This “Gimme a Pigfoot” song was made famous at
first by Bessie Smith, but this LaVern Baker version ain’t really fucking
around none. The song was originally written by Kid Wilson and Coot Grant, a
husband and wife songwriting team who performed on the southern black
vaudeville circuit, and DID NOT GIVE A FUCK. Kid Wilson was really named Wesley
Wilson, but went by Kid, although also had the nickname Sox so that he was more
often than not billed as Kid “Sox” Wilson. He had previously been in a duo with
another dude, billed as Pigmeat Pete and Catjuice Charlie. (Wilson was
Catjuice.) There is never any lack of need for more songs about FUCK Y’ALLS
BULLSHIT LET’S JUST LOUNGE, OKAY, because with microbreweries and the
gentrification of the entire Earth, and establishments making themselves only
available to the segment of society with the most discretionary income, places
of great indiscretion are fewer and farther between. And while I don’t eat
pork, so ain’t trying to gnaw on no pigfoot, plus am almost nine years sober, I
WOULD GLADLY TRADE ALL THESE FUCKIN’ LAME ASS PLACES PEOPLE GO TO FOR A SPOT
THAT HAD CHEAP ASS BEER AND PIGFEET, READY TO ROLL. We’ve progressed beyond
being able to fuckin’ chill.
There’s a great lesson from the survival mode of
rural juke joints and the Chitlin’ Circuit, that despite the prevailing rules
of the larger finer society, you can create these autonomous zones to get wild
and happy within. I’m not sure people realize that any more. Everybody seems so
keen on getting a seat at the table, that nobody thinks, “man, fuck y’all’s
table” and does their own damn thing out where the assholes ain’t bothering to
look. AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH THE ASSHOLES GET INTO YOUR HEAD, TRYING TO
CONVINCE YOU HOW POWERFUL THEY ARE, THEY CAN’T LOOK EVERYWHERE.
