Oh, well

[Wilson Gray]

Whilst indulging in my pastime of searching out my favorite music from
back in the day, I came across a song by one Tammy James, otherwise
unknown to me, who, in 1968(?), released a song called

"That's _Fat_, Jack"

Y'all know what I immediately thought: a link between the _phatt_ of
1950 and the _phat_ of today, except that it uses the normal spelling!
And, by some miraculous stroke of luck, someone has posted it to YouTube!

I've listened to this record several times: through the built-in
speakers, through the external speakers, and through two different
sets of headphones using two different kinds of headphone amps.

There is a jpg of the the original 45 on YouTube. The title clearly
reads, THAT'S FAT JACK, *written," as well as recorded, on the New
World label, by Tammy James.

Nevertheless, I assert that what Tammy sings is

"That's _right_, Jack"

You could write it in eye-dialect as "Dass _rat_, Jack," but I'd bet
money that, by *no* means, is the singer singing _fat_.

Well, it looked as though it might be useful.

Youneverknow.

FWIW, it was often the case that a piece would be given its title by
the producer of the record, whether or not the singer-songwriter had
already supplied a title.


A. What's the name of this? "You Got Me Doing What You Want Me."

B. Uh, "Baby, Why You Wanna Let Go."

A. No. "Baby, What You Want Me To Do"; "Baby, What You Want Me To Do."

B. "Baby, Why You Wanna Let Go." You could even make it "Why Let Go,"
wanna make it short.

C. Here we go: 59-211.


Aficionados know how this discussion worked itself out: the title
supplied by the producer is the title of the record, leaving thousands
to wonder why it is that the refrain and the title are distinct,
despite what you would expect.
--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org