What did Otis Redding think "grain" shoes are?
August 14, 2015 9:35 PM Subscribe
What are "grain" shoes? What could they possibly be? And how do they relate to having no haircut and being "plain ol' country"? (I'm talking about "Announcement" by Otis Redding.)
A friend introduced me to this track years ago. We talk about it from time to time, and we love it so much. What we can't figure out, though, is what the "grain shoes" are in the (apparent) line "grow grain shoes, no haircut, just plain ol' country".
What does it mean? Are we hearing the line incorrectly? Is this a regional saying? Is it something Otis Redding just made up?
Mostly what I've found in my internet searches are various pages with (the same) incorrect lyrics, like this lyricsfreak page which has some small your/you're-type mistakes, and some flat-out wrong lyrics ("empty you"). I'm even tempted to get a genius(.com) account so I can a) correct its version of the lyrics, and b) have a conversation there about what it means.
I also found this Discogs release page, which clarifies that the track title is just "Announcement", and it's from a limited-edition record that Stax pressed (called "Stay In School") and "sent to radio stations in 1967 to promote the necessity of staying in school to get an education".
A friend introduced me to this track years ago. We talk about it from time to time, and we love it so much. What we can't figure out, though, is what the "grain shoes" are in the (apparent) line "grow grain shoes, no haircut, just plain ol' country".
What does it mean? Are we hearing the line incorrectly? Is this a regional saying? Is it something Otis Redding just made up?
Mostly what I've found in my internet searches are various pages with (the same) incorrect lyrics, like this lyricsfreak page which has some small your/you're-type mistakes, and some flat-out wrong lyrics ("empty you"). I'm even tempted to get a genius(.com) account so I can a) correct its version of the lyrics, and b) have a conversation there about what it means.
I also found this Discogs release page, which clarifies that the track title is just "Announcement", and it's from a limited-edition record that Stax pressed (called "Stay In School") and "sent to radio stations in 1967 to promote the necessity of staying in school to get an education".
(Man, those lyrics pages are awful.)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:55 PM on August 14, 2015
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:55 PM on August 14, 2015
Yes, definitely Grosgrain. Think cheap material, like canvas shoes.
posted by ssg at 10:33 PM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ssg at 10:33 PM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Brogan is correct. They're a kind of light work boot.
posted by irisclara at 10:34 PM on August 14, 2015
posted by irisclara at 10:34 PM on August 14, 2015
I can hear grosgrain easier than brogan, but grosgrain isn't something you make shoes of. And I think Knappster's Jet link is definitive.
posted by MsMolly at 10:46 PM on August 14, 2015
posted by MsMolly at 10:46 PM on August 14, 2015
Response by poster: Knappster: I'd never heard of "brogan shoes" before, and that makes so much sense. (Also, the Jet source is pretty much, as MsMolly says, definitive.)
I did a little more searching and found this wisegeek page on brogan shoes, which further makes the point.
posted by cardioid at 11:52 PM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I did a little more searching and found this wisegeek page on brogan shoes, which further makes the point.
More often than not, these shoes would be a neutral shape and able to be worn on either the left or right foot. This would allow for the person wearing them to even out the wear and tear of daily use, increasing the lifespan of the shoe.Thanks so much for a quick, great answer. (Also Johnny Wallflower, also irisclara, also MsMolly for validating that even knowing the word doesn't mean it's easy to hear, also everyone who goes along with the grosgrain idea.)
…
Along with being popular among foot soldiers, their sturdy build made brogan shoes an obvious choice for those in the working class who needed a durable ankle boot to get them through their day. The heavy soles on the shoes were ideal for long hours in the factories, especially during the peak of the Industrial Revolution. They were seen as a working person's shoe, so the term "brogan" as well as the brogan shoe took a lowly connotation.
posted by cardioid at 11:52 PM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Brogan shoes were a recurring theme in Otis Redding's oeuvre.
posted by MrBadExample at 12:00 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by MrBadExample at 12:00 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Not related to shoes, but my Otis compilation lists the title as 'Stay in School' rather than 'Announcement' (it's short, and not that well-known. Put it on your mixtapes.)
posted by box at 10:16 AM on August 15, 2015
posted by box at 10:16 AM on August 15, 2015
He's referencing the song Tramp, where brogan shoes are also mentioned.
posted by modofo at 10:25 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by modofo at 10:25 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Because I've heard Robert Earl Keene's Feeling Good Again (which mentions brogan shoes) a zillion times, I thought it was in much more common use than it is. But it looks like Robert Earl and Otis are almost the only ones to mention brogans in their lyrics.
posted by MsMolly at 10:48 AM on August 15, 2015
posted by MsMolly at 10:48 AM on August 15, 2015
I just submitted a correction for the songmeanings version of the lyrics, so hopefully it will be fixed in at least one place.
posted by MsMolly at 10:54 AM on August 15, 2015
posted by MsMolly at 10:54 AM on August 15, 2015
I love that song -- Tramp was first recorded by recorded by Lowell Fulson (Fulsom?) in 1967 (or 1966?), with much of the same patter but not exactly the same - and no brogan shoes. Redding's version and several other versions came out later the same year.
Comedian-musician Jimmy Lynch had a sort of version (music starts around 2:30 after he makes his entry wearing a tramp outfit) that was mainly the background for his (NSFW) nightclub patter and jokes. The Funky Tramp character was his act for several comedy albums (NSFW) released in the 1960s; it's not clear to me the exact chronology related to the Fulson/McCracklin song - maybe this was an existing song/character/patter line and Fulson just put it into final form, or maybe it was just such a good song when he put it out that lots of people seized on it immediately.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:39 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Comedian-musician Jimmy Lynch had a sort of version (music starts around 2:30 after he makes his entry wearing a tramp outfit) that was mainly the background for his (NSFW) nightclub patter and jokes. The Funky Tramp character was his act for several comedy albums (NSFW) released in the 1960s; it's not clear to me the exact chronology related to the Fulson/McCracklin song - maybe this was an existing song/character/patter line and Fulson just put it into final form, or maybe it was just such a good song when he put it out that lots of people seized on it immediately.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:39 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
"I was in the Army Signal Corps. What this thing needs is what we call a brogan adjustment."
posted by box at 12:42 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 12:42 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Knappster at 9:49 PM on August 14, 2015 [4 favorites]