Dawg Kickin'

In 1967, Bob Dylan had retreated from public life to family life in Woodstock, NY. Living out his dreams of a house, wife, kids and a white picket fence, Dylan still had time for music. With The Band, he recorded a body of music called The Basement Tapes filled with sea chanteys, rockabilly rave-ups, chain gang songs, traditional folk tunes, Chicago blues, original songs and all things in between. The music and legacy of The Basement Tapes have been thoroughly examined in a number of places especially Greil Marcus’s Invisible Republic.

One song that always stood out was “You Gotta Quit Kickin’ My Dog” around (download here). You can hear Dylan start to show The Band how to play the song and they latch onto it and create a wild and hilarious call-and-response tune. It’s almost a shaggy dog story as the singer becomes less concerned about his poor dog than about telling his friends about it.

This performance is both ridiculous and compelling. The history of this song is just as compelling and ridiculous. From one internet source:

"According to Alan Lomax: Some say 'The Hound Dawg Song,' a favourite Ozark mountain song, originated before the Civil War, when a country boy named Zeke Parish had a tussle with a townie, who had kicked his dog. Old Aaron Weatherman, Swan Post Office, Taney County, Missouri, concurs -- 'I was there and knowed Zeke and his paw and the hound, too.' Some of his neighbors laugh at old Zeke and say that 'The Hound Dawg Song' is a recently composed piece, while others swear that Daniel Boone brought the song to Missouri."

The song was adopted as a theme song for Missouri Congressman James Beauchamp “Champ” Clark’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1912. Clark went into 1912 Democratic convention with a clear lead amongst the delegates, but could never secure the two-thirds votes of the delegates necessary for nomination. Eventually, a deal was cut making Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic nominee and, with the Republican party split between Taft and Teddy Roosevelt, the presidency. No President Champ Clark. No “You Gotta Quit Kickin’ My Dog Around” playing at his inauguration.

The song was eventually recorded by Byron G. Harlan in 1912 as “They Gotta Quit Kickin’ My Dog Around” (download here) and Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers scored a hit with the song in 1926 as “Ya Gotta Quit Kickin’ My Dog Aroun’” (download here).

The story seemed to end here. Until last spring Bob Dylan started DJing a radio show for XM Satellite Radio called Theme Time Radio Hour, each week playing songs following a certain theme. These shows exhibit Dylan’s playful side as well as his deep love of American music playing long-forgotten songs.

On Episode 16, the theme for Dylan’s show was “Dogs,” and he played a track by Rufus Thomas. Thomas was an R&B singer based in Memphis and who recorded for the famed Stax Record label. The song is “Stop Kickin’ My Dog Around” (download here with Dylan’s commentary before and after). Rufus Thomas scored a hit in 1963 with “Walking the Dog” and followed that with many other dog songs including “Can Your Monkey Do the Dog” and “Can’t Get Away From This Dog.” Hearing Thomas’s version, you hear Dylan’s inspiration for the Basement Tapes version, especially because of the wailing background voices.

“You Gotta Quit Kickin’ My Dog” is a silly song. A ditty. A throwaway. Except that different generations of performers - black and white, urban and rural - keep finding something in it. The adventure of this song reflects the peculiarities and joy that is American music.

Every time I come to town
The boys keep kickin’ my dawg around;
Makes no difference if he is a hound,
They’ve got to quit kickin’ my dawg around.