Wet Boogie in G by Jethro Bassman

The Wetband

WET BOOGIE IN G BY JETHRO BASSMAN

OK boys lets boogie, lay down a nice boogie beat
a Boogie beat in ‘G’
That’s it, keep that boogie going while I begin the story…

As we travel across this great country of ours, many people ask us:
How did the Wet Band get together, where did you come from,
Now it’s a long story that takes several hours and many beers to tell.
So obviously we like to tell it a lot, but it tends to change in each telling
So to get the story straight and to inform all our fans we wrote this little
song.
We call it ‘Wet Boogie in G’
‘Wet’ because it’s our story
‘Boogie’ because it has this boogie beat (Now keep boogying boys)
And it’s in ‘G’ cause all good boogies are in ‘G’
This story starts in a small town in Northern Ontario
Nobody knows the name of this town, but it’s way up north.
Now everybody’s heard of Moosenee, but this is much further north
More like Mooseneck
This was about 20 years ago plus or minus a few years
Woody and Kenny B. Wet were sitting around watching TV
I think it was Star Trek they were watching,
where Captain Kirk was falling for another alien female,
Spock was playing some weird instrument and Bones said
“Don’t ask me I’m a Doctor not a musician!”
At this point Kenny said “I wonder what Willie is up to”
A few years before brother Willie had left for the big time in the big city
And they had not heard from him since.
Woody says, “I don’t know, but I just bought a Yamaha”
“That’s great” exclaimed Kenny, “why don’t we take off and find Willie”
“Sounds good to me” said Woody, “I’ve got my Yamaha”
as he reached down and grabbed a brand new guitar
Now Kenny thought Woody meant a motorcycle,
“So how can we go” he said (admitting no surprise)
“I’ll call Brother Ray” said Woody “He has as 65 Chevy pickup with a box”
So to cut a long story short (or maybe at least shorter)
Soon Brother Ray appeared with his bright red pickup and it was time to roll
Kenny picked up his old guitar and put it in the back, “I’m packed” he said
Woody put his Yamaha in the truck and said “I just have a few more things”
Out came the banjo, then the mandolin, 2 more guitars,
kazoos, tambourines, and boxes of music
“Just one more thing” said Woody, and minutes later
he comes out with a large bag and puts it in the back
“What’s that?” said Kenny, “Harmonicae” says Woody
Now Brother Ray was a man of few words, so he just watched
Soon it was time to go and Woody says “you drive, Kenny”
Brother Ray climbed in the back and just grinned
And off they went down the road on a new adventure
with Kenny behind the wheel, Woody beside him in the cab
and Brother Ray in the back with all the implements of destruction.
So they drove for 24 hours stopping only for Bacon and Eggs,
when they saw an old motel and bar with a sign that said ‘Live Music’
“Sounds good” said Woody “Let’s stop”
Now the ‘Live Music’ was just an old man playing organ and
an old woman wailing some old country tune.
“I bet we could play better than that” said Woody
But they never got the chance,
because for the first time in his life, Brother Ray had two beers
And he gets real ornery when he drinks too much
So they had to escape there real fast
before Brother Ray lost his head.
The next day they saw this strange looking, long-haired hippie
hitchhiking along the side of the road, so they stopped.
He got in the front with Woody and Kenny and said “Thanks”
“Put your stuff in the back” said Kenny.
“I ain’t got nothing” said the stranger, “Where ya heading”
“To the big city” said Woody
“Sounds good to me”, said the stranger “My name’s Jethro”
“Jethro Bassman, who be youse guys” he added
as he noticed Brother Ray in the back.
“We’re all Wet” said Woody “and you’re welcome to join us,
We’re looking for Willie”
So off they went the four of them stopping only for Bacon and Eggs
and Brother Ray always grinning in the back
Three days later they decided to stop for some sleep
when they saw a motel along the highway.
They soon realized they didn’t have enough cash to pay for a room
But somehow Jethro talked the owner in believing they were some kind of band
“What are you called son” said the owner, “The Wet Band” said Jethro
Well you can stay if you play in our bar said the owner
So an agreement was reached.
Trouble was Jethro told the owner it was a trio and
there was no way Woody and Kenny wanted Brother Ray in that bar
“You’ll just have to play” Woody said to Jethro
“but I don’t play nothing” Jethro exclaimed
“Makes no matter” Woody said “a trio we must be”
So Woody and Kenny got on stage with their guitars, banjo, mandolin, kazoos,
and the big bag of harmonicae, and commenced to play
Jethro picks up a guitar and picks for while,
then he reaches in the bag, picks up a harmonica and blows
The bar was not too full, just a young couple
reading some book by Faulkner I think
they took no notice until “Paint it Black” began
Jethro not knowing what to do grabbed the banjo
and started sliding his beer bottle down the neck
and the “Faulkner” couple went wild,
for they had never heard slide banjo before.
In fact no one had, ‘cause it just got invented that night.
Fromthat point on the Wet Band was born.
Moving the story along, after many days of driving and nights
of playing, they finally arrived at the big city.
The big city was much bigger then they ever imagined,
“how are we ever going to find Willie” said Kenny.
At that point they saw a bar and stopped the bright red Chevy pickup
they were all thirsty after the long journey.
So they all went in to the bar, and had some beer
They even let Brother Ray come in as he promised to nurse one beer
After awhile they heard music coming from “Another Room”
Someone was singing some song about throwing out the TV
Now that sounded good to the boys so they wandered into “Another Room”
and sat down to listen.
Suddenly Kenny yells “It’s Willie” and storms the stage
I won’t bore you with the sentimental reunion stuff
But soon the crowd was calling for more music
“Join me” says Willie so they did
There were guitars for Kenny and Woody but no banjo
At that point Jethro sees a bass guitar against the wall
So as the Wet brothers began, Jethro picks up the bass
And he begins to play
The boys were amazed at the reaction - a standing ovation
What they didn’t realize was that of the seven people in the crowd
Two were going to the washroom and five were going for another beer
And Brother Ray just sat and grinned
Anyways they played all night, Willie joined the band
and the rest is history.

Now let’s boogie boys,…..

(lots of boogie talk and instrumental solos, etc.)

Copyright © 2001 Wetsongs Music

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