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Kicking

Posted by Anders on September 14, 2003

In Reply to: Kicking 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

: I'd heard about Ms. Hurston's book and tried to find a copy. I think it's out-of-print. I wonder if the information on the Web site you gave is an excerpt or is that all there is.

: I have several black quote books and a couple on the Gullah dialect. The following are from a couple of black phrases books. I recommend Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner but you know the language moves so fast that books are out-of-date by the time they are printed.

: Kick it - verb. To get acquainted with the opposite sex: We're goin' to kick it at the club this weekend. From "A 2 Z: The Book of Rap & Hip-Hop Slang" by Lois Stavsky, I.E. Mozeson, and Dani Reyes Mozeson, (Boulevard books, New York, 1995).

: Kick it - 1. To rap, to use strong talk. Also "to kick it live." 2. To have an affair outside of one's monogamous relationship. Also "kick it around" (older usage).
: Kickin' - 1. Doing something intensely and high energy. 2. See "def." (Def - Great; superb; excellent. Derived from an older expression, "Do it to def," using the African-American English pronunciation of "death.") From Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner by Geneva Smitherman (Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, N.Y., 1994)

: I love Jerry Lee Lewis because he is so unreformed.

Thanks very much for those very useful references. I can see that a revised and updated version of Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner is on sale at Amazon. I'll definitely get a copy. BTW, I had no idea "kickin' it" could have such a precise meaning as is implied by your first definition (to get acquainted with the opposite sex).
Best
Anders

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