Happy Valentine’s Day – To ‘The Ladies’ Man’
Happy Valentine’s Day!
This is for that old Ethiopian guy that you see at every Ethiopian club or restaurant and thinks he is still “The Ladies’ Man”. You know which one I’m talking about. He’s the one approaching 50, but thinks he is still 23. He’s the one who once was a ‘ladies’ man’ or thought he was one. He’s the one you always saw at the Ethiopian clubs, restaurants or shows since you first came to the US. Yep, every Ethio community has one.
This is a song written by the great Jazz singer, songwriter, poet, playwright and activist Oscar Brown Jr. The video is not is not of Oscar Brown’s but it was the only video I was able to find on Youtube of this song. I have posted the lyrics in case you have trouble hearing the sound.
Enjoy!
Back as a boy, I longed to be the fellow women loved to see
and have em all consider me
a laidies man
i dreamed of jeannie with delight
and mary moanin in the nite
as i became with all my might
a laidies man
developing into a fuller flower
this throbbing, thrusting manly power
consumed my every waking hour
a laidies man
i felt the urge! that awful itch!
it mounted to a fever pitch!
I had girls, no matter which!
a laidies man
ahh, but the hottest fever cools,
those who dont face that fact are fools
for in all men time overrules
a laidies man
what once was warm began to chill
as father time enforced his will
until i wondered am i still?
a laidies man?
at first i tried to hide my loss
with girls who’d never come across
a laidies man
but they moved with too quick a step
i needed patience more than pep
to keep alive my fading rep
a laidies man
oh dont get me wrong, i’m not dead
my show is awful good head
so joy has not completely fled
a laidies man
but, it can never be the same
the vigor’s vanished from my game
for reminiscing can you blame
a laidies man
i look back at the life i’ve led
what might my powers have got instead
had i not shot so much in bed
a laidies man
what tricky trade might i have tried
had i not lain pre-occupied
but then, who’s ever satisfied
a laidies man
the women i made, frequently
each in her heart held (secretly)
that she was really making me
a laidies man
a woman feels (a man may guess)
that she conceals beneath her dress
a trap, with which she can possess
a laidies man
she shows the bait
she throws the lure
there’s no escaping, that’s for sure
you’re never really free when you’re
a laidies man
each fellow follows his own star
but take no appetite too far
that’s sound advice in case you are
a laidies man
but, you call all this sour grapes
devote yourself to willing rapes
and never mind what all escapes
a laidies man
all youth must feel betrayed by age
i’m reading from a later page
and you cant hear me at your stage
a laidies man
therefore my boy enjoy your prime
until that fateful date and time
when you can claim no longer i’m
a laidies man
hey, there’s a beauty, dont you agree?
got quite a body, hasnt she?
well, sock it to her once for me,
laidies man
ha ha ha
a laidies man
