folk song: Mr. Bo jangles

Folk Song: Mr. Bo jangles
Artist: Jim Croce

I knew a man Bo jangles

And he danced for you

In worn out

With silver hair, a ragged shirt

And baggy pants, the old soft shoe

He jumped so high,

He jumped so high,

Then he lightly touched down

Mr. Bo jangles, Mr. Bo jangles,

Mr. Bo jangles, dance!

I met him in a cell in New Orleans,

I was down and out

He looked to be the eyes of age as spoke right out

He talked of life,

He talked of life,

He laughed, slapped his leg a step

He said his name, Bo jangles,

Then he danced a lick across the cell

He grabbed pants of better stants,

Then he jumped up high, he clicked his heels

He let go a laugh,

He let go a laugh, shook back his clothes all around

Mr. Bo jangles, Mr. Bo jangles,

Mr. Bo jangles, dance!

La-dee da da...

Hum-um-um...

Dee-dah-dah-dah

He danced for those at minstrel shows

And county fairs throughout the south

He spoke with tears of 15 years

How his dog and he traveled about

His dog up and died, up and died,

After 20 years he still grieved

He said I dance now at ev'ry chance

In honky-tonks for drinks and tips

But most of the time

I spend behind these county bars

He said 'I drinks a bit'

He shook his head

And as he shook his head

I heard someone ask "Please!"

"Please!"

Mr. Bo jangles, Mr. Bo jangles,

Mr. Bo jangles, dance!

La-dee da da...

Hum-um-um...

Dee-dah-dah-dah

Dance! Dance! Dance

Vocabulary

Pants= to breathe rapidly in short gasps, as after exertion.

Minstrel shows = a formerly popular variety show in which performers, often in blackface, sing, dance, tell jokes, and perform comic skirt.

Honky-tonks = a cheap, noisy saloon or dance hall.

Lick= the act of licking

Grieved= to cause to be sorrowful; distress, to feel grief; mournWorn out = used or worn until no longer usable, thoroughly exhausted; spent.

Ragged= tattered, dressed in tattered clothes.

Baggy= bulging or hanging loosely

Cell= a narrow, confining room, as in a prison or convent


This song is about the life’s Mr. Bo jangles, what he wears, what he does, and his life in the past with his tears.