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R.L. Burnside — It's Bad You Know
Album: The Sopranos Soundtrack
Avg rating:
7.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2233









Released: 1999
Length: 4:11
Plays (last 30 days): 2
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It's bad you know

It's bad you know

She'd asked me why
I just went on' told her

She'd asked me why
I just went on' told her

She'd asked me why
I just went on' told her

She'd asked me why
I just went on' told her

That Engineer blowed no whistle at all
No Fireman he rang his bell

That Engineer blowed no whistle at all
No Fireman he rang his bell

That Engineer blowed no whistle at all
No Fireman he rang his bell

That Engineer blowed no whistle at all
No Fireman he rang his bell

It's bad you know

She'd asked me why
I just went on' told her

She'd asked me why
I just went on' told her

It's bad you know

It's bad you know
Comments (254)add comment
 Rockit999 wrote:
Best 1 chord song ever.
 Just a mention for The Adverts - One Chord Wonders
(which, of course, has more than one chord....)


Posted 8 months ago by springof63    [ Reply ]
the meaning of life!!
Posted 1 year ago by Shipp    [ Reply ]
Posted 1 year ago by kuly-s    [ Reply ]
i wonder if hes more talkative in a bar stool

i would be 
Posted 2 years ago by idiot_wind    [ Reply ]
Best 1 chord song ever.
Posted 2 years ago by Rockit999    [ Reply ]
how ya argue with this guy?
Posted 2 years ago by idiot_wind    [ Reply ]
This song has no actual chord transitions.  Just a single chord all the way through.
Posted 2 years ago by obispo    [ Reply ]
This is The BEST 'Bad' song ever. Don't even talk to me. 9
Posted 2 years ago by Rockit999    [ Reply ]
 terryweir wrote:

One of the coolest songs ever by one of the coolest blues guy ever.




I Agree!! EXCELLENT!!
Posted 2 years ago by eileenomurphy    [ Reply ]
If you are a fan of this, check out the Fat Possum Records portfolio. They were\are one of the great purveyors of Mississippi Blues. 
Posted 2 years ago by Kingsized    [ Reply ]
One of the coolest songs ever by one of the coolest blues guy ever.
Posted 3 years ago by terryweir    [ Reply ]
On the original Burnside CD, not a soundtrack from The Sopranos, there is a spoken sentence at the track's beginning which may give you a clue... so I agree with the poster who wrote:


I used this song to talk to my boys about relationships.

There's a lot going on in those two sentences...
Posted 3 years ago by mach-hog    [ Reply ]
Bump



Posted 7 years ago by bhallmark:

My word, Gladys, this rocks the casbah!
Posted 3 years ago by Lindo525    [ Reply ]
It’s BAD. You know...
Posted 3 years ago by deniseperry    [ Reply ]
One of the best series. Ever. Soundtrack pretty damn good too. Just that one episode that finished with silence... Excellent.
Posted 3 years ago by deniseperry    [ Reply ]
This song explains EVERYTHING...
Posted 3 years ago by meatmike    [ Reply ]
How did I not know this was an original from the sound track 5->8
Posted 3 years ago by jlind    [ Reply ]
 GTT wrote:
n26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif

https://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif

 

As soon as I hear this on the web player I have to jump to the comments to watch the dancin' dog.
Posted 4 years ago by forthbrdge    [ Reply ]
Hold music.
Posted 4 years ago by aelfheld    [ Reply ]
 jamesshoemark wrote:
What is this song about?
 
Exactly!
Posted 4 years ago by vandal    [ Reply ]
Sick and Phat ... he wasn't that by the way before I get in trouble - he looked well thin
Posted 4 years ago by arserocket    [ Reply ]
LOVE remixes of R.L.!
Posted 4 years ago by Tippster    [ Reply ]
Saw R.L. in Vancouver maybe in 1998 or so... what a cool show in a small smoky venue.  Love his style and sound. 
Posted 4 years ago by stretcher    [ Reply ]
I used this song to talk to my boys about relationships.

There's a lot going on in those two sentences...
Posted 4 years ago by bentonian    [ Reply ]
What is this song about?
Posted 4 years ago by jamesshoemark    [ Reply ]
ajlept wrote:

I thought at first that this song has no substance and is very repetitive. Then I was pissed when it ended! Go figure?


 Ihatethissong wrote:

Dude!  Bill read your comment!  You're an RP rockstar now.
 
Actually Bill read ... Then I was mad when it ended! 

