BO DIDDLEY

a.k.a. SONG OF BO DIDDLEY

Bo Diddley bought his babe a diamond ring,
If that diamond ring don't shine,
He gonna take it to a private eye,
If that private eye can't see
He'd better not take the ring from me.

Bo Diddley caught a nanny goat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday coat,
Bo Diddley caught a bear cat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday hat.

Mojo come to my house, ya black cat bone,
Take my baby away from home,
Ugly ole mojo, where ya bin,
Up your house, and gone again.

Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley have you heard?
My pretty baby said she wasn't for it.

Written by Ellas McDaniel, and originally by Bo Diddley from his 1955 single BO DIDDLEY / I'M A MAN. He later included it on his 1964 LP Bo Diddley's 16 All-Time Greatest Hits.

Performed by Bruce Springsteen on 14 May 1971 at Sunshine In, Asbury Park, NJ, during the first of the only two Dr Zoom & The Sonic Boom performances. This is one of the 10 songs that appeared on a document, in Bruce's handwriting, that is most probably the song setlist for that gig. The material is clearly identifiable by Bruce's header of "Sonic Tunes" (info and below scan from Brucebase).

Also sound-checked during the Tunnel Of Love tour on 04 Apr 1988 at Capital Center, Landover, MD, but not played during the show. Check WHO DO YOU LOVE for more info about that sound-check.

According to Brucebase, the song was used in 1976 (read below). However, it might be HEY BO DIDDLEY since it was probably used as intro to SHE'S THE ONE, same as on 02 Sep 1995, or a custom hybrid of both BO DIDDLEY and HEY BO DIDDLEY (read below).

The above lyrics refer to Bo Diddley's original version.

Request:
I need lyrics for Bruce Springsteen's version of BO DIDDLEY. If you have audio for it, would you please send me an mp3 of it so I transcribe the lyrics, or at least transcribe the lyrics for me. You can contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.

From Brucebase, about the 06 Nov 1976 radio interview on WNEW-FM radio station, New York City, NY:

Bruce went up to WNEW-FM studios in New York the Saturday following his Palladium shows to sit in with DJ Richard Neer. It was an interview with Bruce picking out some records to play. The interview was very topical; reference was made to Bruce shaving his beard, wearing a suit at some performances, Clarence appearing in "New York, New York" etc. Neer also asked Bruce if he would ever play larger venues and Bruce mentions the shows at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. They also talked a bit about Jon Landau which segues into the fact that Landau produced Jackson Browne's The Pretender which was released that week and Neer plays a cut from that. Studio cuts were sequed into Bruce songs; BO DIDDLEY into SHE'S THE ONE; HEY MONA into IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY. Thanks to Riccardo for the info.

Earthslayer wrote at BTX:

As far as which one of the two songs [BO DIDDLEY or HEY BO DIDDLEY] was used during live appearances when it was merged into SHE'S THE ONE or NOT FADE AWAY / SHE'S THE ONE - well, it seems to me to have been a custom hybrid of both BO DIDDLEY and HEY BO DIDDLEY - as the core melody riff for these two songs is so damn close it's hard to distinguish a difference between the basic riffs.