Otis Redding - Shout Bamalam
Otis Redding - Shout Bamalama


Otis Redding - Shout Bamalama Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Otis Redding Anthology
Released: 1961

Shout Bamalama Lyrics


Shout Bamalama

He's down in Alabama
Shoutin' bamalama
Way down in Louisiana
Well, well, well
Nobody's gonna set him down

Lord have mercy on my soul
How many chickens have I stole
One last night and the night before
I'm going back and tryin' to get ten, eleven more
Startin' to get 'em and I

I love a chicken, baby
Shoutin' bamalama
Well, well, well
Nobody's gonna set him down

Nine feet, ten feet we're goin' for the build
Nine feet left on a ten feet of hill
Ten feet turn around a nine feet fence
His teeth fell out, but his tongue stayed in
It's gettin' said so

He got the chicken, baby
Shoutin' bamalama
Well, well, well
Nobody's gonna set him down

Leo demarket rode a line one day
Bad little fella comin' down the way
We were talkin' 'bout the family, its a cryin' shame
He tell ya, mother is workin' on the chain gang
She busts his britches now
She's good at workin' hard

Shoutin' bamalama
Well, well, well
Nobody's gonna set him down

The preacher and the deacon were prayin' one day
Along come a bear comin' down that way
The preacher told the deacon to say a prayer
He said, Lord, a prayer won't kill this bear
I gotta make it, baby
Shout bamalama
I gotta run for it
Well, well, well
Nobody's gonna set him down

Writer/s: REDDING, OTIS
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, CARLIN AMERICA INC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Shout Bamalama Song Chart
  • This was one of the first songs Redding recorded. It's a Little Richard-style shouter that was released on 45 by Bethlehem Records in 1961. King records re-released the single after Redding became a household name.
  • Redding wrote this song. In addition to his talents as a singer, he was also a very prolific songwriter, and some of his compositions became hits for other artists, including "Respect," which scored for Aretha Franklin.
  • In 2001, a group called the Detroit Cobras recorded this on an album of Motown covers.
  • The song was memorably featured in John Hughes' 1986 teen movie Pretty in Pink. In the movie, the character Duckie lip-synchs the song, referring to it as one his mother taught him.