Scott was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and raised in Detroit, an Italian hillbilly who worshipped Hank Williams, and became a rock and roll star. His first album, entitled Jack Scott. One of the first album recorded in stereo, it contained a mixture of rockabilly and ballads of which 10 were Scott's own compositions.
Recording for Carlton he came up with a rocking song about a friend in prison titled Leroy. The other side of the record was a sad ballad called My True Love.
Both songs were a smash in the Summer of 1958, the first going to #11 and the other as far as number 3 in Billboard's and made the Top Ten in Britain.
He followed it with Geraldine backed by With Your Love, the latter of which was a minor hit, With Your Love made Number 28 in the US later that year, Goodbye Baby peaked at Number 8 early in 1959 and was followed by The Way I Walk, a Top Forty hit that Robert Gordon revived in 1978.
Scott transferred to the new Top Rank label in 1959 and scored another huge success in the New Year with "What In The World's Come Over You." The song gave Scott his second gold disc, reaching Number 5 in the USA and Number 6 in the UK. Further successes followed Burning Bridge" (Number 3), Cool Water"/"It Only Happened Yesterday" but Scott was by then being steered towards a mainstream country style.
Listen and compare his "Blues stay away from me" with Bob Dylan’s, "Rainy Day Woman Numbers 12 and 35".
Leroy
Jack Scott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now he lives in Cellblock Two
I don't know just why he's blue
Leroy, what'd you do?
Leroy's back in jail again
Leroy's back in jail again
I don't know why, why he's blue
Went to the judge, dig man wail
I'm here and I got Leroy's bail
Judge said son, don't cha tell me no tale
Leroy, he's gonna stay in jail
Now, Leroy says man, you tried the best
Man, I'm here gonna take a rest
I've seen Minny, she's got the blues
She let you wear my long pointed shoes
Now, Leroy's heart is a bowl of hate
Leroy, he just can't go straight
Tell my Minny, I can't keep my date
I'm gonna be 'bout six months late
The lyrics to Jack Scott's song Leroy paint a rather sad and somewhat mysterious picture of a young man who has found himself incarcerated. Leroy is described as someone who was never down or blue, yet for some reason now finds himself behind bars. The first verse sets the stage for the song, posing the question of why Leroy is in jail and what he might have done to get there. The line "Now he lives in Cellblock Two" introduces the idea of Leroy's dire situation and the tone of the song.
The second verse reveals that this isn't the first time Leroy has found himself on the wrong side of the law. He's been in jail before and whatever he did to get himself there hasn't been resolved. The third verse introduces the idea that someone is trying to help Leroy get out of jail by offering to bail him out. Unfortunately, the judge isn't willing to let Leroy go and he remains behind bars. The fourth verse provides the most insight into Leroy's state of mind. He's resigned himself to being in jail and accepts that he won't make his date with Minny. His heart is filled with hate, which suggests that perhaps he feels unfairly treated or unsatisfied with his circumstances.
Overall, the lyrics to Leroy convey a sense of sadness, mystery, and frustration. We never find out exactly what Leroy did to end up in jail, but through his resignation and anger, we can infer that he might feel mistreated or misunderstood.
Line by Line Meaning
I know a boy who was never blue
I once knew a boy who was always happy and carefree.
Now he lives in Cellblock Two
He now resides in Cellblock Two, which is a part of a penitentiary.
I don't know just why he's blue
I'm not sure why he's now sad or downcast.
Leroy, what'd you do?
Leroy, can you tell us what crime you committed to land in jail?
Leroy's back in jail again
Leroy has been incarcerated yet again.
Leroy's back in jail again
Once more, Leroy is in trouble with the law and is in jail.
I don't know why, why he's blue
I can't fathom why he's feeling gloomy this time around.
Leroy, what'd you do?
Can you shed light on the specific offense you committed to end up incarcerated again, Leroy?
Went to the judge, dig man wail
Went to the judge and attempted to persuade him to be lenient.
I'm here and I got Leroy's bail
I'm here to post Leroy's bail bond.
Judge said son, don't cha tell me no tale
The judge expressed skepticism and advised him against fabricating stories.
Leroy, he's gonna stay in jail
However, the judge decided that Leroy must remain incarcerated.
Now, Leroy says man, you tried the best
Now Leroy admits that the person who tried to help him did his best.
Man, I'm here gonna take a rest
I'm worn out and need to take a break.
I've seen Minny, she's got the blues
I've seen Minny, and she's feeling down and unhappy.
She let you wear my long pointed shoes
She let you wear my fancy shoes, which shows she doesn't care about me anymore.
Now, Leroy's heart is a bowl of hate
Leroy's heart is now full of anger and resentment.
Leroy, he just can't go straight
Leroy has difficulties sticking to the right path and keeps getting into trouble.
Tell my Minny, I can't keep my date
Please tell Minny that I can't keep the date or appointment we had set.
I'm gonna be 'bout six months late
I won't be able to make it for about six months, unfortunately.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JACK SCOTT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Keith
One of the most underated rockers of the 50s. Jack Scott was great!
Mal Malamie
Fantastic record, love it
Steven Mercado
Pure rock and roll!!!! Nice.
Roberto DeBeers
Love Jack Scott. Love this song!!
Steve Coronado
Coolest rockabilly song! RIP Scott!
Brad Brassman
@Dave Jones I think its fair enough for the genuine musical genre and acts like Johnny Burnette Trio, early Roy Orbison and a whole host of hillbilly influenced artists like Billy Lee Riley etc but not to be confused with pure Rock and Roll.
Dave Jones
@Brad Brassman i never liked that phrase "rockabilly"
Brad Brassman
@Steve Coronado No it aint. Its pure Rock N Roll. He started as many did as a C&W Hank Williams cover artist/imitator. Jack himself stated that, “I never heard the term ‘rockabilly’. I was doing nothing but country songs until I heard Presley’s first records. I had a little show at a dance hall and I’d do a song like Walkin’ The Floor Over You and then do an Elvis song like Money Honey. Today, it seems that you play either rock or country but back then we were doing Rock Around the Clock, Be Bop A Lula and so on at square dances. It all blended. The audience loved one as much as the other. I never heard the term rockabilly until I went to Europe.” You cant get better than an opinion from the man himself!, especially as everything is termed Rocakabilly these days, but in the 1950's it was a short lived localised genre.
SusieQ
@Steve Coronado 👍
Steve Coronado
@Brad Brassmannah, dude, it's rockabilly. Thanks anyway you tube police.