Odetta (December 31, 1930 - December 2, 2008) was an African-American singe… Read Full Bio ↴Odetta (December 31, 1930 - December 2, 2008) was an African-American singer whose repertoire consists largely of American folk music, blues, and spirituals.

She was born Odetta Holmes in Birmingham, Alabama, grew up in Los Angeles, California, and studied music at Los Angeles City College. Having operatic training from the age of 13, her first professional experience was in musical theater, with a touring company of the musical Finian's Rainbow in 1949.

While on tour with Finian's Rainbow, Odetta "fell in with an enthusiastic group of young balladeers", and after 1951 concentrated on folksinging. She made her name by playing around the country: at the Blue Angel nightclub (New York City), the hungry i (San Francisco), and Tin Angel (San Francisco), where she and Larry Mohr recorded Odetta and Larry in 1954, for Fantasy Records.

A solo career followed, with Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956) and a live album recorded at the Gate of Horn in Chicago in 1957. Harry Belafonte included her in a nationwide television special in 1959, and Odetta Sings Folk Songs was one of 1963's best-selling folk albums.

Odetta was active in the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. called her "the queen of American folk music". Bob Dylan and Joan Baez were among many folk musicians who credited Odetta with being a major influence on their work.

Having previous acting experience, Odetta also acted in several films, notably the film of William Faulkner's Sanctuary (1961) and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974).

On December 02, 2008, Odetta died from heart disease in New York City. She was 77 years of age.

Boll Weevil
Odetta Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

First time I see the boll weevil,
Sittin' on the square.
Next time I seen him,
Had his family there.

Chorus:
"Hey, boll weevil,
Where's your native home?"

"Way down in the bottom,
'Neath the cotton and corn."

Farmer asked the merchant,
"Gimme a little meat, a little meal."
"Ain't nothin' doin', old man,
Boll weevil in your fiel'.

(Chorus)

First time I see the boll weevil,
Sittin' on the square.

Next time I seen him,
Had his family there.

Overall Meaning

The song Boll Weevil by Odetta is a traditional folk song that narrates the destruction caused by the boll weevil pest in agricultural fields. The lyrics begin with the singer spotting the boll weevil for the first time, sitting on the square. However, the second time the singer encounters the boll weevil, it has already multiplied, bringing along its entire family. The chorus of the song has the singer questioning the boll weevil about its native home, to which the boll weevil responds, "Way down in the bottom, 'Neath the cotton and corn."

The song continues with a farmer asking a merchant for some meat and meal. However, the merchant refuses, citing the presence of the boll weevil in the farmer's field, which has caused destruction to the crops. The repetition of the first and second verse of the song emphasizes the rapid multiplication of the boll weevil and serves as a warning to farmers to take action against this destructive insect.

Line by Line Meaning

First time I see the boll weevil,
The first time I laid eyes on the boll weevil,

Sittin' on the square.
It was perched on the corner.

Next time I seen him,
The next time I encountered it,

Had his family there.
It was with its kin.

Chorus:
Chorus:

"Hey, boll weevil,
"Greetings, boll weevil,

Where's your native home?"
Where do you come from?"

"Way down in the bottom,
"At the base,

'Neath the cotton and corn."
Beneath cotton and corn fields."

Farmer asked the merchant,
A farmer asked a merchant,

"Gimme a little meat, a little meal."
"May I have some meat and grain please?"