Lyrics omitted. The annotations below are reproduced by permission of David Dodd; the song lyrics themselves are copyrighted and are not reproduced here. Read them at the official source: dead.net/songs.
Recorded on
First recorded performance February 11, 1969, at the Fillmore East in New York. After 1969, dropped from the repertoire until the late seventies, when it made a brief re-appearance; then brought back in 1982 for the duration of the decade.
The text of the song is a re-working of a song, "Betty and Dupree," with many incarnations in American folk tradition. It was based upon a true incident:
"The biography of the man and his crimes may be summarized as follows: Frank Dupree grew up in Abbeville, South Carolina. He came on the scene in December 1921 in Atlanta, Georgia, where he had a gal Betty. In trying to appropriate a diamond for her in a jewelry store he shot a policeman down. Fleeing to Memphis and later to Chicago, where he was cornered, he killed a policeman and wounded several more. He was caught while getting his mail and sent to Atlanta for trial. He was executed for murder on September 1, 1922." (Roberts: In the Pine.)Here are three versions of the song:
Dupree was settin' in a hotel, Wasn't thinkin' 'bout a dog-gone thing, Settin' in a hotel, Wasn't thinkin' 'bout a dog-gone thing. Betty said to Dupree, I want a diamond ring. Dupree went to town With a forty-five in his hand. He went to town with a forty-five in his hand. He went after jewelry-- But he got the jewelry man. Dupree went to Betty cryin', Betty, here is your diamond ring. He went to Betty cryin' Here is your diamond ring. Take it and wear it, Betty, 'Cause I'm bound for cold old cold Sing Sing. Then he called a taxi Cryin', drive me to Tennessee. Taxi, taxi, taxi, Drive me to Tennessee. He said, drive me, bubber, 'Cause the dicks is after me. He went to the post office To get his evenin' mail. Went to the general delivery To get his evenin' mail. They caught poor Dupree, Lordy, Put him in Nashville Jail. Dupree said to the judge, Lord, I ain't been here before. Lord, Lord, Lord, Judge, I ain't been here before. Judge said, I'm gonna break your neck, Dupree, So you can't come here no more. Betty weeped, Betty moaned Till she broke out with sweat. Betty weeped and she moaned Till she broke out with sweat. Said she moaned and she weeped Till her clothes got soppin' wet. Betty brought him coffee, Betty brought him tea. Betty brought him coffee, Also brought him tea. She brought him all he needed 'Cept that big old jail-house key. [NOTE relationship to "Don't Ease Me In"] Dupree said, it's whisky I crave, Bring me flowers to my grave. It's whiskey I crave. Bring flowers to my grave. That little ole Betty's Done made me her dog-gone slave. It was early one mornin' Just about the break ' day, Early, early one morning' Just about break o' day, They had him testifyin' And this is what folks heard him say: Give my pappy my clothes, Oh, give poor Betty my shoes. Give pappy my clothes, And give poor Betty my shoes. And if anybody asks you, Tell 'em I died with the heart-breakin' blues. They lead him to the scaffold With a black cap over his face. Lead him up to the scaffold, Black cap over his face. Some ole lonesome graveyard's Poor Dupree's restin' place. The choir followed him Singin' Nearer My God to Thee. The choir followed him, Nearer My God to Thee. Poor Betty, she was cryin' Have mercy on Dupree! [NOTE relationship to "Stagger Lee"] Sail on! Sail on! Sail on, Dupree, sail on! Sail on! Sail on! Sail on, sail on, sail on! I don't mind you sailin' But you'll be gone so dog-gone long! --Courlander, A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore,, pp. 398-400.
And this note from a reader:
From: Scott Hyatt [mailto:shyatt@cats.ucsc.edu]
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 11:19 AM
Subject: Dupree's Diamond BluesI'm not sure if you're taking any more reader comments or not, but I wanted to send this along--thought it might be relevant to this song...
I was just perusing this great book called Jazz Anecdotes by Bill Crow. One of the anecdotes mentions a swing band era jazz musician named Reese Dupree who penned a tune called "Dupree's Blues" (he also wrote the song "Shortnin' Bread). Unfortunately, I can't find anything else on-line about this song--like if it was an instrumental or had lyrics. There isn't much out there about Reese Dupree in general. As an added bonus, the anecdote in Crow's book also mentions Dupree in connection with Jelly Roll Morton, the great jazz composer/pianist of the 1920's. Jelly Roll, of course, penned the classic jazz instrumental "Jelly Roll Blues". You can learn more about Morton and actually listen to the tune out at http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html
Hope you can use this,
--Scott