Bo Diddley
Bobby Vee & The Crickets Lyrics

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Bo Diddley bought his babe a diamond ring,
If that diamond ring don't shine,
He gonna take it to a private eye,
If that private eye can't see
He'd better not take the ring from me.

Bo Diddley caught a nanny goat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday coat,

Bo Diddley caught a bear cat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday hat.

Mojo come to my house, ya black cat bone,
Take my baby away from home,
Ugly ole mojo, where ya bin,
Up your house, and gone again.

Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley have you heard?
My pretty baby said she wasn't for it.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to the song "Bo Diddley" by Bobby Vee & The Crickets tell a story about a man who is determined to keep his woman happy by buying her expensive gifts. He starts off by buying her a diamond ring, but warns that if it doesn't shine, he'll take it to a private eye to get it fixed. He even goes as far as to say that the private eye better not take the ring from him if he can't fix it. The second verse talks about how Bo Diddley went out and caught a nanny goat and a bear cat, both to make his pretty baby a Sunday coat and hat respectively. The last verse talks about how Mojo, a black cat bone, comes to the singer's house and takes his baby away from him. The singer ending the song asking if Bo Diddley had heard about his pretty baby not being interested in his gifts.

One interpretation of the song is that it's a cautionary tale about the dangers of materialism in relationships. The man is putting all of his effort into buying expensive things for his woman, rather than focusing on building a genuine connection with her. This is shown in the last verse, where his pretty baby rejects all of his gifts because they don't mean anything to her.

Line by Line Meaning

Bo Diddley bought his babe a diamond ring,
Bo Diddley purchased a diamond ring for his lover,

If that diamond ring don't shine,
In case the diamond doesn't sparkle as expected,

He gonna take it to a private eye,
He will take the ring to a detective,

If that private eye can't see
If the detective cannot identify the problem,

He'd better not take the ring from me.
He shouldn't take the ring from me in any way.

Bo Diddley caught a nanny goat,
Bo Diddley captured a female goat,

To make his pretty baby a Sunday coat,
To transform her fur into a coat for his girlfriend to wear on Sundays,

Bo Diddley caught a bear cat,
Bo Diddley captured a wild animal known as a bear cat,

To make his pretty baby a Sunday hat.
To utilize the bear cat's fur to make his girlfriend a Sunday hat.

Mojo come to my house, ya black cat bone,
Magic came to my house in the shape of a black cat's bone,

Take my baby away from home,
Take my daughter away from her house,