Mama's got a brand new bag
Mama's got a brand new bag, baby
We're gonna groove it all night long baby
We're gonna groove it all night long
Uh uh

We're gonna work it out baby
We're gonna shake it tonight
Ahh
Mm Mm yeah

I hear you talking
Yes I hear you talking
Well now turn me on now baby
Well now turn me on now baby tonight.

"That was the famous coloured jazz singer, Bo Duddley. Now Bo, what colour are you"
"Well, I'm sort of a fleshy pink, a bit purple in the corner of the eyes and a bit blue round the chin"
"Yes, that was a sort of Harlem, eh, tune wasn't it"
"Yes, a darkie melody"

"Yes, now I think some of the lyrics may be a little incomprehensible to the English audience. Do you think you could explain some of the idiom, some of the slang, verse by verse"

"Why not, be delighted."
Mama's got a brand new bag yeah

"Mama's got a brand new bag yeah. Now this is fairly straight forwad. Presumably the Mama has gone out onto the bustling streets of Harlem. She's seen this attractive bag and she's bought it. What sort of a bag would that be, a rock a boogie baggie, what?

"Yes, a rock a boogie, chatanooga, wim wam gaily kind of plastic bag"

"Which she's bought and taken home?"

"Exactly, and it goes on"
We're gonna groove it all night long baby, yeah

"We're gonna groove it all night long baby, yeah. Now presumably she's going to decorate the bag in some way with indentations. With these grooves for her baby"

"Exactly, it's probably it's birthday, or an anniversary or something"

"Yes, now how is this grooving done?"

"With a groover. In the old days of course when they used to have knife grinders and water melon sellers in the street they used to have groovers as well. Mississippi Groover, they used to shout their wares"

"But now it's done in the home"

"It's a domestic thing now."

"And it takes all night"

"It certainly does. And she goes on"

We're gonna work it out baby

"Ah, we're gonna work it baby. Now surely she should have worked it out before started grooving"

"Exactly, it's rather putting the chicken before the china shop isn't it. Umm once she's grooved it she suddenly decides to work it out"

"A bit late"

"darkie dilema. The she goes on"

We're gonna shake it tonight

"We're gonna shake it tonight, presumably in frustration and rage at the fact she's grooved the bag badly without working it out properly"

"Exactly, what frustration. Then she goes on"
Stretch out man, stretch out

"She's feeling a bit tired so she feels, get a bit of kip, you know stretch out and then"
I hear you talking

"Is that the neighbours she hears talking through the paper thin walls"

"Exactly, disgraceful business, just when she want's to get a bit of kip. And then"
Turn me on baby

"Ah now this, turn me on baby. Is she asking her husband to spin her round on the prostrate form of the baby out of rage and frustration again"

"Ah, no this is a very colourful reading but not absolutely accurate. In fact it's ahh asking the baby to turn the light on. Turn for me, in parenthesis, the light on baby"

"Ah I see, like the German, out of the door, go I must"

"Hm, no however she goes on the say"
Um, you're burning up now baby

"You're burning up now baby"

"you're burning up now baby. The babys turned the light on, fused the electric system and the whole wig wams shot up in flames"

"You don't think any of these lyrics could be connected to making love or sex"

"Good Lord no, and anyway I wouldn't sing that sort of garbage"

"Good well this is a simple story of a Harlem mother whose gone out into the bustling markets of her home place. She's seen a colourful rock a boogie plastic bag and she's taken it home. Shes grooved it all night but she hasn't worked out how to groove it properly. In her rage and frustration, she shakes the bag. She lies down to go to sleep but the neighbours start talking. She asks the baby to turn on the light and the whole wig wam goes up in flames. Wouldn't she have better spending the money on re-wiring the house rather than on the gaily coloured plastic bags and indeed, should these bags be on sale to people not quite ready to use them in a responsible fashion."


Mama's got a brand new bag
Mama's got a brand new bag, baby
We're gonna groove it all night long baby
We're gonna groove it all night long
Uh uh

We're gonna work it out baby
We're gonna shake it tonight
Ahh
Mm Mm yeah

"Thank you Bo".
