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Billy-a-Dick Lyrics
Every night while I'm undressin'
Sayin' my prayers and lightly confessin'
I can hear hot licks
From a set of drums upstairs
Well, it couldn't be Johnny 'cause he isn't there
Johnny's overseas, we know not where
But, believe it or not, every night on the dot
I can hear a tenor drum say
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
When's that character comin' back?
When's that kid in the G.I. lid
Gonna choo-choo down the track?
Poor ol' me, I'm beat as can be
And my rim has even started to rust
Look at these sticks tryin' to take out the licks
They're covered with an inch of dust, beep-a-dust
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
When's that character comin' back?
When's that boy with the jumpin' joy
Gonna launch that last attack?
If he'll roll, roll, roll like a drumstick
Chewin', chewin', chewin' on a gumstick
Jack, we'll soon have a Japanese derby
And beat it like a cymbal on a music rack
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
When's that character comin' back?
When's that boy with the jumpin' joy
Gonna launch that last attack?
If he'll roll, roll, roll like a drumstick
Chewin', chewin', chewin' on a gumstick
Jack, we'll soon have a Japanese derby
And beat it like a cymbal on a music rack
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
When's that character comin' back, Mom?
Sayin' my prayers and lightly confessin'
I can hear hot licks
From a set of drums upstairs
Johnny's overseas, we know not where
But, believe it or not, every night on the dot
I can hear a tenor drum say
When's that character comin' back?
When's that kid in the G.I. lid
Gonna choo-choo down the track?
And my rim has even started to rust
Look at these sticks tryin' to take out the licks
They're covered with an inch of dust, beep-a-dust
When's that character comin' back?
When's that boy with the jumpin' joy
Gonna launch that last attack?
Chewin', chewin', chewin' on a gumstick
Jack, we'll soon have a Japanese derby
And beat it like a cymbal on a music rack
When's that character comin' back?
When's that boy with the jumpin' joy
Gonna launch that last attack?
Chewin', chewin', chewin' on a gumstick
Jack, we'll soon have a Japanese derby
And beat it like a cymbal on a music rack
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
Billy-a-dick, Billy-a-dick, tick, tack
When's that character comin' back, Mom?
Song Info
Submitted by
kevin On May 24, 2001
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She wants someone back so much she thinks she can hear him playing the drums! When I was little I thought it was about a cat (weird huh?) I don't know where I got that from. But I love the song, it is one of those songs that my mother used to play when she cleaned lol. I grew up with this song (even though I thought I was singing about a cat)
The song is sung from the viewpoint of the Tenor Drum. It's owner has gone off to fight in a war and it is wondering when he will be back to play it again. It is lonely and lamenting how rusty and dusty it is becoming. Also, billy-a-dick tick tack is a stylized way of wording the sound the drum makes when it is played... something akin to rat-a-tat.
@casualsinger the drum....lol. That's a stretch. Pun-intended. Def hard to see how u arrived at that interpretation.
@casualsinger the drum....lol. That's a stretch. Pun-intended. Def hard to see how u arrived at that interpretation.
Just as with so many wonderful pieces in the American Songbook, one should not overlook the oh-so-lightly veiled sexual connotations of these lyrics. The narrator downstairs hears a tell-tale rhythm, which of course he interprets as a drum, but the pining for the paramour who's off to war, the image of the train, how he's going to "roll, roll, roll" with his "jumpin' joy"--you need not widen your interpretation too much!
@Philologista66 agreed, right on. Besides the layers of meaning...literal, figurative, sexual this song is such a perfect musical throwback to the girl group missing her man songs.
@Philologista66 agreed, right on. Besides the layers of meaning...literal, figurative, sexual this song is such a perfect musical throwback to the girl group missing her man songs.