Anatomy of a Song: "Swamp Witch" Quiz

Answer: In the swamp

The song begins: "Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp"

I think this is a great start to a great song. Stafford's lyrics set the scene from the very first line.

Answer: "Alive with a thousand eyes"

"Where the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes
And all of them watching you"

Brrr! Spooky! I'm a city boy, I'm sure not going there anytime soon.

Answer: "Like sausage on a smokehouse wall"

"Snakes hang thick from the cypress trees
Like sausage on a smokehouse wall"

Remind me to stay clear of cypress trees! One snake is one too many for my liking.

Answer: Florida

Okeechobee County is located in Florida. It was named after Lake Okeechobee, which is drawn from the Hitchiti words of oka (water) and chobi (big).

Answer: Black bayou

In order, from the first to the fifth verse inclusive:

"Stay off the track to Hattie's Shack in the back of the Black Bayou"

"In the back of the Black Bayou"

"From the bowels of the Black bayou"

"It came from the Black Bayou"

and

"We'll fetch her from the Black Bayou"

Answer: There was a plague

"One day brought the rain and the rain stayed on
And the swamp water overflowed
Mosquitoes and the fever grabbed the town like a fist
Doctor Jackson was the first to go
Some said the plague was brought by Hattie"

As you can see, Doctor Jackson checked out, but he never did leave. Reminds me of an Eagles song!

Answer: Hanging

"Some said the plague was brought by Hattie
There was talk of a hangin' too
But the talk got shackled by the howls and the cackles
From the bowels of the Black bayou"

I just love the assonance that Jim Stafford worked into the last two lines, the way he alternated time and again between the 'ack' sounds (shackled, cackles, black) and the 'ow' sounds (howls, bowels). It's like a rollercoaster ride when he sings those lines!

Answer: Black Water

It's the first two words of the song, in fact!

"Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp
Where the strange green reptiles crawl"

Answer: Between dark and dawn

"Early one morn 'tween dark and dawn when shadows filled the sky"

As with many other lines in this song, Stafford provides a level of detail that makes you feel as if you could actually be there.

Answer: In the square

"Early one morn 'tween dark and dawn when shadows filled the sky
There came an unseen caller on a town where hope run dry
In the square there was found a big black round
Vat full of gurgling brew"

Oooh! I wonder if it was Hattie by any chance?

Answer: Sip

"There ain't much pride when you're trapped inside
A slowly sink'n ship
Scooped up the liquid deep and green
And the whole town took a sip"

Yummy! Deep green unknown liquid left by an anonymous caller, suspected to be the witch that everyone is afraid of! Yep, sounds like a good idea to quaff some down. But as Stafford chillingly points out, they had nothing left to lose.

Answer: Red

My High School Art teacher will kill me for saying black is a colour ("Black and white are shades..."), but hey! I don't have to answer to her anymore!

No red anywhere in the song, but here are the rest:

"Where the strange green reptiles crawl"

"Black Bayou" (five separate references)

"A big black round vat full of gurgling brew"

"Scooped up the liquid deep and green"

and

"The skies again were blue"

Answer: Ten

"Let's thank old Hattie for sav'n our town
We'll fetch her from the Black Bayou"

Uh oh! This doesn't sound like a very good idea to me.

"Party of ten of the town's best men headed for Hattie's Shack
Said Swamp Witch magic was useful and good
And they're gonna bring Hattie back"

Hypocrites! It was only two and a half verses ago they wanted blood! I see living down the bayou doesn't save an individual from blowing in the wind any less than the next person.

Answer: No

"Never found Hattie and they never found the shack
And they never made a trip back in"

Ye reap what ye sow! I have always like these lines, because it is left unclear to the listener exactly what happened on their trip in. Did they experience some of Hattie's black magic? Were they freaked out by ravenous gators, or strange green reptiles?

We never know, and that's part of the fun. Unless you are (were) one of the ten of the town's best men. Whatever happened, they "never made a trip back in..."!

Answer: A parchment note

"'Twas a parchment note they found tacked to a stump
Said don't come lookin' again"

Idiots. That's the thanks she got. Good for Hattie.

Stafford ends the tale with a great chilling line, full of menace.