White Trash Stomp
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Texas And Me |
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Version 1 is a full studio recording
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Stranded In Babylon [Both Versions]
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Version 2 is a live recording, performed solo with acoustic guitar
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Version 3 is the same recording as version 1, but with the final chord strike removed
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lyrics versions 1 and 3
Going to Corpus to see grandpa Joe
Get me a haircut, eat at The Chilli Bowl
Sneak out the back door with a fishing pole
Me and my sister and my brother too
We sing in the desert like the coyotes do
Accidental touring in the human zoo
Ow ow ow
Naughty Nina played the eighty-eights
Never had no trouble getting the dates
Believe she's gonna surprise us at the pearly gates
Don't mock the albino, respect the octoroon
Our skin be like porcelain, pale as the moon
We dance the dysfunct hucklebuck but gonna rewrite the tune
Going up to Charlestown, I'm gonna see my ma
Feet up on the ottoman with my old pa
Then head for the kitchen, we'll sit around and jaw
Over skillet cornbread we discuss the law
Black-eyed peas, collard greens
Rochambeau, time to go
Get me a haircut, eat at The Chilli Bowl
Sneak out the back door with a fishing pole
Me and my sister and my brother too
We sing in the desert like the coyotes do
Accidental touring in the human zoo
Ow ow ow
Naughty Nina played the eighty-eights
Never had no trouble getting the dates
Believe she's gonna surprise us at the pearly gates
Don't mock the albino, respect the octoroon
Our skin be like porcelain, pale as the moon
We dance the dysfunct hucklebuck but gonna rewrite the tune
Going up to Charlestown, I'm gonna see my ma
Feet up on the ottoman with my old pa
Then head for the kitchen, we'll sit around and jaw
Over skillet cornbread we discuss the law
Black-eyed peas, collard greens
Rochambeau, time to go
lyrics version 2
Well
Well I’m going to Corpus to see granpa Joe
Get me a haircut, eat at The Chilli Bowl
Sneak out the back door with a fishing pole
Me and my sister and my brother too
We sing in the desert like the coyotes do
Yes we’re accidental touring in the human zoo
Ow ow ow-ooh
Ow ah ah ow-ahn-a now
Ow ah na ah-a-ah now
Well na na-na
Weh na na now na now now
Weh na now now
Well now now na na now now
Don't mock the albino, that’s me, respect the octoroon
My skin is like porcelain, pale as the moon
I dance the dysfunct hucklebuck but gonna rewrite that tune
Yeah going up to Charlestown, I'm gonna see my ma
Feet up on the ottoman with my old pa
Then head for the kitchen, we'll sit around and jaw
Over skillet cornbread we’ll discuss the law
Black-eyed peas, collard greens
Rochambeau, it’s time to go
Well I’m going to Corpus to see granpa Joe
Get me a haircut, eat at The Chilli Bowl
Sneak out the back door with a fishing pole
Me and my sister and my brother too
We sing in the desert like the coyotes do
Yes we’re accidental touring in the human zoo
Ow ow ow-ooh
Ow ah ah ow-ahn-a now
Ow ah na ah-a-ah now
Well na na-na
Weh na na now na now now
Weh na now now
Well now now na na now now
Don't mock the albino, that’s me, respect the octoroon
My skin is like porcelain, pale as the moon
I dance the dysfunct hucklebuck but gonna rewrite that tune
Yeah going up to Charlestown, I'm gonna see my ma
Feet up on the ottoman with my old pa
Then head for the kitchen, we'll sit around and jaw
Over skillet cornbread we’ll discuss the law
Black-eyed peas, collard greens
Rochambeau, it’s time to go
White Trash Stomp is very similar to the Gene Taylor penned song Sure Is A Good Thing, released by The Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm, Gene Taylor Band on their 1987 album The Return Of The Formerly Brothers. Whilst it is essentially twelve bar blues, some people suspect that Larry plagiarised the song given that the piano riff is identical, and the way the drums kick in is similar. Larry’s brother Charles was made aware of this in September 2018, and was very excited and intrigued to hear it. Here then is how Larry came to “steal” Gene’s song:
Charles: It's a piano lick and rhythm I learned in New Orleans from my downstairs neighbor in 1990 or so. He played it on his piano when I told him my family was from Corpus Christi, Texas. He said it was a southern Texas riff that he learned from a record that paid homage to various colloquial riffs from all over Texas. I tape recorded him playing it and reproduced it for "Stranded" on my sequencer. I told Larry it was some sort of southern Texas riff and he wrote the words about Corpus Christi and my family. This is very interesting. I wonder if this is the record my neighbor was referencing. It sure sounds almost exactly the same!
After I asked if his neighbor had made drum noises etc whilst playing the piano, Charles further responded: Yeah, I wanted to know all about the riff. The drum intro is very close, not quite there, but the piano riffs are exactly the same. I should try and dig-up the MIDI file I recorded into Opcode Vision of him, but I doubt I'd be able to find it, and if I did it wouldn't be compatible with any software I have now. I wonder if I used his MIDI playing on the record, but I kind of doubt it. I think I would have wanted to do it myself.
So in summary, Larry was unaware that the song was so similar to someone else’s. Charles was aware that it was similar to something, but not what. In any case, he thought he was copying a fairly standard southern Texas riff.
Charles later joked: Having just listened to both tracks back-to-back, I think mine is WAY cooler, with the middle 8 slowdown and the cool end.
“Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
Charles: It's a piano lick and rhythm I learned in New Orleans from my downstairs neighbor in 1990 or so. He played it on his piano when I told him my family was from Corpus Christi, Texas. He said it was a southern Texas riff that he learned from a record that paid homage to various colloquial riffs from all over Texas. I tape recorded him playing it and reproduced it for "Stranded" on my sequencer. I told Larry it was some sort of southern Texas riff and he wrote the words about Corpus Christi and my family. This is very interesting. I wonder if this is the record my neighbor was referencing. It sure sounds almost exactly the same!
After I asked if his neighbor had made drum noises etc whilst playing the piano, Charles further responded: Yeah, I wanted to know all about the riff. The drum intro is very close, not quite there, but the piano riffs are exactly the same. I should try and dig-up the MIDI file I recorded into Opcode Vision of him, but I doubt I'd be able to find it, and if I did it wouldn't be compatible with any software I have now. I wonder if I used his MIDI playing on the record, but I kind of doubt it. I think I would have wanted to do it myself.
So in summary, Larry was unaware that the song was so similar to someone else’s. Charles was aware that it was similar to something, but not what. In any case, he thought he was copying a fairly standard southern Texas riff.
Charles later joked: Having just listened to both tracks back-to-back, I think mine is WAY cooler, with the middle 8 slowdown and the cool end.
“Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
Charles Norman in 2024: "I accidentally plagiarized this song White Trash Stomp. A downstairs neighbor when I lived in New Orleans played it on piano for me and I said “That’s GREAT” He said it was public domain piano riff like the 12-bar Blues and I asked him if I could use it. I later found out it was actually a piano riff from the guy that started the band “Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs”. — Charles town is where I lived." Note: Charles may have misremembered the link to Sam The Sham - Doug Sahm was in a band called The Pharaohs, but I do not believe they were the same Pharaohs that Sam The Sham was connected with