Since the 1960s, Carter has become best known for his bawdy songs such as "Banana in Your Fruit Basket", "Pin in Your Cushion", "Your Biscuits Are Big Enough for Me", "Please Warm My Wiener" and "My Pencil Won't Write No More". However, his output was not restricted to risqué music. In 1928, he recorded the original version of "Corrine, Corrina", which later became a hit for Big Joe Turner and has become a standard in various musical genres.
Carter and his brothers (including pianist Harry Chatmon, who also made recordings), first learned music from their father, ex-slave fiddler Henderson Chatmon, at their home on a plantation between Bolton and Edwards, Mississippi. Their mother, Eliza, also sang and played guitar.
Carter made his recording debut in 1928, backing Alec Johnson. Carter soon was recording as a solo artist and became one of the dominant blues recording acts of the 1930s, recording 110 sides. He also played with and managed the family group, the Mississippi Sheiks, and several other acts in the area. He and the Sheiks often played for whites, playing the pop hits of the day and white-oriented dance material, as well as for blacks, using a bluesier repertoire.
Carter went partly blind during the 1930s. He settled in Glen Allan, Mississippi and despite his vision problems did some farming but also continued to play music and perform, sometimes with his brothers. Carter moved to Memphis, and worked outside the music industry in the 1940s.
Carter suffered strokes and died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Shelby County Hospital, Memphis, on September 21, 1964.
Bo Carter's style of playing the guitar and his songwriting won him fans long after he died. One of the most notable examples was blues-rock guitarist, Rory Gallagher from Ireland, who performed several of his songs, including, "All Around Man."
Ants In My Pants
Bo Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got something want you to know
I got ants in my pants baby for you
Every time I come and feel your arms
It makes my feeling just get all wrong
I got ants in my pants baby for you
I want you baby give me a date
I got ants in my pants baby for you
You's a red‑hot mama meat shakes on the bone
Thinks about your loving baby when you gone
I got ants in my pants baby for you
Every time meet you on the street
A funny feeling my head to my feet
I got ants in my pants baby for you
But your arms around me baby like you should
I'm telling you baby your loving is good
I got ants in my pants baby for you
I'm going to hug you baby good and tight
Now love me baby like you done last night
I got ants in my pants baby for you
"Ants In My Pants" sounds like a comical song title, but it's about the intense feeling that the singer has for his love interest. The lyrics imply that the singer is unable to sit still when he's around his love interest, which is where the phrase "ants in my pants" comes from. He wants to be near her all the time and is always thinking of her, even when she's not around. The singer expresses his desire for his love interest in various ways such as "I got ants in my pants baby for you" and "Thinks about your loving baby when you gone."
It's a song about being lovesick and the physical sensations that come along with the feeling. He can't control his body when he's around her, and he wants to be with her all the time. The lyrics show that he's desperate for her love and attention. The song is a bluesy and upbeat tune that underscores the sense of urgency conveyed in the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
It makes no difference baby where you go
Your location doesn't matter to me, what matters is that I have something important to tell you.
I got something want you to know
I have an important message that I want to convey to you.
I got ants in my pants baby for you
I have endless passion and energy for you that I cannot contain.
Every time I come and feel your arms
Whenever I am embraced by you and feel your warmth, my feelings become disorientated.
It makes my feeling just get all wrong
Your loving has such an overwhelming effect on me that it affects my emotional stability.
I got ants in my pants baby for you
I cannot control my strong desire and attraction for you.
It is tomorrow it's early or late
Regardless of the time or situation, I want to spend time with you, baby.
I want you baby give me a date
Please let me know when we can meet, because I am eager to spend time with you.
I got ants in my pants baby for you
My overwhelming attraction and passion for you is growing stronger by the day.
You's a red‑hot mama meat shakes on the bone
You are an incredibly attractive woman with curves in all the right places, baby.
Thinks about your loving baby when you gone
Even when you are not around, I am constantly thinking about how much I desire your love and affection.
I got ants in my pants baby for you
My passion and attraction for you is getting beyond my control.
Every time meet you on the street
Whenever I see you on the street, I get a strange feeling in my body that I cannot explain.
A funny feeling my head to my feet
I get an unusual feeling starting from my head to my toes whenever I'm near you, baby.
I got ants in my pants baby for you
My uncontainable passion and attraction for you is getting stronger with every passing moment.
But your arms around me baby like you should
When you embrace me in your arms with affection, everything feels right with the world, baby.
I'm telling you baby your loving is good
You are an amazing lover, and your affection means the world to me, baby.
I got ants in my pants baby for you
I have an insatiable thirst and desire for you that I cannot deny nor contain.
I'm going to hug you baby good and tight
I am going to embrace you tightly with all my might, baby.
Now love me baby like you done last night
Show me the same love and affection that you showed me last night, baby.
Contributed by Daniel Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@garydaltonolecountrymusic2711
Cant get enough of this Classic music!
@timmyles314
I really enjoy this old music....he's very talented.
@CraigsStompbox
an ideal song to play while in a hut on Tasmania's Mt Field