Davis was born as Betty Mabry in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Mabry's debut was as a songwriter, with The Chambers Brothers's Uptown (1967, Columbia). When Betty turned sixteen, she moved to New York and met several musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. She met Miles Davis in 1967 and married him in 1968. As he stated in his autobiography, in addition to creating turmoil in his personal life, his wife helped him to explore music by introducing him to psychedelic rock guitarist Hendrix and funk innovator Stone. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence, though seemingly no credible documentation, to support the idea that Miles Davis named his masterpiece jazz-fusion album Bitches Brew after Betty.
After the breakup of her marriage, Davis moved to London to pursue her modelling career. She wrote music - a passion since childhood - while in the U.K. and returned to the U.S. with the intention of recording songs with Santana and The Commodores. When those projects didn't work out, she organised a group of talented West Coast funk musicians and recorded the songs under her own name.
Her first album, Betty Davis, was released in 1973 and her band included members of Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station, The Pointer Sisters, Tower of Power, and Neil Schon who came from Santana, but went on to form Journey. Davis released two more studio albums: They Say I'm Different (1974) and Nasty Gal (1975). Her backing band, Funkhouse,consisted of her cousin, Larry Johnson on bass, Fred Mills on keyboards, double-platinum artist Carlton Morales on guitar, and Nikki Neal on drums. None of the three albums was a commercial success, and Davis's 1976 album Is It Love or Desire remained unreleased until 2009.
Davis remained a cult figure as a singer, due in part to her open sexual attitude, which was controversial for the time and remains so thirty years later. Some of her shows were boycotted and her songs not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups. With the passage of time her records have become highly regarded by collectors of soul and funk music. Davis eventually stopped making music and returned to the city where she had attended high school, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She continues to live there as a recluse from the music industry.
Material from a 1979 recording session,which was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood, where Kevan Tynes attended, and Alfonse Mouson was the drummer, with Carlton Morales on guitar, and Davis's 1979 material was eventually used for two further albums: Hangin' Out in Hollywood (1995) and Crashin' from Passion (1996). A greatest hits album, Anti Love: the Best of Betty Davis, was released in 2000.
Nasty Gal
Betty Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell them anything you wanna now
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now hey hey
I said you said I was a bitch now
Didn't ya didn't ya
You said I was a witch now
I'm gonna tell them why I'm gonna tell
them why
I used to love it ooh I used to love to
Ride the range with ya baby
sing the song sing the song
I ain't nothin but a hey hey
nothin but a hey hey
I said you said I was an evil wench oh
didn't ya didn't ya
You said I was an alley cat
I'm gonna tell them why I'm gonna tell them why
You used to love it oh when I'd scratch your back baby
I used to love it when you did it
When ya did it to me real good
ooh lawd ooh lawd
Oh you know how you did it to me so good a hey hey
I said you went around tellin everybody
Yea you just put me down now
You dragged my name in the mud all over town
I'm gonna tell them why
you said I didn't treat you I didn't know you
I didn't love you well you know you lied
Yes you did I used to leave you hangin in the bed
by your finger nails screamin
Tell the truth tell the truth
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now
A hey a hey a hey
I said you said I turned you on I turned you inside out
I even turned your head around now
You said I loved you every way but your way
But if I really did him in I say why he want this
Nasty gal back again
So you can finish what you started
And I will give it to ya you can have it
Come on take it now
Well well well ooh lawd
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now a hey hey
I said you said I turn you on I turned you
inside out
I even turned your head around now
You said I love you every way but your way
and my way was too dirty for you now
You said I pricked your nose with a diamond
I hurt you bad and I caused you pain yea
You said I wasn't nothin but a dirty dog
But still you want me back again
Get down Get down get down
Mama mama get down well well well
You say you want it well Im gonna
Give it to ya mmm mmm mmm
You say you want it well I'm gonna let you have it
Get down get down get down, well well well
A hey hey I anin't nothin but a
nothin but a
Get down get down get down, Mama mama get down
get down well well well
A hey hey and good dirty nasty gal now
The song "Nasty Gal" by Betty Davis is a confident and assertive response to the accusations and criticisms she has received from a former lover. Davis confidently asserts her sexuality in the face of these accusations, emphasizing that she is a "nasty gal" who has always been true to herself. She addresses the claims that she was a witch or an evil wench, shouting that she isn't anything like that, and that her former love actually used to love being with her. Davis also addresses the claims that she didn't treat him well or love him properly, pointing out that he is the one lying and that she left him hanging by his "finger nails screaming."
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gonna run it down to y'all
I'm gonna let y'all know the truth
Tell them anything you wanna now
Go ahead and spread your lies
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now hey hey
I am who I am, take it or leave it
I said you said I was a bitch now
You called me names
Didn't ya didn't ya
Isn't that right?
You said I was a witch now
You accused me of using black magic
I'm gonna tell them why I'm gonna tell them why
I'll explain the reason behind your lies
You used to love it ooh to ride my broom honey
You enjoyed being with me
I used to love it ooh I used to love to
I enjoyed being with you
Ride the range with ya baby sing the song sing the song
We used to have fun together
I ain't nothin but a hey hey nothin but a hey hey
I am who I am and I won't change for anyone
I said you said I was an evil wench oh
You called me names again
didn't ya didn't ya
Isn't that right?
