Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)

About Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)

This article is about the 1924 Yellen / Ager song, not the "Big Bad Bill" song recorded by Spike Jones"Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" is a song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen, written in 1924. The song became a vocal hit for Margaret Young accompanied by Rube Bloom, and an instrumental hit for the Don Clark Orchestra. The song has also been recorded by Ernest Hare (1924), Billy Murray (1924), Clementine Smith (1924), Emmett Miller (1929), Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orchestra (1940), Peggy Lee (1962), Merle Haggard (1973), Ry Cooder (1978), Leon Redbone (1978), Van Halen (1982) and others and has been a popular song in barbershop quartet and chorus competitions. The lyrics describe a man "in the town of Louisville..." who was once a fearsome and rough character known for getting into fights, who, after getting married, becomes a peaceable person who devotes his time to domestic activities such as washing dishes and mopping the floor. more »

Year:

1982

2:45

284 Views

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Well, I went down yonder in Louisville
Lived a cat named Big Bad Bill
I wants ta tell ya
Ah, the cat was rough and tough he would strut his stuff
Had the whole town scared to death
When he walked by, they all held their breath
He's a fightin' man, sure enough
And then Bill got himself a wife, now he leads a different life

Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now
Married life done changed him somehow
He's the man the town used to fear
Now they all call him Sweet Papa Willy Dear
Stronger than Sampson I declare
Till a brown-skinned woman's bobbed his hair

Big Bad Bill don't fight anymore (No, no, no)
He's doin' the dishes an' moppin' up that floor (Yes he is)
Well he used to go out drinkin' lookin' for a fight
Now he gotta see that sweet woman every night
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now

Aw, play it boys

Aw, yeah!
Who!
I likes that, yeah ("Yeah," say I)

Ah, why-well, Big Bad Bill don't fight anymore (No, he don't)
He's doin' the dishes 'n moppin' up that floor (Yes he is)
Well he used to go out drinkin' lookin' for a fight
Now he gotta see that sweet woman every night

Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now (Doin' the dishes)
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now (Moppin' up that floor!)
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now

Yeah!

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Van Halen

Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Its 1978 debut album, Van Halen—featuring guitarist Eddie Van Halen, vocalist David Lee Roth, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony—is widely considered to be among the most "original" and "revolutionary" albums to "change rock and roll." more »

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