Jockey Full of Bourbon
I love the Moshav Band, and I used to frequent their shows in Pico Robertson and at the Mint when I lived in LA. At one of those shows I bought a copy of their album Misplaced. After listening to it a few dozen times, I noticed some oddities in their cover of Tom Waits' Jockey Full of Bourbon.
It turns out the Moshav Band's cover is bowdlerized. It took me another dozen listens to hear what was going on, but here are the changes: Edna Million in a drop dead suit
changed to:
Edgar Million in a drop dead suit
I'm full of bourbon I can't stand up
changed to:
I'm on the corner I can't stand up
I'm on the lawn with someone else's wife
changed to:
I'm on the lawn in someone else's life I can easily imagine why the last line might create problems with their usual audience (in LA shows—outside of bars—it was overwhelmingly teenage frummie girls). I'm a little perplexed about the first two mods: Why does Edna need a sex-change? And why no drunks allowed? Frum Yidn drink plenty on Purim, and the song is still listed as "Jockey Full of Bourbon". Nu?
But my more basic question is: if you can't sing a song the way it's written, should you maybe pick a different song?
Does Tom Waits know about this? And, was it Orthodoxy that required this censorship? I would like the answer to be 'no', but I'm not so naive as to place a bet on that horse. (I was that naive when I became frum in 1982.)
Anyway, here's a shout out to Yehudah Solomon et al – Give us the lowdown! And when you finish with that, give us a nigun.
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