Now you got reason to be pissed!
Posted 5 years ago by justin4kick    [ Reply ]
simplicity at its best
Posted 5 years ago by Rockit9    [ Reply ]
{#Devil_pimp}zesty ! love rl " cool is the rule but sometimes bad is bad "
Posted 5 years ago by primm    [ Reply ]
I used this song to illustrate the difficulties of talking about relationships:

"She'd asked me why" - why what? it doesn't matter, it's always the same question
"I just went on' told her" - told her what? it doesn't matter, it's always the same answer
Posted 5 years ago by bentonian    [ Reply ]
re repetitive/Moby style: context is everything - RL was a solid bluesman in his own right and these are remixes by his son; keeping the family traditions current
Posted 5 years ago by memoryboxer    [ Reply ]
 Ihatethissong wrote:


Brilliant!  Keep your students guessing.
 
slow down the giff about 48%..! may sync a bit better....
Posted 5 years ago by jim_ncdm    [ Reply ]
Mr. Bill just recycled ajlept's comment. Again. Anyone new to RP knows how crazy-rare that is. And now 2X?! ajlept's RP famous. Kinda how Harvey Levin is to his own TMZ famous. But hey, the fames. Take 'em as they come; never whine.  Always look back! 
Posted 5 years ago by Grayson    [ Reply ]
RL is great. This Moby Style sampling with remix is weak. 
Posted 5 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
yer damn right  ! !
Posted 5 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
 ajlept wrote:
I thought at first that this song has no substance and is very repetitive. Then I was pissed when it ended! Go figure?
 
It's best to go with a first instinct - they are almost always right, as in this case!
Posted 5 years ago by Diogenes    [ Reply ]
Really cool, hypnotic blues.
Posted 5 years ago by Stodoroff    [ Reply ]
 ajlept wrote:
I thought at first that this song has no substance and is very repetitive. Then I was pissed when it ended! Go figure?
 
Dude!  Bill read your comment!  You're an RP rockstar now.
Posted 5 years ago by Ihatethissong    [ Reply ]
A great music lesson was watching the brilliant "deep blues" documentary as an introduction to the likes of R L Burnside's North Mississippi hill country slash and drone style blues, as described by blues expert Robert Palmer, now available for all to watch on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv9QoLR4Qfk 
Posted 6 years ago by drews    [ Reply ]
Good stuff. Not bad at all!
Posted 6 years ago by Rockit9    [ Reply ]
Is this Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine, from the Gong Show?  
Posted 6 years ago by idiot_wind    [ Reply ]
Turn it UP!  love it
Posted 6 years ago by slikr    [ Reply ]
 V12Silly wrote:
I love this stuff

 
me either, really good
Posted 7 years ago by LaurieinTucson    [ Reply ]
I love this stuff
Posted 7 years ago by V12Silly    [ Reply ]
 Jelani wrote:
I can't stand this stuff.

 
me either. really bad.
Posted 9 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
GTT wrote:
Yes, yes, I love it.  I often play music in my classroom at a local community college before class starts, and I once played this song with a GIF up on a PowerPoint, with a man in a dog suit walking upright across someone's backyard over and over again.  It was by accident and totally random, but turned out to be one of the strangest and most wonderful moments in my long teaching career.

n26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif

https://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif


 
Did know it also works really well with Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin ?


Posted 9 years ago by Jelani    [ Reply ]
 drews wrote:

And when you're done watching that, watch 'Deep Blues' on DVD, featuring R. L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Big Jack Johnson, Junior Kimbrough, Booker T. Laury, Jack Owens, Lonnie Pitchford, Bud Spires and other blues people from the Missisippi hill country and delta regions and round Memphis TN, shot out in the yard, in sweaty juke joints, on the streets, and in the home - a superb homage to this kind of unpolished authentic blues 

Burnsides's tracks on this DVD are at the very least mesmerizing. The guy is so cool—the band settles into a groove, and he's checking out the women in room.
Posted 9 years ago by WonderLizard    [ Reply ]
I can't stand this stuff.
Posted 9 years ago by Jelani    [ Reply ]
 GTT wrote:
Yes, yes, I love it.  I often play music in my classroom at a local community college before class starts, and I once played this song with a GIF up on a PowerPoint, with a man in a dog suit walking upright across someone's backyard over and over again.  It was by accident and totally random, but turned out to be one of the strangest and most wonderful moments in my long teaching career.

n26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif

https://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif


 
Did your students ask you where they could score that great acid?  {#Devil_pimp} {#Motor}
Posted 9 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
Yes, yes, I love it.  I often play music in my classroom at a local community college before class starts, and I once played this song with a GIF up on a PowerPoint, with a man in a dog suit walking upright across someone's backyard over and over again.  It was by accident and totally random, but turned out to be one of the strangest and most wonderful moments in my long teaching career.

