Dr. John (born Malcolm John Rebennack on 20 November 1941; died 6 June 2019… Read Full Bio ↴Dr. John (born Malcolm John Rebennack on 20 November 1941; died 6 June 2019) was an American singer, pianist, guitarist, and songwriter whose music combined blues, boogie woogie and rock and roll. The winner of six Grammy awards, Rebennack was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by singer John Legend on Monday, March 14, 2011. He was variously known as Mac Rebennack, Dr. John Creaux, Dr. John, the Night Tripper.

Dr. John began making his own idiosyncratic music in the 1960s. Along with Professor Longhair, Dr. John is heir to the rich New Orleans tradition. He is perhaps best known for "Right Place, Wrong Time", an international hit in 1973, reissued and used on soundtracks many times since.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, his professional musical career began as a session musician in New Orleans in the 1950s. Early on he also played guitar and was often known as Mac Rebennack. He switched to the bass ("the lowest time of my life"), and then the piano after his index finger was nearly shot off protecting his bandmate and longtime friend Ronnie Barron. He gained fame beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with music that combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock and stage shows that bordered on voodoo religious ceremonies, including elaborate costumes and headdress. For a time he was billed as Dr. John, The Night Tripper. The name "Dr. John" came from a legendary Louisiana voodoo practitioner from the start of the 19th century.

Dr. John has also done vocals for Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits' "Luv dat chicken..." jingle, as well as the theme song ("My Opinionation") for the early-1990s television sitcom Blossom. His movie credits include Martin Scorsese's documentary The Last Waltz (in which he joins The Band for a performance of his song "Such a Night") and Blues Brothers 2000 (in which he joins the fictional band The Louisiana Gator Boys to perform the song "New Orleans"). In the 2009 Disney film The Princess and the Frog, Dr. John sings the opening tune, "Down in New Orleans".

In January 2008 Mac Rebennack, Dr. John, was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.

How Come My Dog Don't Bark When You Come 'Round
Dr. John Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now you say you ain′t never met my wife, you ain't never seen her befo,′
Say you ain't been hangin' roun′ my crib; well here′s somethin' I wanna know...
I wanna know what in the worl′ is goin' down,

How come my dog don′t bark when you come around?

I got the baddest dog, he'll bite anybody.
He bit my little brother, took a chunk out of my ol′ sweet li'l mother.

He bit the mailman – he sees him every day; he takes one look at you, he wanna jump up and play.
Now I ain't got a clue as to what you puttin′ down, but

How come my dog don′t bark when you come around?

My dog's dangerous; tried to set people straight;
I even bought a "BAD DOG" sign an′ hung it on the gate.
Here you come trippin' up ′bout a quarter of nine
Fulla dat Night Train wine, tryin' to slide past the sign...

My dog been noddin′ off, ain't payin' you no mind.
That′s my dog, when I come home he don′t sleep THAT sound!

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

I still don′t like it, I don't dig it one damn bit,
The way you an′ my dog's so tight, somethin′ don't fit!
I slipped through the alley, I called my dog,
Said, "get off your rusty duster, move a little faster to your ol' master, you old cayute, you."

He took one look at me, an′ he growled an′ he ran straight to you.
Now somebody's been confusin′ my po' hound.
An I wanna know what′s goin' down.

How come my dog don′t bark when you come around?

(Clarinet Solo)

Maybe I better call up Jacoby & Myers, an' you can take the fifth, amendment, that is.
You better stand up fo' your rights, ′cause you might not be standin′ too long.
I'm gonna stop all this confusion. I′m gon' fire that hound., shoot that dog down.
Then I′m gonna get busy mutilatin, strangulatin' operatin′, an' crematin' my Ol′ Lady down at the cremation station.
Then I′m gonna torch that, too, and come right on after you!

You can give you heart an' soul to charity; all the rest gonna belong to me.

I′m goin' straight down to dat barber supply shop, get me a pearl handle, double edge, hollow ground, super blue blade, adjustable, stainless steel, honed edge, both blades on the same side so when I cut you once, you gonna bleed twice, goin′ an' comin′. An' if you don' believe me, shake yo′ head; it′ll be singin' "I ain′t got no body."

'Cause one night I did a little FBI Double-O-Seven-type investigatin′. You an' my Ol′ Lady thought I was gone, but I wasn't gone. Dat's why I have to separate you from your ground. An the only soun′ you gonna hear when you six feet in the ground:

How come my dog didn′t bark when you came around?

Overall Meaning

In Dr. John's song "How Come My Dog Don't Bark When You Come 'Round," the singer is addressing someone who claims to have never met or interacted with the singer's wife. The singer, however, is suspicious because his notoriously violent dog doesn't bark when this person is around. He narrates how the dog has bitten his brother and mother, but doesn't even growl when this particular person is near. The singer expresses his feelings of unease, saying he doesn't like the situation and that he finds it suspicious that his dog isn't reacting to the stranger. As the song progresses, the singer becomes angrier and starts making threats, implying that he may harm the person and his own wife. He also declares that he will take revenge on his dog for not being loyal.