You said I was an alley cat
You accused me of being promiscuous
I'm gonna tell them why I'm gonna tell them why
Again, I'll explain the reason behind your lies
You used to love it oh when I'd scratch your back baby
You enjoyed being intimate with me
I used to love it when you did it
I enjoyed being intimate with you too
When ya did it to me real good ooh lawd ooh lawd
We had great times together
Oh you know how you did it to me so good a hey hey
You were good at pleasing me, and I miss that
I said you went around tellin everybody
You spread your lies around
Yea you just put me down now
You insulted and disrespected me
You dragged my name in the mud all over town
You ruined my reputation
I'm gonna tell them why
I'm gonna reveal the truth
you said I didn't treat you I didn't know you
You made up more lies about me
I didn't love you well you know you lied
You know that's not true
Yes you did I used to leave you hangin in the bed by your finger nails screamin
We used to have wild and fun times in bed
Tell the truth tell the truth
Stop lying and tell the truth
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now A hey a hey a hey
I am a confident and strong woman
I said you turned me on I turned you inside out
We had a passionate relationship
I even turned your head around now
I had a lot of power over you
You said I loved you every way but your way
You wanted something that I couldn't give
But if I really did him in I say why he want this Nasty gal back again
If I was so bad, why do you want me back?
So you can finish what you started And I will give it to ya you can have it
You want to continue our passionate relationship and I'm up for it
Come on take it now
Let's do it
Well well well ooh lawd
I'm ready for some fun
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now a hey hey
I am comfortable with my identity
I said you said I turn you on I turned you inside out
Again, we had a passionate relationship
You said I loved you every way but your way
You wanted something that I couldn't give
and my way was too dirty for you now
You are too judgmental and prudish
You said I pricked your nose with a diamond
You are exaggerating and making up stories
I hurt you bad and I caused you pain yea
You blame me for everything
You said I wasn't nothin but a dirty dog
You insulted and belittled me
But still you want me back again
Yet, you want me back?
Get down Get down get down Mama mama get down
Let's have some fun
well well well
I'm feeling good
You say you want it well Im gonna Give it to ya mmm mmm mmm
You want me, and I'm ready
You say you want it well I'm gonna let you have it
Let's have some more fun
A hey hey I anin't nothin but a nothin but a
I am what I am
Get down get down get down
Let's have fun
Mama mama get down get down
Come on, let's do it
well well well
I'm feeling good
A hey hey and good dirty nasty gal now
I am confident and proud of myself
Contributed by Mason V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@lajilla523
I'm gonna run it down to y'all
Tell them anything you wanna now
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now hey hey
I said you said I was a bitch now
Didn't ya didn't ya
You said I was a witch now
I'm gonna tell them why I'm gonna tell
Them why
You used to love it ooh to ride my broom honey
I used to love it ooh I used to love to
Ride the range with ya baby
Sing the song sing the song
I ain't nothin but a hey hey
Nothin but a hey hey
I said you said I was an evil wench oh
Didn't ya didn't ya
You said I was an alley cat
I'm gonna tell them why I'm gonna tell them why
You used to love it oh when I'd scratch your back baby
I used to love it when you did it
When ya did it to me real good
Ooh lawd ooh lawd
Oh you know how you did it to me so good a hey hey
I said you went around tellin everybody
Yea you just put me down now
You dragged my name in the mud all over town
I'm gonna tell them why
You said I didn't treat you I didn't know you
I didn't love you well you know you lied
Yes you did I used to leave you hangin in the bed
By your finger nails screamin
Tell the truth tell the truth
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now
A hey a hey a hey
I said you said I turned you on I turned you inside out
I even turned your head around now
You said I loved you every way but your way
But if I really did him in I say why he want this
Nasty gal back again
So you can finish what you started
And I will give it to ya you can have it
Come on take it now
Well well well ooh lawd
I ain't nothin but a nasty gal now a hey hey
I said you said I turn you on I turned you
Inside out
I even turned your head around now
You said I love you every way but your way
And my way was too dirty for you now
You said I pricked your nose with a diamond
I hurt you bad and I caused you pain yea
You said I wasn't nothin but a dirty dog
But still you want me back again
Get down Get down get down
Mama mama get down well well well
You say you want it well Im gonna
Give it to ya mmm mmm mmm
You say you want it well I'm gonna let you have it
Get down get down get down, well well well
A hey hey I anin't nothin but a
Nothin but a
Get down get down get down, Mama mama get down
Get down well well well
A hey hey and good dirty nasty gal now
@EarthWindandFirepower0990
SHE MAY NOT BE A THE FIRST FEMALE SINGER YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU THINK OF FEMALE SINGERS,BUT ONCE YOU HEAR BETTY DAVIS,YOU'LL NEVER FORGET HER.
@NaamahCarnage
I'm OBSESSED
@zoeyjackson5974
She a legend I’m so surprised that she not heard of more
@c.c.c.s7268
Love her. Miles lost out when they broke up.
@kevindarby6835
I saw her live when I was 14 , blew my mind and this is the song she was doing. She looked right at me and licked her tongue out., she had no idea how that funked me up in the best way! Rest in peace Queen!
@davidanderson7382
Wow
@lesliewarnell5172
I’m so…freakin…jealous. What a story. 🖤🎼🖤
@moforisingmusic
July 26, 1945 - February 9, 2022. Thank you for sharing your incredible talent with us, Betty. A true pioneer light years ahead of your time. We weren't worthy. Rest in peace, dear soul. Fly on... 💜
@polotrey
Rest easy Betty. She was so ahead of her time, very underrated. If she would have had social media and the exposure in her day.. should would have been a superstar.
@williametanner412
15 years old in 1975, lived the "funk/disco" era through high school and have this album on vinyl! RIP Betty, you'll always be that Nasty Gal to me 😘🥰