n26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif

https://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwc29w2ms61qjnsico1_400.gif

Posted 10 years ago by GTT    [ Reply ]
{#Hearteyes}    {#Hearteyes}    {#Hearteyes}  ..... most excellent 
Posted 10 years ago by Peter_Bradshaw    [ Reply ]
I thought at first that this song has no substance and is very repetitive. Then I was pissed when it ended! Go figure?
Posted 10 years ago by ajlept    [ Reply ]
My word, Gladys, this rocks the casbah!
Posted 10 years ago by bhallmark    [ Reply ]
I discovered Mr. Burnside on RP too. I went and got me some of him. 
Posted 10 years ago by dirtbagpook    [ Reply ]
This tune always loads my batteries, exquisite groove.
Posted 10 years ago by Euskadita    [ Reply ]
 peter_james_bond wrote:

I can't explain your use of giant green text.....{#Whistle}


 
My browser won't let me use giant green text...{#Sad} 

It must be the curse of Lazarus. 
Posted 11 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
{#Devil_pimp}
Posted 11 years ago by shellbella    [ Reply ]
This is bad... ass! Whoop!
Posted 11 years ago by Catalytic    [ Reply ]
This is bad, you know. No soul. Nada.
Posted 11 years ago by gvan    [ Reply ]
LOVE this musician - discovered on RP :-)
Posted 11 years ago by jocelynsart    [ Reply ]
This song never ceases to get my head bobbing... LOVE the groove....
Posted 12 years ago by Roguewarer    [ Reply ]
It's good, you know.  Knicked from a clever RP'er way down thread who posted it first. {#Cheers}.
Posted 12 years ago by ScottN    [ Reply ]
 Cynaera wrote:
{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananajam}{#Sunny}  Repetitive, but dang - that driving beat... Can't help it. Gotta dance.

 
Exactly - if you can sit still during this tune ........{#Beat}  First time I have heard it - thanks RP {#Dancingbanana}{#Bananasplit}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananajam}
Posted 12 years ago by Pedro1874    [ Reply ]
Cool. Also check out his son, Duwayne Burnside and the Mississippi Mafia.
{#Devil_pimp}

Posted 12 years ago by Dahlia_Gumbo    [ Reply ]
Honesty is always the best policy.
Posted 12 years ago by haljordan    [ Reply ]
Check out his grandson Cedric.... Fierce drummer....
Posted 12 years ago by shellbella    [ Reply ]
Mmmhmm jungle groove.
Posted 12 years ago by TerryS    [ Reply ]
damn, that's one funky cat!

 WayUpNorth wrote:
Party Bro
She asked me why ... I just went on and told her ...
 


Posted 12 years ago by godspeed    [ Reply ]
Great jungle music. And harmonica
Posted 12 years ago by spainrich    [ Reply ]
Party Bro
She asked me why ... I just went on and told her ...
Posted 13 years ago by WayUpNorth    [ Reply ]
{#Dancingbanana} You know it!!
Posted 13 years ago by d-don    [ Reply ]

Not a fan.


Posted 13 years ago by BBOGDA    [ Reply ]
This tune is just so cool - you just have to crank it up.  My kids have loved it for years, too

Posted 13 years ago by shutter    [ Reply ]
I love the message:
"She asked me why"
"I just went on and told her"

My ten-year old asked me, Why what?
I said, between men and women, it's always the same...
Posted 13 years ago by bentonian    [ Reply ]
 Photo-John wrote:

Love this. Love it love it love it! 

Oh yeah!!!  I will second that. 

Hey - can someone please tell me the name of the instrument that makes that scratchy sound? I remember seeing one a long time ago in elementary school music class — there's a stick you run along back & forth over some grooves that are cut out — I thought it was a gourd?

EDIT: nevermind, found it on Google — it's a Güiro

Posted 13 years ago by socalhol    [ Reply ]
 laozilover wrote:
I cannot explain why I like hearing this so much. {#Bananapiano}
 
I can't explain your use of giant green text.....{#Whistle}

Posted 13 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
I cannot explain why I like hearing this so much. {#Bananapiano}
Posted 13 years ago by laozilover    [ Reply ]
 Bazooka wrote:

The beauty is the power and abstraction focused like the rhythm of a fine machine idling.  


