From the mid-1950s until 1975, Estil Cortez Ball performed with his wife Orna and their Friendly Gospel Singers in churches and on the radio, especially on WKSK (AM) in West Jefferson, North Carolina and WBOB (AM) in Galax, Virginia. Ball's first recordings were made by John A. Lomax on behalf of the Library of Congress at the 1937 Galax Fiddler's Convention in Galax, Virginia, where E.C. performed with his Rugby Gully Jumpers string band (named after Paul Warmack's Gully Jumpers). Lomax recorded the string band and several duets by E.C. and Orna. John's son Alan Lomax recorded Ball three years later, in 1941, at E.C.'s home in Rugby, Virginia, and there again in 1959.
County Records released Ball's first LP in 1967, as E.C. Ball and the Friendly Gospel Singers. Two more LPs followed in the 1970s on Rounder Records: E.C. Ball and Fathers Have A Home Sweet Home. Ball was also recorded by John Cohen for his 1975 compilation album High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina.
E.C. Ball's most famous composition was a piece he called "Tribulations," based, as he told Alan Lomax in 1959, "on the last book in the Bible: Revelations." It has been frequently covered by other musicians as "Trials, Troubles, Tribulations."
Ball died in 1978 in Grassy Creek, North Carolina, and is buried at Corinth Baptist Church in Rugby, Grayson County, Virginia.
In December 2009, a tribute album was released entitled Face A Frowning World: An E.C. Ball Memorial Album, on the Tompkins Square label, produced by Nathan Salsburg. Singers interpreting songs from E.C.'s repertoire include Jolie Holland, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Jon Langford, the Handsome Family, Rayna Gellert, and Catherine Irwin, among others.
The Fox
E.C. Ball Lyrics
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Al otro me quiere dejar
Un dia me odia
Y no me puedes besar
Un día me llama
Luego me dice Do n't Call
Un dia me busca y al otro
No me puedes ver más
Está acelerado
Busca se complica esa cadera
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
No quiero estar sola
Está acelerado
Busca se complica esa cadera
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
Y comienza
Yo la miro que va de alla pa aca
Me enreda otra mala jugada
Mi blanquita me roba de aca sin motivo
Hoy quizás no vuelva jamás
Hay que mal que tanto amor
No salve a su corazón
Su rey cayó y yo el peón
convertido en leon
No quiero estar sola (Jamás)
Me mira su sonrisa (Mata)
Me gusta conocerla (De atrás)
Otra vez la pierdo sin razon
No quiero estar sola (Jamás)
Me mira su sonrisa (Mata)
Me gusta conocerla (De atrás)
Otra vez la pierdo sin razon
No quiero estar sola
Está acelerado
Busca se complica esa cadera
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
mami yo no quiero alejarte mas
Solamente anhelo besarte más
Sabes que el cielo vas a tocar
pero tu prefieres dejar de amar
Mami, mami que esperas
Hagamoslo a mi manera
No me hagas que te quiera
si tu me quieres afuera
Facil, facil que duela
Ya ninguna es buena
Solo quieren que las hieran
Y eso que no es la primera
Es que no sé si esto está bien
Pero no sabe mal
Si sabe lo adicto que me volvería al tocar
Esa cinturita obliga a decir la verdad
Le doy cuando ella quiere
Y por eso me va a llamar
Si ella es la que quiere verso acelera
Yo soy el que le aguanta
Y nunca va pa atras (Tra)
Trampa en sus ojos y maldad
Porque de lejos se nota que esta endemoniada
Me dice que no tengo na' que hacer
Pa' que me venga a ver
Si sales para tenerte cerca
Si estás bien , porque después estás molesta
Es porque mi piel no es
Con la que la tuya despierta
Si un dia me quiere y al otro no pesca
La dejare odiando casi toda mi fiesta
Ahora que me llama no hay ninguna respuesta
En serio solo búscame si
Es que para mi puesta _
Si ella es la que quiere verso acelera
Yo soy el que le aguanta
Y nunca va pa atras (Tra)
Trampa en sus ojos y maldad
Porque de lejos se nota que esta endemoniada
Un dia me quiere
Al otro me quiere dejar
Un dia me odia
Y no me puedes besar
Un día me llama
Luego me dice Do n't Call
Un día me busca
Y no me puede ver más
No quiero estar sola
Está acelerado
Busca se complica esa cadera
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
No quiero estar sola
Está acelerado
Busca se complica esa cadera
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
The lyrics of E.C. Ball's song "The Fox" depict a complicated and tumultuous relationship. The singer describes the conflicting emotions and actions of their partner, who alternates between loving and wanting to leave them, between hating and being unable to kiss them. The partner's behavior is unpredictable, as they sometimes call the singer and then tell them not to call, or seek them out and then disappear. The singer expresses their desire to not be alone, but also acknowledges the fast-paced and complicated nature of their partner's demeanor.
