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The evolution of “Black Betty” from prison chant to a quasi-heavy metal standard perhaps reflects its roots among singers with metallic names such as “Iron Head” and “Lead Belly”.
Most modern versions of the song presume that its subject matter is an African-American woman, but the earliest take suggests that the “Black Betty” was a prison whip, with the “bam-ba-lam” representing its crack. Other theories posit that “Black Betty” was a prison van — similar to a Black Mariah. Some point to an old British marching song referring to a musket colloquially known as the “Brown Bess” that was made in Birmingham in the British Midlands, not “way down in Alabam’”, and that the child in question was a bullet.
Nevertheless, the confusion around “Black Betty” has caused some consternation over time. Ram Jam’s version was considered by some to be offensive to Black women and, like The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar”, has been the subject of a re-evaluation in more recent times. The Associated Press reported in 2006 that the University of New Hampshire, which used the song during ice hockey games, had decided it was no longer appropriate to use a “theoretically racist” song after complaints from some students.
Less adept was Tom Jones, who hired Wyclef Jean to produce his 2002 album Mr Jones, which The Guardian described as being “in the realm of Richard Madeley’s Ali G impression”. “Black Betty” couldn’t survive the cod-reggae beats and new verses that boasted that it was “TJ” himself who had fathered the child with the titular character.
Spiderbait’s drummer and singer Kram told Australian street magazine Scenstr last year that he had been approached by a fan with depression who said she would put on their version in the car to speed down the highway. “It would be her way of burning through the darkness,” he said of the song’s long-standing transcendent quality.
Let us know your memories of ‘Black Betty’ in the comments section below
The paperback edition of ‘The Life of a Song: The stories behind 100 of the world’s best-loved songs’, edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley, is published by Chambers
Music credits: Epic; Tradition; Rounder; RCA; East Central One; Mute; Ipecac; Universal
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