 
Yo Jo

Posted 13 years ago by cohifi    [ Reply ]
 jools wrote:
Was this used in The Wire? If not, it should have been...
 
Sopranos, season 1.
Posted 13 years ago by tonypf    [ Reply ]
Great song!
Posted 14 years ago by hippiechick    [ Reply ]
{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananajam}{#Sunny}  Repetitive, but dang - that driving beat... Can't help it. Gotta dance.

Posted 14 years ago by Cynaera    [ Reply ]
 nerakdon wrote:

One time I was alone at work, late at night.  I had good speakers, it was a weekend, figured what the hell.

Turned on Walkin' Blues (Burnside), and started singing at the top of my lungs. 

This crazy old lady who worked at the same place came in cuz she has OCD and can't let anything sit, and she heard me howling.  Thought it was a ghost.

Maybe it's just like that.  Someone's bound to be singing the blues.


 

Smiling! A lot...!
FUNNY GUY! 

PS
Question - did you have sex with her! Finally...?

Posted 14 years ago by Stingray    [ Reply ]

And when you're done watching that, watch 'Deep Blues' on DVD, featuring R. L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Big Jack Johnson, Junior Kimbrough, Booker T. Laury, Jack Owens, Lonnie Pitchford, Bud Spires and other blues people from the Missisippi hill country and delta regions and round Memphis TN, shot out in the yard, in sweaty juke joints, on the streets, and in the home - a superb homage to this kind of unpolished authentic blues

 nagsheadlocal wrote:
Buy, borrow, or rent the documentary "You See Me Laughing - The Last of the Hill Country Bluesmen"

RL is one of the stars and it also features performances by Jon Spenser, Iggy Pop (!) and others who admired and enjoyed Mississippi Hill Country Blues.

And why did these guys continue to play road house gigs way into their 60s? They needed the work. None of them had ever made more than a few bucks from music. One of the musicians is even shown at his day job selling used tires.
 

Posted 14 years ago by drews    [ Reply ]

One time I was alone at work, late at night.  I had good speakers, it was a weekend, figured what the hell.

Turned on Walkin' Blues (Burnside), and started singing at the top of my lungs. 

This crazy old lady who worked at the same place came in cuz she has OCD and can't let anything sit, and she heard me howling.  Thought it was a ghost.

Maybe it's just like that.  Someone's bound to be singing the blues.


Posted 14 years ago by nerakdon    [ Reply ]
Its' bad you know...
Posted 14 years ago by Jelani    [ Reply ]
Death_to_Clear_Channel wrote:
Not sure quite what to make of this song. Hard to knock RL (RIP) but it's almost as if this is a parody of a blues song. It's catchy sure. Utterly void of content however. It's almost as if RL's grandson (who drums on this album) propped ole pappy up like the poor bastard in a Weekend at Bernie's, asked him to speak two lines, then made a song from it.
Yeah, old people are stupid and easy to manipulate* - or is it possible that R.L. was totally in control of his music and creative collaboration? A little research will give you the answer.
* you know the old guy working in the grocery who you make fun of? Killed two dozen men with his bare hands in WWII, built a huge skyscraper, raised ten kids and wired his own house.

Posted 14 years ago by Businessgypsy    [ Reply ]
I ask you why.... why did you play this song? {#Puke}
Posted 14 years ago by afbrand    [ Reply ]
Man, just the kind of groove to get me going this morning.
Posted 14 years ago by nagsheadlocal    [ Reply ]
venereal disease?
Posted 14 years ago by shawshank    [ Reply ]
 nagsheadlocal wrote:
Buy, borrow, or rent the documentary "You See Me Laughing - The Last of the Hill Country Bluesmen"

RL is one of the stars and it also features performances by Jon Spenser, Iggy Pop (!) and others who admired and enjoyed Mississippi Hill Country Blues.

And why did these guys continue to play road house gigs way into their 60s? They needed the work. None of them had ever made more than a few bucks from music. One of the musicians is even shown at his day job selling used tires.
 

This song has a great funky jam.  I just checked netflix and have the documentary.  Moved to #1 Position.  I watch it!
Posted 14 years ago by dancingfox    [ Reply ]

Love this. Love it love it love it!


Posted 14 years ago by Photo-John    [ Reply ]
Buy, borrow, or rent the documentary "You See Me Laughing - The Last of the Hill Country Bluesmen"

RL is one of the stars and it also features performances by Jon Spenser, Iggy Pop (!) and others who admired and enjoyed Mississippi Hill Country Blues.

