Banty Rooster Blues
by 
Charley Patton 
recording of 1929-1934 
from 
Charley Patton: Founder Of The Delta Blues (Yazoo L-1020) 
I'm gonna buy me a banty, put him at my backdoor 
I'm gonna buy me a banty, put him at my backdoor 
So when he see a stranger a-comin', he'll flap his wings and crow 
What you want with a rooster, he won't crow 'fore day? 
What you want with a rooster, he won't crow 'fore day? 
What you want with a man, when he won't do nothin' he say? 
What you want with a hen won't, cackle when she lays? 
What you want with a hen won't, cackle when she lays? 
What you want with a woman, when she won't do nothin' I say? 
Ah, take my picture, hang it up in Jackson wall 
Ah, take my picture, hang it up in Jackson wall 
Anybody asks you "What about it", tell 'em "That's all I saw" 
My hook's in the water, and my cork's on top 
My hook's in the water, and my cork's on top 
How can I lose, Lord, with the help I got 
I know my dog anywhere I hear him bark 
I know my dog anywhere I hear him bark 
I can tell my 
rider 
, if I feel her in the dark 
__________ 
Note 1: Jackson wall is presumably a 
barrelhouse 
. It has been reported that Mississippi barrelhouses of the twenties often featured pictures of local blues attractions