Big Fat Mama
(Tommy Johnson)
Big Fat Woman, meat shake on her bone.
Big fat Mama, meat shake on her bone.
Ev’ry time she shake it, some skinny girl will lose her home.
Well now, Big Fat Woman, where you been so long?
Big fat Mama, where you been so long?
You better quit your pushin’, darlin’, and bring your clothes back home
I’m leavin’ here baby, won’t be back ’til fall.
Leavin’ you Mama, said I won’t be back ’til fall.
If my mind don’t change, I won’t be back at all.
Big Fat Woman, meat shake on her bone.
Big fat Mama, meat shake on her bone.
Ev’ry time she shake it, Fat Man’s dollar is gone.
GUITAR:
This is played on the L’Arrivee in the key of E, in standard tuning, the signature chord form that opens this tune up is the opening E7, which from low string to high is:
0-2-2-4-3-4
If this is unfamiliar, you can understand it as a first position D7 [ X-0-0-2-1-2] fingered with your little fingers, leaving your index finger out of the form. Move this up two frets (making an E7 sound) and then placing that waiting index finger behind the chord on the fourth and fifth strings at the second fret. This allows you to open the sixth string (E) and play a wonderfully full and interesting E7. The rest of the tune will follow pretty easily once you’ve gotten your fingers around this. Very cool. Also on this track are the mandolin and fretless bass.
I learned this song on a contemporaneously taboo subject from David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards, an erstwhile companion of the late Robert Johnson. It extolls the considerable virtues of big women. Who says size doesn’t matter?