I Got a Water Pistol Named Betsy

Joanna

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Description

This is an old song that I transferred from tape. It's me playing the guitar (I never got any good) and singing. I wrote this originally with a guy named Stuart Franncone, a friend from college.

I decided against 'fancying' it up on GarageBand, and just kept it as an acoustic with vocals, as it was on the original cassette tape.

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Lyrics

There was a gang of kids comin' down the street
Said I shoulda hid, 'cause I looked too neat
They gonna mess me up, and hose me down
Said, "C'mon pup, shouldn't be messin' roun'"
Said, "C'mon pup, shouldn't be messin' roun'"

Humiliation soon set in
Hmm... frustration, I can't get in
No licks, no kicks, no messin' 'roun'
No licks, no kicks, no messin' 'roun'
No licks. No kicks. And there ain't no messin' 'roun'

Well, the 5&10 looked pretty good
'cause I had a yen to liquidate the hoods
I took my quarters and dimes to weaponry
Took plenty of time, then I found Betsy
Took plenty of time, then I found Betsy

[Joanna desperately tries to play guitar]

Got a water pistol named Betsy
Gonna get them guys all over wetsy
I will douse the louses without messin' roun'
I'll douse the louses 'thout messin' roun'
I'll douse each louse, douse the louses 'thout messin' around

They were feelin' proud of their dirty deed
A cleaner crowd there would never be
'Cause I let go with a deafening squirt
Betsy sure did know how to clean up that dirt
Yeah, Betsy did know how to clean up dirt

American gang, how do you do?
Singin' the wet, white and blues
Here's mud in your eye, you're gonna die of terminal Betsy
Mud in your eye. You're gonna gonna die. Of terminal Betsy.

Song Stats

Hits: 3044
Comments: 29
Fans: 9
Plays: 414
Downloads: 106
Votes: 15
Uploaded: Oct 18, 2004 - 11:31:06 PM
Last Updated: Jan 13, 2006 - 11:33:22 PM Last Played: Oct 16, 2009 - 12:42:18 PM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

Song Actions

Keywords:

Blues (490), vocals (123), water pistol (1), acoustic guitar (72), guitar (1063), acoustic (586), lyricss (1), Joanna (39)

Hardware:

eMac, and an old tape deck.

Software:

Comments

_nderscore	_nderscore said 1847 days ago (October 19th, 2004)
	squirt 'em up now this is a song that deserves a video. grrrrl power Check out my latest song called glyd

Joanna	Joanna said 1847 days ago (October 19th, 2004)
	squirt 'em up _underscore - We'll shoot the video at the next Macjam picnic. Everyone gets a squirt gun and we film the mayhem! Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

gudkarma	gudkarma said 1845 days ago (October 20th, 2004)
	ah word to the blues!!!!!! ah yeah......this is so great. i mean really. i stopped my tom waits album for this song! :) hmmmmm. i think you have a good feeling on this song. ummm do i have to wear a white tshirt for this video? you should duet with me on my next blues. Check out my latest song called Ocean The

Joanna	Joanna said 1845 days ago (October 21st, 2004)
	ah word to the blues!!!!!! gudkarma - wow, thanks for liking it so much! And yes, white t-shirts are a must for the MacJams Picnic Squirt Gun War. As for collaborating, as long as I don't have to play the guitar, I'm good to go! Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

Mr. EI Oval	Mr. EI Oval said 1844 days ago (October 21st, 2004)
	instant fan... Girl, for not being able to play guitar, you sure did a great job. I enjoyed this from the first lick to the last squirt. You are a natural born music maker. The words are perfect, your voice is excellent and the guitar is real. Keep on fighting the good fight! Check out my latest song called Dance under the Clocktower

Joanna	Joanna said 1844 days ago (October 22nd, 2004)
	instant fan... Mr. El Oval, Thank you so much! Truth is, I spent forever trying to get the guitar part right. A lot of practice. It's great to know that it was worth it. Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

Suzanne	Suzanne said 1844 days ago (October 22nd, 2004)
	play it girl i cannot play and sing at the same time. you do it perfectly. made me feeel a southern heat and long for my own water pistol. and a large lemonade, or vodka manhattan... Check out my latest song called Rock The Baby With Voodoo (w/Tobin)

Joanna	Joanna said 1844 days ago (October 22nd, 2004)
	play it girl Suzanne, before GB, it was either a capella or learn the guitar. Many years ago, I learned to play rudimentary guitar so that I could sing and write songs. I haven't played in far too long, but when I started listening to a cassette of my old songs, it did give me the itch to pull my guitar out of the closet. Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

TobinMueller	TobinMueller said 1844 days ago (October 22nd, 2004)
	Great ironic lyrics Great lyrics. Great delivery. Most excellent mainlining blues. I love it when the blues makes me smile! Check out my latest song called Forge A New Life (MJRF)

