Polk Salad Annie
Elvis Presley
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Some of you all never been down South too much... I' gonna tell you a little story, so you'll understand where I'm talking about Down there we have a plant that grows out in the woods and the fields, and it looks something like a turnip green. Everybody calls it Polk salad. Now that's Polk salad. Used to know a girl that lived down there and she'd go out in the evenings to pick a mess of it... Carry it home and cook it for supper, 'cause that's about all they had to eat, But they did all right. Down in Louisiana Where the alligators grow so mean Lived a girl that I swear to the world Made the alligators look tame Polk salad Annie 'Gators got your granny Everybody said it was a shame For the mama was working on the chain-gang What a mean, vicious woman Everyday before suppertime She'd go down by the truck patch And pick her a mess of Polk salad And carry it home in a tote sack Polk salad Annie 'Gators got you granny Everybody said it was a shame 'Cause the mama was working on the chain-gang Whoo, how wretched, dispiteful, straight-razor totin' woman, Lord have mercy. Sock a little Polk salad to him Yeah, you know what, yeah, yeah But daddy was a lazy and a no-count Claimed he had a bad back All her brothers were fit for Was stealing watermelons out of my truck For once Polk salad Annie 'Gators got your granny Everybody said it was a shame For the mama was working on the chain-gang Sock a little Polk salad to him You know what meets a meal mention You sock a little Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah Chic a bon, chic a bon, chic a bon bon bon bon Chic a bon, chic a bon, chic a bon bon bon bon Sock a little Polk salad to him You know what meets a meal mention Sock a little Polk salad to him You know what meets a meal mention Chinc, chinc, chinc, chin, ling, ling ling
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40 fans
Written by: TONY WHITE, TONY JOE WHITE
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
10 facts about this song
Original Creator"Polk Salad Annie" was originally written and performed by Tony Joe White, not Elvis Presley. Tony Joe White was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for his hit songs in the late 1960s.
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Elvis Presley's VersionEven though this song is often associated with Elvis Presley, he merely covered it. Presley's version of "Polk Salad Annie" in the early 1970s was one of his frequent live performances.
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Song's ThemeThe song's theme is about a girl in the South who picks polk salad, a type of dangerous, possibly poisonous, greens that grows in the wild. White claims to have known such a girl when he lived in Louisiana.
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Chart Success"Polk Salad Annie" became a major hit for White in the US in 1969, reaching top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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Bobbie Gentry's InfluenceWhen writing "Polk Salad Annie", White was inspired by Bobbie Gentry's song "Ode to Billie Joe", which also features Southern storytelling.
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Usage in FilmsThe song has been used in several films as part of the soundtracks, including "The Specialist" (1994), "The Green Ghost" (2018), and "King of the Hill" (1997).
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Live Cover PerformancesBesides Elvis, other big names like Tom Jones and Joe Dassin have also performed covers of "Polk Salad Annie" in their live shows.
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Misconception About the LyricsMany people misunderstood the term "polk salad" in the song, thinking it was "poke salad". The proper term is "polk salad", referring to the leafy plant Phytolacca americana.
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Grammy Hall of FameIn 2014, the song "Polk Salad Annie" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, marking it as one of the significant pieces of recorded music history.
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Tony Joe White's DeathInterestingly, "Polk Salad Annie" was also one of White's last performances before his sudden death in 2018. He played it during a segment on the NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert only weeks before his demise.
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Citation
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"Polk Salad Annie Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric-lf/680507/Elvis+Presley/Polk+Salad+Annie>.
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