Was
wat elpees in de kast aan het zetten, o.a een drietal van Tony Joe
White (1943-2018), op "Black And White" (Monument Stereo SLP 18114) uit 1969 staat "Polk Salad Annie"
ook uitgevoerd door Elvis Presley, maar White schreef het. Het blijft
prachtig. Maar wat is polk salad. "Polk salad is a plant that grows in
the south. It is very common in Georgia. It grows on a stalk and has
green leaves. The plant can reach several feet tall by summer. I have
seen them 6 feet tall. In the summer it produces red berries that birds
love. The leaves are boiled, rinsed then cooked in bacon fat or lard
with onions or eggs. It tastes like spinach. The tender stalks are
chopped, coated in flour and fried, and tastes like okra. I have eaten
this wild plant all my life, and love it! " volgens een dame, die het
kan weten. Dit is de tekst van "Polk Salad Annie":[spoken]
"If some of ya'll never been down South too much...
I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this,
So that you'll understand what I'm talking about
Down there we have a plant
That grows out in the woods and the fields,
Looks somethin' like a turnip green.
Everybody calls it Poke salad. Poke salad.
Used to know a girl that lived down there and
she'd go out in the evenings and pick a mess of it...
Carry it home and cook it for supper,
'Cause that's about all they had to eat,
But they did all right.
[sung]
Down in Louisiana
Where the alligators grow so mean
There lived a girl that I swear to the world
Made the alligators look tame
Poke salad Annie, poke salad Annie
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was working on the chain-gang
(A mean, vicious woman)
Everyday 'fore supper time
She'd go down by the truck patch
And pick her a mess o' polk salad
And carry it home in a tote sack
Poke salad Annie, 'gators got you granny
Everybody said it was a shame
'Cause her mama was aworkin' on the chain-gang
(a wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin' woman,
Lord have mercy. Pick a mess of it)
Her daddy was lazy and no count
Claimed he had a bad back
All her brothers were fit for
Was stealin' watermelons out of my truck patch
Poke salad Annie, the gators got your granny
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was a working' on the chain gang
(Sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need a mess of it)".
"If some of ya'll never been down South too much...
I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this,
So that you'll understand what I'm talking about
Down there we have a plant
That grows out in the woods and the fields,
Looks somethin' like a turnip green.
Everybody calls it Poke salad. Poke salad.
Used to know a girl that lived down there and
she'd go out in the evenings and pick a mess of it...
Carry it home and cook it for supper,
'Cause that's about all they had to eat,
But they did all right.
[sung]
Down in Louisiana
Where the alligators grow so mean
There lived a girl that I swear to the world
Made the alligators look tame
Poke salad Annie, poke salad Annie
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was working on the chain-gang
(A mean, vicious woman)
Everyday 'fore supper time
She'd go down by the truck patch
And pick her a mess o' polk salad
And carry it home in a tote sack
Poke salad Annie, 'gators got you granny
Everybody said it was a shame
'Cause her mama was aworkin' on the chain-gang
(a wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin' woman,
Lord have mercy. Pick a mess of it)
Her daddy was lazy and no count
Claimed he had a bad back
All her brothers were fit for
Was stealin' watermelons out of my truck patch
Poke salad Annie, the gators got your granny
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was a working' on the chain gang
(Sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need a mess of it)".
Het duurde bijna een jaar (van november 1968 tot juli 1969) voordat "Polk Salad Annie" in de Amerikaanse hitlijsten verscheen, zijn platenmaatschappij beschouwde het begin '69 dan ook als een volslagen mislukking.
