Put you down for a while (mo jive)

Posted by Anders on November 11, 2003

Towards the end of a concert, bluesman Albert King assures his audience that they've been "mighty, mighty groovy people," and that he wished he "could take everybody from San Francisco with [him]." Having thus made explicit the bond between him and the audience, he says, to the audience's audible dismay, "It'll be October before I can get back." And then this: "I'm gonna plunge you now and dig you later, gator. Ain't gonna quit you, just gonna put you down for a while." At this, the audience are suddenly rather quite, so Albert shouts: "Can you dig it?" The last sentence, of course, is to ensure they understand. (They say "Yeah!") I'm wondering how well established is the expression, "put you down for a (little) while." It is found also in Led Zeppelin:
I can't quit you / babe / Woman I think I'm gonna put you down / for a little while.
("I can't quit you baby," cf. albums I and Coda)
Regards
Anders
PS: The Albert King album is "Thursday Night In San Francisco" (recorded in 1968).

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