On The Road Again
Memphis Jug Band Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I would not -- black woman, tell you the reason why. (Why?)
Black woman's evil, do things on the sly. (No!)
You look for your supper to be good and hot. (Uh-huh!)
She'll never put a neck-bone in the pot
She's on the road again, just as sure as you're born
Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
She's on the road again
Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
I went to my window. My window was propped
I went to my door. My door was locked
I stepped right back. I shook my head
A big black nigger in my folding bed
I shot through the window. I broke the glass
I never seen a little nigger run so fast
He's on the road again
Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
He's on the road again
Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
Your friend come to your house, while passing, to rest his hat. (Yeah.)
The next thing he want to know where's your husband at
She says, "I don't know. He's on his way to the pen
"Come on, mama, let's get on the road again
He's on the road again
Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
He's on the road again




Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
Come on, mama, on the road again

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Memphis Jug Band's "On The Road Again" tell a story of a man dealing with the betrayal of a black woman he trusted. The first verse begins with his reluctance to explain the reason for his actions towards her, perhaps because her betrayal was so personal that he is embarrassed to speak of it. He goes on to insult black women, calling them "evil" and "sly," perhaps projecting his hurt onto an entire race rather than deal with the pain he experienced from one individual. The man then expresses disappointment that the woman he trusted would not cook him a proper meal, even though he expected it. He implies that she is lazy by claiming that she refuses to put a neck-bone in the pot. The last two lines of this verse indicate that the woman is on the road again, which could mean that she left him, or perhaps that she is a traveler who never stays in one place for too long.


The second verse introduces a new scenario, where the man returns home and sees a big black man in his bed. The implication here is that the woman he trusted has cheated on him, and he is using racial slurs to express his anger towards the man she is with. He shoots through the window after the man runs, indicating his violent response to the situation. The final verse is a conversation where a man comes to visit his friend and asks about her husband's whereabouts. The woman responds with a lie, claiming that he is on his way to prison, and then suggests that they leave town together. The entire song portrays a world where trust is rare, and people can be easily deceived.


Line by Line Meaning

I would not -- black woman, tell you the reason why. (Why?)
I wouldn't tell you why a black woman is evil and deceitful.


Black woman's evil, do things on the sly. (No!)
Contrary to what you might think, black women are untrustworthy and deceptive.


You look for your supper to be good and hot. (Uh-huh!)
You expect your food to be delicious and piping hot.


She'll never put a neck-bone in the pot
However, she'll never put a neck-bone in the cooking pot as a black woman.


She's on the road again, just as sure as you're born
But she's on the move again, that's for sure!


Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
She's a natural wanderer who enjoys the journey.


I went to my window. My window was propped
One time I checked my window, and it was open.


I went to my door. My door was locked
But when I tried my door, it was locked.


I stepped right back. I shook my head
I stepped back in disbelief, shaking my head at what I saw.


A big black nigger in my folding bed
There was a large black man sleeping in my bed.


I shot through the window. I broke the glass
So, I shot him through the window, breaking the glass.


I never seen a little nigger run so fast
Never seen a small black person move so quickly.


He's on the road again
That man is back on the road again.


Your friend come to your house, while passing, to rest his hat. (Yeah.)
Your acquaintances may stop by to rest their hat as they pass your house.


The next thing he want to know where's your husband at
Next, they'll inquire about your spouse's whereabouts.


She says, "I don't know. He's on his way to the pen
The response would be, "I don't know. He's probably going to jail."


"Come on, mama, let's get on the road again
"Let's go, mom! It's time to hit the road again."


He's on the road again
He's back on the road, traveling again.


Lord, a natural-born eastman on the road again
He's a natural wanderer who was born to be on the move.


Come on, mama, on the road again
Let's go, mom; we're back on the road again!




Contributed by Jordyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Bob H

Seems Nas was too wimpy to rap the opening line, so he went with the less-tongue-in-cheek, more-misogynistic "I wouldn't marry a black woman" instead. These are Will Shade's original's lyrics, as best I can tell:

I whip my black woman, tell yuhd reason why ("why!?")
A black woman's evil, do things on the sly ("No!!")
You look for your supper to be good and hot ("uh-huh...")
She never put a neckbone in the pot

She's on the road again...
("just as shor as yor born")
Lord, a natural born easement
On the road again
She's on the road again...
Lord, a natural born easement
On the road again

I went to my window
My window was propped
I went to my door
My door was locked
I stepped right back
I shook my head
A big black **** in my foldin' bed
I shot through the window
I broke his leg
I never seen a little **** run so fast

He's on the road again...
("oh, as shor as yor born")
Lord, a natural born easement
On the road again
He's on the road again...
("oh, as shor as yor born")
Lord, a natural born easement
On the road again

Your friend come to your house
"Why that's'n arresting hat"
The next thing wanna know "Where's yor husband at?"
She says "I don't know, he's on his way to the pen"
(yeah...)
"C'mon momma, let's get on the road again"

He's on the road again...
("oh, as shor as yor born")
Lord, a natural born easement
On the road again
He's on the road again...
("shor as yor born")
Lord, a natural born easement
On the road again

So it starts with a close-to-the-bone (while there were still some former slaves alive) joke about whipping a woman, and ends with a close-to-the-bone joke about a man getting his exercise on a chain gang. Basically, a tweaking both sexes play on playing the dozens (and more slyly entertaining than slovenly misogynistic rap).



All comments from YouTube:

phonofolks

Early form of rhythm and blues. Fantastic music!

madsnoop7

This band rocks !

Four Lights Orchestra

I can’t think of a better American band than this one.

mike saage

sons of the pioneers, and this

RodCornholio

You can hear the roots of Rock 'N Roll in this.

BUPOE

Yeah you hear Rock and hip hop here. Lol this is Linkin park.

Kevin Dube

The Shaniac he’s singing the whole time though

Jim Marks

Especially the roll part, love how these guys drive it and don't let up!

Greg Tennessee

Canned Heat

phonofolks

@Greg Tennessee Interesting you should say this. The lead of Canned Heat collected 78rpm records like this.

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