last_heard
Fleetwood Class
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2011
TBM lists the top five covers of Hey Joe as Leaves, Leaves, Swamp Rats, Leaves, and Hazards. Glad to see the Hazards made the list - I was in junior high in Richmond at the time, and WLEE AM played it all the time.
But my point is to the Swamp Rats Hey Joe!. This is not a version of the song Hey Joe, but an original song based on the same event but from an entirely different point of view. That song is about a friend having a discussion with his buddy Joe regarding premeditated murder, and then after the guitar break discussing Joe's fugitive status.
The Swamp Rats Hey Joe! is not a conversation, but a first person rant by the lover. It starts off "Joe's got a gun", and the narrator swears to hunt Joe down and make him pay for his dirty deed. Here 'Hey Joe!' is not an address, but rather an epithet. Thus the exclamation point.
Forgive me if this is old hat, but I couldn't find this take anywhere. Note that there is no author credited on the St. Clair 45.
But my point is to the Swamp Rats Hey Joe!. This is not a version of the song Hey Joe, but an original song based on the same event but from an entirely different point of view. That song is about a friend having a discussion with his buddy Joe regarding premeditated murder, and then after the guitar break discussing Joe's fugitive status.
The Swamp Rats Hey Joe! is not a conversation, but a first person rant by the lover. It starts off "Joe's got a gun", and the narrator swears to hunt Joe down and make him pay for his dirty deed. Here 'Hey Joe!' is not an address, but rather an epithet. Thus the exclamation point.
Forgive me if this is old hat, but I couldn't find this take anywhere. Note that there is no author credited on the St. Clair 45.
