The above biography taken from: Wikipedia - Rufus Thomas
The Crown Prince of Dance; an early rock & roll DJ, Memphis soul icon and creator of the Funky Chicken.
Artist Biography (below) by Richie Unterberger
Few of rock & roll's founding figures are as likable as Rufus Thomas. From the 1940s onward, he has personified Memphis music; his small but witty cameo role in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train, a film which satirizes and enshrines the city's role in popular culture, was entirely appropriate. As a recording artist, he wasn't a major innovator, but he could always be depended upon for some good, silly, and/or outrageous fun with his soul dance tunes. He was one of the few rock or soul stars to reach his commercial and artistic peak in middle age, and was a crucial mentor to many important Memphis blues, rock, and soul musicians.
Thomas was already a professional entertainer in the mid-'30s, when he was a comedian with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He recorded music as early as 1941, but really made his mark on the Memphis music scene as a deejay on WDIA, one of the few black-owned stations of the era. He also ran talent shows on Memphis' famous Beale Street that helped showcase the emerging skills of such influential figures as B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, and Roscoe Gordon.
Thomas had his first success as a recording artist in 1953 with "Bear Cat," a funny answer record to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog." It made number three on the R&B charts, giving Sun Records its first national hit, though some of the sweetness went out of the triumph after Sun owner Sam Phillips lost a lawsuit for plagiarizing the original Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller tune. Thomas, strangely, would make only one other record for Sun, and recorded only sporadically throughout the rest of the 1950s.
Thomas and his daughter Carla would become the first stars for the Stax label, for whom they recorded a duet in 1959, "'Cause I Love You" (when the company was still known as Satellite). In the '60s, Carla would become one of Stax's biggest stars. On his own, Rufus wasn't as successful as his daughter, but issued a steady stream of decent dance/novelty singles.
These were not deep or emotional statements, or meant to be. Vaguely prefiguring elements of funk, the accent was on the stripped-down groove and Rufus' good-time vocals, which didn't take himself or anything seriously. The biggest by far was "Walking the Dog," which made the Top Ten in 1963, and was covered by the Rolling Stones on their first album.
Thomas hit his commercial peak in the early '70s, when "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," and "The Breakdown" all made the R&B Top Five. As the song titles themselves make clear, funk was now driving his sound rather than blues or soul. Thomas drew upon his vaudeville background to put them over on-stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his 50s. The collapse of the Stax label in the mid-'70s meant the end of his career, basically, as it did for many other artists with the company. In 2001, Rufus Thomas was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Later that year, on December 15, he died at St. Francis hospital in Memphis, TN.
The above biography taken from: All Music Biography - Rufus Thomas by Richie Unterberger
Walking the Dog
Rufus Thomas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Silver buttons all down her back
High, low, tipsy toe
She broke a needle and she can't sew
Walkin' the dog
Just walkin' the dog
If you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk te dog
Asked a fellow for fifteen cents
See the fellow he jumped the fence
Jumped so high he touched the sky
Never got back till the fourth of July
Walkin' the dog
Just walkin' the dog
If you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog
Come on now, come on, come on
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
Tell me, how does your garden grow?
You got silver bells and you got cockleshells
Pretty maids all in a row
Walking the dog
Just a walkin' the dog
If you don't know how to do it
Show you how to walk the dog
Come on now, come on, come on
Oh oh, just a, just a, just a walkin'
Just a, just a, just a walkin'
Just a, just a, just a walkin'
Oh yeah, if you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog, oh
Just a, just a, just a, just a, just a, just a walkin'
Just a, just a, just a, just a, just a, just a walkin', oh
The song "Walking the Dog" by Rufus Thomas is a fun, uptempo tune that is known for its catchy beat and memorable hook. The lyrics describe a woman who is dressed in black with silver buttons down her back, and who breaks a needle while trying to sew. The chorus repeats the phrase "walking the dog," and the song includes some playful wordplay and references to nursery rhymes.
The first verse describes the woman dressed in black and her sewing mishap. The second verse tells the story of a man who asks for fifteen cents and then jumps over a fence so high that he touches the sky. The third verse references the nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" and describes her garden with silver bells, cockleshells, and pretty maids all in a row. The chorus repeats after every verse, encouraging listeners to join in and learn how to "walk the dog."
Line by Line Meaning
Baby's back, dressed in black
The singer is talking about a woman who is dressed in all black
Silver buttons all down her back
She has silver buttons running all the way down the back of her dress
High, low, tipsy toe
She is moving around in various ways - high, low, and maybe a little unsteady
She broke a needle and she can't sew
She broke a sewing needle and is unable to fix it
Walkin' the dog
The artist is now introducing the idea of 'walking the dog' which could be slang for something else
Just walkin' the dog
He repeats the phrase again, emphasizing how important walking the dog is to him
If you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog
He's offering to teach someone else how to walk the dog if they don't know how to do it. This could be a metaphor for something else entirely
Asked a fellow for fifteen cents
The artist is talking about how he approached someone and asked for fifteen cents
See the fellow he jumped the fence
The person he asked for fifteen cents jumped over a fence
Jumped so high he touched the sky
Never got back till the fourth of July
The person he asked for fifteen cents jumped so high that he seemed to touch the sky and didn't come back down until the 4th of July
Come on now, come on, come on
The singer is urging someone to hurry up or move faster
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
Tell me, how does your garden grow?
He is quoting a well-known nursery rhyme and asking Mary how her garden is growing
You got silver bells and you got cockleshells
Pretty maids all in a row
He's continuing the nursery rhyme, talking about the different things Mary's garden has, like silver bells and cockleshells, as well as pretty maids
Oh yeah, if you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog, oh
The singer is emphasizing his willingness to teach someone how to walk the dog, even repeating the line from earlier
Just a, just a, just a, just a, just a, just a walkin'
He's repeating the phrase 'just walkin' in a way that suggests it's something important and powerful
Just a, just a, just a walkin', oh
Again, he repeats the phrase 'just walkin' but this time with an exclamation at the end
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Rufus Thomas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind