“Smackwater Jack” by Carole King
Thematically it would appear that the lyrics of this song are set in the Old West. And the character Smackwater Jack would be akin to an outlaw – indeed a dangerous, unruly one – “with a shotgun in his hand”.
So it falls upon Big Jim the Chief, the law of the land, to round up a posse to hunt ol’ Smackwater down. And by the end of the narrative they successfully achieve this goal, hanging Jack on the spot. Also the implication is that Jack’s unruliness inspires Big Jim and the crew to lynch a bunch of other criminals, thus making it “a very good year for the undertaker” in general.
“Smackwater Jack” was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the man who she was married to throughout the 1960s.
The song came out on 10 February 1971 as part of Carole King’s highly-celebrated album “Tapestry”. It was also released as the second single from that project – as a double A-side along with “So Far Away” – by Ode Records and A&M Records.
This is one of the more unique tracks on Tapestry, in that it is the only one that doesn’t have a personal or contemporary vibe to it.
The tune made it onto the Billboard’s Hot 100, reaching 14th place. It also left a strong impression on some people – like the legendary Quincy Jones for instance, who went on to not only cover it but also name his entire 1971 album after it.
Lou Adler, who has worked extensively with Carole King, produced this track.
Actually, I believe that the “good year for the undertaker” line is in reference to the fact that Smackwater Jack was killed, as were all of the people when he “shot down the congregation’, thus thus necessitating. very large number of funerals/burials.
Indeed
I agree.
Is that right?
Smackwater= heroin
I agree with all of the above as plausible. I think this could be great track for an old time western or of an old western remake
Does this not “smack” about what is going on in America right now? Buying a gun and shooting people down is not a new concept. WAKE UP AMERICA AND DO SOMETHING TO MAKE IT STOP!
I was born in 1952, so I’m from that era, There are some words here that may have a double meaning, though I don’t have an answer for the entire song. Smack was slang for heroin. smackwater is what you got when you dissolved the heroin powder in a ‘cooker’. The cooker typically was a spoon that you added enough water to get the smack dissolved over a lighter. Then you filled a syringe (a shotgun) and injected this mess into a vein of choice, hopefully one that hasn’t collapsed from overuse. This I know from living through the 60’s and 70’s. The rest of the song is still a mystery to me.
Big Jim and Bulldog are also a reference to the southern police response to civil rights activists.
Thankyou Steve, i am a 57 model and wholly agree with your translation of the language.