And why did these guys continue to play road house gigs way into their 60s? They needed the work. None of them had ever made more than a few bucks from music. One of the musicians is even shown at his day job selling used tires.
Posted 15 years ago by nagsheadlocal    [ Reply ]
 Bazooka wrote:

The beauty is the power and abstraction focused like the rhythm of a fine machine idling.  


  nice one


Posted 15 years ago by midreaming    [ Reply ]
Lovin' this ... could we hear his remix of Rollin' & Tumblin' sometime?? {#Pray}
Posted 15 years ago by WayUpNorth    [ Reply ]
Was this used in The Wire? If not, it should have been...
Posted 15 years ago by jools    [ Reply ]
I luv me some R.L. Burnside!!!{#Dancingbanana}
Posted 15 years ago by shawshank    [ Reply ]
just...
Posted 15 years ago by oldviolin    [ Reply ]


R. L. Burnside
Posted 15 years ago by Stefen    [ Reply ]

The beauty is the power and abstraction focused like the rhythm of a fine machine idling.  


Posted 15 years ago by Bazooka    [ Reply ]
It's bad you know...
Total Groove man! Groove!
Down the road! Move!
Steady Speed!
The Demons do they're deed!
{#Sunny}


Posted 15 years ago by pdjpirate    [ Reply ]
 Death_to_Clear_Channel wrote:
Not sure quite what to make of this song. Hard to knock RL (RIP) but it's almost as if this is a parody of a blues song. It's catchy sure. Utterly void of content however. It's almost as if RL's grandson (who drums on this album) propped ole pappy up like the poor bastard in a Weekend at Bernie's, asked him to speak two lines, then made a song from it.
 
You nailed it.

*edit* it IS bad, you know....


Posted 15 years ago by Pyro    [ Reply ]
i'm lovin' this
Posted 15 years ago by stevematic    [ Reply ]
The title/refrain to this song has been stuck in my head for about a week now.

Posted 15 years ago by newwavegurly    [ Reply ]
Unique and cool sound, yes. I love it too.  But I don't think this is how he sounded in the juke joints.  This cd has great remix and excellent production values.
Posted 15 years ago by Geecheeboy    [ Reply ]
One of my fav Burnside-songs. He manage to release a lot of music before his death, but I can't say that I like all of it. Still - this song I really enjoy.
Posted 15 years ago by equinoxus    [ Reply ]
I really like the delay on the harp! Cool sound.
Posted 16 years ago by HarrO    [ Reply ]
This is bad to the boner

Posted 16 years ago by arserocket    [ Reply ]
I dig this guy! Living in Chi, I hear more than my share of the blues, and it all sounds the same, but this guy's sound is cool.

RIP R.L.
Posted 16 years ago by hippiechick    [ Reply ]
Colorwise wrote:
It's Bad I know.
That is pretty funny. I like this song though. This guy (Burnside) has some great stuff.
Posted 16 years ago by Moonman1    [ Reply ]
Love that bass line, every time this comes on, I find myself turning the volume up => 7 -> 8

(I should follow his example, "she asked me why, I jes went on an tol' her.")

{ed. 8/15/08 "...and dat jes what I did.  I tol' her all right!"}


Posted 16 years ago by philbertr    [ Reply ]
It's Bad I know.
Posted 16 years ago by Colorwise    [ Reply ]
Wizzuvv_oz wrote:
I always like RLB's groove. Good song IMO. Hard to believe he's so old (is he still alive?)
Unfortunately went to that great gig in the sky, September 2005. His badass blues grooves live on however!
Posted 16 years ago by TexasAggies    [ Reply ]
Crazy good
Posted 16 years ago by inindian    [ Reply ]
Greatness all the way around .Cool groove
Posted 16 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
The_Enemy wrote:
But R.L. has a great quote on the matter: "I didn't mean to kill nobody," Burnside later said of the murder. "I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head. Him dying was between him and the Lord."
Posted 16 years ago by NoEnzLefttoSplit    [ Reply ]
seems like a truck or something with no brakes.
Posted 16 years ago by mefrombrazil    [ Reply ]
super
Posted 17 years ago by CoYoT51    [ Reply ]
Posted 17 years ago by Wuddi    [ Reply ]
Most excellent !!.... and a cool segue too.
Posted 17 years ago by toker    [ Reply ]
Posted 17 years ago by cathenley    [ Reply ]
The_Enemy wrote:
But R.L. has a great quote on the matter: "I didn't mean to kill nobody," Burnside later said of the murder. "I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head. Him dying was between him and the Lord."
Damn that's a cool quote!
Posted 17 years ago by lester    [ Reply ]