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Another mule kickin' in your stall
Posted by Anders on September 14, 2003
In Reply to: Another mule kickin' in your stall posted by ESC on September 14, 2003
: : I take the expression from Muddy Water's "Long Distance Call," cf. link. I'm guessing in the context it means "she has another man." Any comments on meaning, origin or level of formality? It is slang, obviously, but is it vulgar?
: : Thank you
: : Anders
: Well, "kicking" in the stall or in the barn is a common theme. I would say, yes, it's vulgar. It means sex. Animals would ordinarily mate out in the field. But valuable horses are sometimes mated under human supervision so no injury will occur. So I'm guessing that's why the kicking might take place in the barn or the stall.
: Any farmers who can clarify this?
: Other songs that include this reference are "Evil" as sung by Howling Wolf and "Whole Lot of Shaking" sung by Jerry Lee Lewis. I have heard the line changed to "chicken in the barn" for JLL's song. But that doesn't make a lot of sense.
: Evil (is going on)
: You're a long way from home
: And you can't sleep at night
: Grab your telephone
: Now something ain't right
: And that's evil
: Evil
: Going home baby
: I said I'm warning you brothers
: You'd better watch your happy home
: Long way from home
: And you can't sleep at night
: Feels like another mule's kickin' in my stall
: And that's evil...
:
: Whole Lot A Shakin' Goin' On
: Jerry Lee Lewis
: Come on over baby
: Whole lotta shakin' goin' on
: Yes I said come on over baby
: Baby you can't go wrong
: We ain't fakin' Whole lotta shakin' goin' on
: Well I said come on over baby
: We got kickin' in the barn
: oooh huh.
: Come over baby baby
: Baby got the bull by the horn
: We ain't fakin' it
: Whole lot of shakin' goin' on...
:
Thanks very much, ESC! I didn't know that kickin' in the stall/barn was a theme as you say. Another usage is familiar, though. I recall having seen on Jerry Springer a man saying to his girlfriend with great affection: "You and me, babe, we're kickin' it for real." Jerry repeated the phrase laughing. Here, "kickin' it" means "have a good time," I think. Would you say this usage originates from the other, i.e. the blues/breeding type?
Jerry Lee Lewis is certainly explicit! "Baby got the bull by the horn" :-) Since you're into this stuff, you may like this web site of Harlem slang, cf. link, which I discovered while I was searching for the meaning of "Diddy-Wah-Diddy." Yes, making sense of blues records can be a challenge.
If you know of any Ebonics ressources, like a dictionary you can recommend, please let me know.
Cheers
Anders