Joanna	Joanna said 1844 days ago (October 22nd, 2004)
	Great ironic lyrics I love that it made you smile, Tobin. Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

Del	Del said 1843 days ago (October 23rd, 2004)
	lady sings the blues EVen down to the color of your squirt gun. You are blues through and through. Check out my latest song called The Androgyne

Joanna	Joanna said 1842 days ago (October 24th, 2004)
	lady sings the blues Thank you, Del! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

	said 1842 days ago (October 23rd, 2004)
	The bare essentials in blues... is all you need. Your voice, guitar, and particularly well suited lyrics deliver a solid blues song. Da blues lives here. Jack

Joanna	Joanna said 1842 days ago (October 24th, 2004)
	The bare essentials in blues... One thing I really like about this site is that listeners notice the lyrics. Because the lyric is what I care the most about when writing a song, I find that very uplifting. Thank you, Jack. Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

BlackLily	BlackLily said 1841 days ago (October 24th, 2004)
	one of the better ones you do blues well. Voice is better here. guitar is great. way better than mine. Check out my latest song called Barbie's Letter

Joanna	Joanna said 1690 days ago (March 25th, 2005)
	one of the better ones Thank you, BlackLily! I made this recording when I was much younger, so that's probably why my voice sounds different. Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

thoddi	thoddi said 1835 days ago (October 30th, 2004)
	joni? Hmmm, wouldn't surprise me if you had some albums of Joni Mitchell laying around... Reminded me of her early works. This is what they call music. You've got timing. Honest stuff. Thats what we like! Keep it up! Now I'll have to listen to some more of your songs:-) Check out my latest song called Don't tell me what I can't w/KTB and Ingve

Joanna	Joanna said 1690 days ago (March 25th, 2005)
	joni? Thank you, Thoddi! No Joni Mitchell albums (I tend to listen to jazz) but that's a huge compliment, thank you! Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

	Original Slob said 1801 days ago (December 4th, 2004)
	Wanna you slob I bet you can guess who wrote this (and your youngest nephew is here with me as a co-conspirator). I liked the song and rated it higly! This macjams is an interesting venue- a nice way for people to experiment with music.

Joanna	Joanna said 1798 days ago (December 6th, 2004)
	Wanna you slob It appears my older brother has googled me and found my new addiction. The secret is out! Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

Bob Ancona	Bob Ancona said 1782 days ago (December 23rd, 2004)
	Your guitar playing... ...sounds like Robert Johnson practicing. And I hope you know I mean that as a compliment. Love the zany lyrics, too. Check out my latest song called I Just Wanna Go Home

Joanna	Joanna said 1690 days ago (March 25th, 2005)
	Your guitar playing... I think maybe too big a compliment -- but I thank you most sincerely for it, Bob! Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

drakonis

drakonis said 1700 days ago (March 14th, 2005)

Bringin me back...
to those old Paperboy blues when I was in Jr. High, being
roughed up by the bullies while trying to throw papers.
Ah to have had Betsy at my side (stands tall and proud on
his ten-steed bike.) Very nicely sung, and impressive
blues guitar playing, great lyrics... it all fits together very
nicely! Loved it!
ttfn,
Drakonis

PS-These days, we use Nerf guns around the office.

Check out my latest song called Temporal Tantrum (Sister Savage Mix)

Joanna	Joanna said 1690 days ago (March 25th, 2005)
	Bringin me back... When I used to write for TV, we had entire Nerf arsenals. I was particularly fond of the bow -- those nerf arrows really flew! Thank you for the kind words! Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

ktb	ktb said 882 days ago (June 10th, 2007)
	wonderful feel like getting tagged on a perfect hot july day. you have a schweet voice and use it to good effect. nice pickin as well. Check out my latest song called off the deck (w/Z293)

	said 808 days ago (August 24th, 2007)
	! ! THIS IS GRRREEEAAAAT 8 ) You certainly CAN play gutar AND sing WOW I'd loved to hear this better recorded thats FOR SURE _ YOU*RE GREAT like I said..man...... It's a wowow-song THANKYOU Jo(?)annna Lena

Pete_NB	Pete_NB said 424 days ago (September 11th, 2008)
	Found this tune referenced in an old forum It was talking about good guitar, and while I enjoyed the playing, it was your vocals that blows me away. Great lyrics as well! Check out my latest song called Doodle Tree

Alannah	Alannah said 131 days ago (July 1st, 2009)
	Joanna .... ... you are a hoot ! Love this ! Check out my latest song called I'm Drownin' - Smokey VW (feat Alannah) + Outtaorbit

magnatone	magnatone said 131 days ago (July 1st, 2009)
	Water Pistol JOANNA!!! This is fabulous - what do you mean you never learned to play? your voice is the best! Check out my latest song called Symphonic Smackdown