the worst way
I wanna hear you callin' my name
Like, hey ma ma, mama, hey ma, mama
(Hey!)

Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man

Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man

Whole crew got the juice
Your dick came the truth
My screams is the proof
Them other dudes get the deuce
When I speed in the coupe
Leavin' this interview
It ain't nothing new
I been fucking with you
None of them bitches ain't taking you
Just tell 'em to make a U
That's how it be
I come first like debut
So, baby, when you need that
Gimme the word, I'm no good
I'll be bad for my baby
(So I) make sure that he's getting his share
(So I) make sure that his baby take care
(So I) make sure I'm on my toes, on my knees
Keep him pleased, rub him down
Be a lady and a freak
Beating my drum like dum di di day
I like the dirty rhythm you play
I wanna hear you callin' my name
Like, hey ma ma, mama, hey ma, mama
Banging the drum like dum di di day
I know you want it in the worst way
I wanna hear you callin' my name
Like, hey ma ma, mama, hey ma, mama
Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man
Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man

Okay, so what you may ask again.

Well, there's something very interesting going on in this. Let's start with a notable fact, that being that the Lomax sample was recorded in 1948, the concluding era of the Jim Crow South and also the concluding era of the penal chain gang.  Yes, chain gangs would live onto the 1960s, but they were on their way out at the time these recordings were made, whether or not anyone realized that.

But at the same time these 1948 recordings on Parchman Farm reflected a culture that was decades older. By 1948, if we were in urban Chicago, we might hear the electric guitar of Elmore James belting out a type of music that would recall ZZ Top to many modern listeners now.  But here on Parchman Farm, an old style of call and response black music was living on, recalling an era that stretched back into the 19th Century. A primitive form of music related to the blues, gospel, and even the Army's then new Jody Call.

The rest of this song however, is new, from the second decade of the 21st Century.

And yet they work well together.

And they're on the same topic.

And that's what's remarkable.

A song reflecting a highly traditional concept of the relationship between men and women, which appeals mostly to the young, sung in part by men who had other concept other than the traditional one.

That tells us something.