Black Betty

Betty’s a pistol,

But she shoots her mouth off, and

Annoys the captain.

Old folk song, apparently about a gun or a bottle of whiskey or a prison whip or something. In this version, as with Nick Cave's version, Betty is a woman. This song was sung by Eric von Schmidt and Bob Dylan at von Schmidt's Sarasota, Florida, home and released on the ultra-rare "50th Anniversary Collection 1964" copyright extension collection.

Black Betty Black Betty

Bam-a-lam

Betty gone crazy

Betty gone crazy

Black Betty got lazy

Black Betty

Bam-a-lam

Black Betty jump steady

Now the captain got mad

Thinkin' about the things that he could have had.

Black Betty got sorry, had to go

Now you see her on the radio

Black Betty Black Betty

I'm too out of my skull at the moment