Quit Kickin' My Dog Around

Those boys gotta stop

Kickin' my dog around when

I go into town.

This eternally weird song is one of my favorites. Also known as "Ya Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Around," this song was an old-timey music hit in the 1920's for the country music fiddling act (and apparently overwhelmingly racist) Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers. Apparently its roots go back to the early 19th century. I have no idea where Bob Dylan found it, but he and the Band did a hilarious version of it in 1967 in upstate New York during their Basement Tapes sessions. The premise of the song is a question that remains unanswered: every time he goes to town, the boys kick his dog around. He doesn't know why they do this, but they do it. In Dylan's version, the Band echoes his "dog dog dog" line with "bark bark bark." He switches to "duck duck duck," followed by the response, "quack quack quack." It's only funny if you listen to it.