"You make a dead man come."

There's this song I heard recently on Noggin, the channel that my children love the most, which has a recurring refrain, "Brown Sugar, Brown Sugar." Of course, old Stones fan that I am, I always silently add the familiar, "You make a dead man come." (Why I add a line from "Start Me Up" to "Brown Sugar," I have no idea. I should be singing "Just like a black girl should." Thanks, Sarcastro for pointing out the obvious to the oblivious.)

I always thought that line was originally penned by Richards/Jagger. This morning, however, while listening to a wonderful podcast entitled Uncensored History of the Blues, I was introduced to the music of Lucille Bogan. And there it was. "...make a dead man come," from "Till the Cows Come Home", released in 1935. You'll have to look up the lyrics yourself. They're here. They're dirty. She was apparently famous for her bawdy sexual innuendos and double entendres, but from what I've heard, she's about as coy as 1989's 2 Live Crew, i.e. not at all.

Explicit song lyrics didn't start with Tipper Gore's problem child, Prince. They've been with us for as long as songs have been written.

It's Dirty Blues Day here at chez bez. Have fun out there.