This is an old Leadbelly song that he recrded in 1939. My undestanding is that "Betty" had syphillis - that's why the baby went crazy, and also went blind. The baby had congenital syphillis. The original lyrics were a little different than the RAM JAM lyrics. The RAM JAM lyrics seem like thay are about some hot chick. The Leadbelly lyrics are more tragic. I'd cite them here if I could find them, but I can't.
This is an old Leadbelly song that he recrded in 1939. My undestanding is that "Betty" had syphillis - that's why the baby went crazy, and also went blind. The baby had congenital syphillis. The original lyrics were a little different than the RAM JAM lyrics. The RAM JAM lyrics seem like thay are about some hot chick. The Leadbelly lyrics are more tragic. I'd cite them here if I could find them, but I can't.