The lyrics also suggest a sexual undertone, as the partner's movements and actions are described in a seductive manner. The singer is captivated and turned on by their partner's hip movements and their ability to let loose and fly. The singer reflects on their own attraction, comparing it to how they feel when they watch their partner from behind. However, despite their desires, the singer feels a sense of despair and loss, as their partner continues to play games and make them feel abandoned.
Overall, "The Fox" portrays the complexities, uncertainties, and rollercoaster emotions of a challenging relationship. It captures the longing for intimacy and connection while also grappling with the frustrations and emotional turmoil that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Un dia me quiere
One day she loves me
Al otro me quiere dejar
The next day she wants to leave me
Un dia me odia
One day she hates me
Y no me puedes besar
And you can't kiss me
Un día me llama
One day she calls me
Luego me dice Do n't Call
Then she tells me don't call
Un dia me busca y al otro
One day she looks for me and the next
No me puedes ver más
You can't see me anymore
No quiero estar sola
I don't want to be alone
Está acelerado
It's fast-paced
Busca se complica esa cadera
She searches, complicating that hip
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
It excites me, she loosens up and goes wild
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
Just like me when I look at her from behind
Y comienza
And it begins
Yo la miro que va de alla pa aca
I watch her go from there to here
Me enreda otra mala jugada
She tangles me in another bad play
Mi blanquita me roba de aca sin motivo
My little white girl steals from me here without cause
Hoy quizás no vuelva jamás
Today perhaps she won't return ever
Hay que mal que tanto amor
Oh, how bad that so much love
No salve a su corazón
Couldn't save her heart
Su rey cayó y yo el peón
Her king fell and I'm the pawn
convertido en león
Turned into a lion
No quiero estar sola (Jamás)
I don't want to be alone (Never)
Me mira su sonrisa (Mata)
Her smile looks at me (Kills)
Me gusta conocerla (De atrás)
I like getting to know her (From behind)
Otra vez la pierdo sin razón
Once again I lose her without reason
Mami, mami que esperas
Mama, mama what are you waiting for
Hagamoslo a mi manera
Let's do it my way
No me hagas que te quiera
Don't make me love you
si tu me quieres afuera
If you want me outside
Facil, facil que duela
Easy, easy that it hurts
Ya ninguna es buena
None are good anymore
Solo quieren que las hieran
They just want to be hurt
Y eso que no es la primera
And that's not even the first
Es que no sé si esto está bien
It's just that I don't know if this is right
Pero no sabe mal
But it doesn't taste bad
Si sabe lo adicto que me volvería al tocar
If only she knew how addicted I would become by touching her
Esa cinturita obliga a decir la verdad
That little waist forces me to tell the truth
Le doy cuando ella quiere
I give her what she wants
Y por eso me va a llamar
And that's why she's going to call me
Si ella es la que quiere verso acelera
If she's the one who wants poetry, she accelerates
Yo soy el que le aguanta
I am the one who endures her
Y nunca va pa atras (Tra)
And she never goes back (Tra)
Trampa en sus ojos y maldad
Trapped in her eyes and wickedness
Porque de lejos se nota que esta endemoniada
Because from afar it's clear that she's possessed
Me dice que no tengo na' que hacer
She tells me I have nothing to do
Pa' que me venga a ver
To make me come and see her
Si sales para tenerte cerca
If you leave to have you close
Si estás bien , porque después estás molesta
If you're fine, why are you upset later
Es porque mi piel no es
It's because my skin isn't
Con la que la tuya despierta
The one that awakens yours
Si un dia me quiere y al otro no pesca
If one day she loves me and the next she ignores me
La dejare odiando casi toda mi fiesta
I'll leave her hating almost all my party
Ahora que me llama no hay ninguna respuesta
Now that she calls me, there is no response
En serio solo búscame si
Seriously, only look for me if
Es que para mi puesta _
It's because for me it's set _
Si ella es la que quiere verso acelera
If she's the one who wants poetry, she accelerates
Yo soy el que le aguanta
I am the one who endures her
Y nunca va pa atras (Tra)
And she never goes back (Tra)
Trampa en sus ojos y maldad
Trapped in her eyes and wickedness
Porque de lejos se nota que esta endemoniada
Because from afar it's clear that she's possessed
Un dia me quiere
One day she loves me
Al otro me quiere dejar
The next day she wants to leave me
Un dia me odia
One day she hates me
Y no me puedes besar
And you can't kiss me
Un día me llama
One day she calls me
Luego me dice Do n't Call
Then she tells me don't call
Un día me busca
One day she looks for me
Y no me puede ver más
And she can't see me anymore
No quiero estar sola
I don't want to be alone
Está acelerado
It's fast-paced
Busca se complica esa cadera
She searches, complicating that hip
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
It excites me, she loosens up and goes wild
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
Just like me when I look at her from behind
No quiero estar sola
I don't want to be alone
Está acelerado
It's fast-paced
Busca se complica esa cadera
She searches, complicating that hip
Me exita se suelta de atras va vola
It excites me, she loosens up and goes wild
Igual que yo cuando la miro de atras
Just like me when I look at her from behind
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Braulio Ramírez, Fabián Cortés, Thristan Bugueño
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind