Troglodyte
The Jimmy Castor Bunch Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

What we're gonna do right here is go back, way back, back into time.
When the only people that existed were troglodytes...
Cave men, cave women, Neanderthal, troglodytes.
Let's take the average cave man at home, listening to his stereo.
Sometimes he'd get up, try to do his thing.
He'd begin to move, something like this,
"Dance...dance".
When he got tired of dancing alone, he'd look in the mirror,
"Gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman".
He'd go down to the lake where all the women would be swimming or washing clothes or something.
He'd look around and just reach in and grab one.
"Come here...come here".
He'd grab her by the hair.
You can't do that today, fellas, 'cause it might come off.
You'd have a piece of hair in your hand and she'd be swimming away from you (Ha, ha)

This one woman just lay there, wet and frightened.
He said: "Move... Move".
She got up, she was a big woman, big woman.
Her name was Bertha, Bertha Butt, she was one of the Butt sisters.
He didn't care. He looked up at her and said,
"Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me
Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me!".

She looked down on him.
She was ready to crush him, but she began to like him.
She said, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy".
He said, "Wha?".
She said, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy".
You know what he said? He started it way back then
I wouldn't lie to you




When she said, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy"
He said "Right on! Right on! Hotpants! Hotpants! Ugh... Ugh... Ugh".

Overall Meaning

The Jimmy Castor Bunch's song Troglodyte is a humorous reflection on the primal behaviors of early humans, or troglodytes as they were called. The song takes us back in time, to a world where the only people that existed were cave men, cave women, Neanderthals, and troglodytes. The lyrics paint a picture of the average cave man listening to his stereo and getting up to move to the music. He then sets out to find a woman to dance with, and his primitive and aggressive approach to women is depicted. He would just reach in and grab one, grabbing her by the hair, which is not acceptable behavior today.


The story takes a turn when the singer describes a big woman named Bertha Butt, who was one of the Butt sisters. The cave man, seemingly undeterred by her size, looks up at her and says, "Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me". At first, Bertha is ready to crush the cave man, but she begins to like him, and they engage in a call-and-response exchange where he repeats her phrase, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy", and he responds by saying, "Right on! Right on! Hotpants! Hotpants! Ugh... Ugh... Ugh". The song portrays the primitive nature of early humans and their approach to women, while providing a humorous commentary on their behavior.


Line by Line Meaning

What we're gonna do right here is go back, way back, back into time.
We're taking a trip down memory lane to the time of troglodytes and cave men.


When the only people that existed were troglodytes... Cave men, cave women, Neanderthal, troglodytes.
The only people that existed were primitive humans, also known as troglodytes, cave men, and cave women.


Let's take the average cave man at home, listening to his stereo.
We're imagining a typical cave man listening to music in his dwelling place.


Sometimes he'd get up, try to do his thing. He'd begin to move, something like this, "Dance...dance".
The cave man would feel inspired to dance and start moving to the beat of his music.


When he got tired of dancing alone, he'd look in the mirror, "Gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman".
The cave man would get bored of dancing alone and want to find a woman to dance with and potentially mate with.


He'd go down to the lake where all the women would be swimming or washing clothes or something.
He would go to a body of water where he knew there would be women going about their daily activities.


He'd look around and just reach in and grab one. "Come here...come here". He'd grab her by the hair. You can't do that today, fellas, 'cause it might come off. You'd have a piece of hair in your hand and she'd be swimming away from you (Ha, ha)
He would impulsively grab a woman by the hair and pull her towards him, but this kind of behavior is no longer acceptable as it can be dangerous and disrespectful.


This one woman just lay there, wet and frightened. He said: "Move... Move". She got up, she was a big woman, big woman. Her name was Bertha, Bertha Butt, she was one of the Butt sisters. He didn't care. He looked up at her and said, "Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me. Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me!".
The woman he grabbed was scared and reluctant to dance, yet he pressured her and demanded she dance with him while making sexual innuendos.


She looked down on him. She was ready to crush him, but she began to like him. She said, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy". He said, "Wha?". She said, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy". You know what he said? He started it way back then I wouldn't lie to you When she said, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy" He said "Right on! Right on! Hotpants! Hotpants! Ugh... Ugh... Ugh".
The woman initially felt like crushing him for his inappropriate behavior but ended up feeling attracted to him. He responded positively to her advances with excitement and indecent noises.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DOUGLAS GIBSON, FRIDIE LANGDON JR., GERRY THOMAS, HARRY V. JENSEN, JAMES CASTOR, ROBERT W. MANIGAULT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@wyndhleodumegwu253

The late 60s and early to mid-70s performances by The Jimmy Castor Bunch have evinced the fact that James Walter Castor with his group was far ahead of his time.

Wouldn't you agree that Jimmy was rapping, hip-hopping and storytelling, as an African griot would have, long before these terms would have come into vogue.

Jimmy was a very great singer, a balladeer with one of the smoothest and most romantic voices.

He was very creative musically - voice, saxes, timbales, congas, bongos, shakeres and general percussion.

Just about 4-years his senior, King Curtis was Jimmy's chief idol when it came to Pop and the so-called "Smooth Jazz" saxophone sonority.

After King Curtis's untimely demise at the hands of a druggy on a hot summer of August, 1971, Jimmy Castor took up the King Curtis Cudgel to present to us "Soul Serenade", "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind" - among other songs which were well delivered on either tenor, alto or soprano saxophone by Jimmy a la King Curtis himself.

James Walter Castor was creatively eclectic and virtuosic.His death has occasioned a void in the music department of insightfulness and surrealistic creativity.

2012 had beholden a creative multitalented musician whose physical existence was obliterated for ever.

Spiritually, James Walter Castor liveth!



All comments from YouTube:

@TempleOfShadowsTOS

My mom used to play this for my brother and I when we were little kids. We would laugh like crazy! We thought this was the best song ever! I'm 48 years old now and sadly my mom passed away in 2015. I listen to this song and it brings back wonderful memories of all of us back then. Rest In Peace Mom!

@CallToTheWild

Same here. My mom passed in 2014, my brother a little before her, and three of my childhood friends have crossed over too. Sometimes we don't know the value of those precious moments that we had together until they become memories.

@auletjohnast03638

Frankie The Go, I'll trade with you my 70 yrs for your 48.

@bryanrabel5081

My aunt's name was Bertha.........she was awesome. She'd play this for us over and over!!!

@debbiepowers4562

Same here but it was me and my sister..my mom passed in 2016. I'm sorry for your loss 💔

@AGLew17

I am 58, and I must say, "Ahhhhhh, some of the greatest music is from the 70s!"👍🏿😊😃

5 More Replies...

@harryh5620

FREAKING EPIC. I remember when this song was huge when I was a kid

@GOSTSPKR.66

I've been there.

@w.bobble3206

This was the wildest thing we had ever heard when it showed up on the radio. Being about the age you start thinking about the Bertha’s butt, we laughed uncontrollably.

@lostinmusic5431

I liked that groove and bought the single in 1972 when I was 11. Still great !

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