The song appears to be a tale of jealousy and mistrust, where the singer doubts his wife's loyalty and suspects another man's involvement. The dog not barking when the stranger is around adds to his paranoia and insecurity. The song also features Dr. John's distinct blend of genres, including blues, jazz, and funk, and his unique vocal style that adds layers of meaning and emotions to the lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

Now you say you ain′t never met my wife, you ain't never seen her befo,′
You claim to have never met my wife or seen her before.

Say you ain't been hangin' roun′ my crib; well here′s somethin' I wanna know...
You deny being around my place, but I have a question for you.

I wanna know what in the worl′ is goin' down,
I want to know what is happening.

How come my dog don′t bark when you come around?
Why doesn't my dog bark when you come around?

I got the baddest dog, he'll bite anybody.
My dog is very fierce and will attack anyone.

He bit my little brother, took a chunk out of my ol′ sweet li'l mother.
He even attacked my innocent mother and younger brother.

He bit the mailman – he sees him every day; he takes one look at you, he wanna jump up and play.
He even bit the mailman, despite seeing him every day, but he is friendly towards you.

Now I ain't got a clue as to what you puttin′ down, but
I have no idea what you're up to, but something is definitely going on.

My dog's dangerous; tried to set people straight;
My dog is notorious for attacking people and setting them straight.

I even bought a "BAD DOG" sign an′ hung it on the gate.
I even went ahead and put up a sign that warns people of my dog.

Here you come trippin' up ′bout a quarter of nine Fulla dat Night Train wine, tryin' to slide past the sign...
But still, you are trying to sneak around when you show up drunk around 8:45 pm.

My dog been noddin′ off, ain't payin' you no mind.
Even so, my dog seems disinterested in you and is sleeping instead.

That′s my dog, when I come home he don′t sleep THAT sound!
Normally, my dog barks loudly and greets me excitedly when I arrive home.

I still don′t like it, I don't dig it one damn bit, The way you an′ my dog's so tight, somethin′ don't fit!
I'm still not comfortable with how friendly you and my dog are. Something seems off about it.

I slipped through the alley, I called my dog, Said, "get off your rusty duster, move a little faster to your ol' master, you old cayute, you."
I sneakily entered through the alley and called my dog with a sense of familiarity and urgency.

He took one look at me, an′ he growled an′ he ran straight to you.
But as soon as he saw me, he growled and ran past me straight to you.

Now somebody's been confusin′ my po' hound.
Someone or something has been confusing and complicating my dog's behavior.

An I wanna know what′s goin' down.
I want to know what is happening and what's going on behind my back.

Maybe I better call up Jacoby & Myers, an' you can take the fifth, amendment, that is.
Maybe I should hire a lawyer and you should take the Fifth Amendment, that is, refusing to answer on the grounds of self-incrimination.

You better stand up fo' your rights, ′cause you might not be standin′ too long.
You better start standing up for yourself because you may not be standing much longer.

I'm gonna stop all this confusion. I′m gon' fire that hound., shoot that dog down.
I'm going to put an end to all the confusion and eliminate my dog, which seems to be the source of the problem.

Then I′m gonna get busy mutilatin, strangulatin' operatin′, an' crematin' my Ol′ Lady down at the cremation station.
After that, I'll mutilate, strangle, operate on, and cremate my wife at the cremation center.

Then I′m gonna torch that, too, and come right on after you!
Then I'm going to destroy that place too and come after you!

You can give you heart an' soul to charity; all the rest gonna belong to me.
You may donate all your money to charity, but anything else belongs to me.

I′m goin' straight down to dat barber supply shop, get me a pearl handle, double edge, hollow ground, super blue blade, adjustable, stainless steel, honed edge, both blades on the same side so when I cut you once, you gonna bleed twice, goin′ an' comin′.
I'm going to buy a sharp blade from a barber supply shop and use it in such a way that you'll bleed twice from a single cut when coming and going.

An' if you don' believe me, shake yo′ head; it′ll be singin' "I ain′t got no body."
And if you don't believe me, just nod your head, and soon you'll be singing that you don't have a body.

'Cause one night I did a little FBI Double-O-Seven-type investigatin′. You an' my Ol′ Lady thought I was gone, but I wasn't gone.
Because one evening, I conducted my own detective investigation. You and my wife thought I was gone, but I was still around.

Dat's why I have to separate you from your ground.
That's why I have to kill you and take you away from this world.

An the only soun′ you gonna hear when you six feet in the ground:
And the only sound you'll hear when you're buried six feet under:

How come my dog didn′t bark when you came around?
Why didn't my dog bark when you came around?

Writer(s): Prince Partridge

Contributed by Aria K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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