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Album: Bummer Road  (The Original Chess Masters CHD 9324)
Original Release as part of 'Chess Vintage Series'
LP 1536 October 1969
Little Village 1/9/57 (TAKES 1-11), BR 1/9/57 (EDITED), TESBW

MUSICIANS: Fred Below (drums) Willie Dixon (bass)
Lafayette Leake (piano) Robert Jr. Lockwood (guitar)
Eddie King Milton (guitar) Otis Spann (piano) Luther Tucker (guitar)
With comments by Leonard Chess
Transcription: Awcantor@aol.com

Track begins - Sonnny Boy instructs backing musicians:

Sonny Boy:       Take your top down
                        Bom-bom, bom, bom-bom-bom
                        Bom-bom, bom-bom-bom
                        Bom-Bom

<Track begins Intro Instrumental and harp>

Sonny             The little village is too small to be a village
                      Not large enough to be a town
                      Too small to be a -

<tape stops abruptly>

Leonard:           Go ahead we're rolling, Take 1
                        What's the name-a this?

Sonny Boy:       Little Village  <pause>
                        A Little Village, Muther Fucker! A Little Village!

Leonard           There's isn't a mother fuckin' thing there about a village
                       You son-of-a-bitch!

Leonard:           Nothin' in the song has got anything to do with a village

Sonny:              Well, a small town

Leonard            I know what a village is!

Sonny:               Well alright, goddamn it!
                         You know, you don't need no title
                         You name it up, you, I got-get through with it, son-of-a-bitch
                         You name it what you wanna
                         You name it your mammy, if ya wanna

Leonard:            Ha-ha

Leonard:            Take 1 roll it!

<count off>        1, 2, 1-2-3-4

Sonny:               Hm-um, that's too fast, baby!

Leonard:             Take 2, slow it up

<count off>          1, 2, 1-2-3 music starts

Sonny:                  Talkin' 'bout your little town
                             Small little place, you know
                             It's not large enough to be no city
                             Couldn't be no town

                              Small little place
                              Small little village couldn't be a town
                              It's too small to be a village
                              And not large enough to be a town
                              But I fell in love with a swell little chick
                              That's why I can be stickin' around

                               She's just about so tall
                               And she's about so wide
                               'Bout so tall
                               And she's just about so wide
                               When it come down to lovin'
                               She strictly satisfy

<harp & instrumental>

                                When I first dropped in the little small place
                                For three weeks wasn't a soul around
                                When I first dropped in the little place
                                For three long weeks wasn't a soul around
                                The first chick I met was on the village tonight
                                An' she strictlly taken me down

                                She got a pad like a palace
                                Ev'rything was cruisin' kind
                                Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
                                She take me to her pad
                                An' ev'rything was cruisin' kind
                                She started talkin' that d.d. talk
                                And ya know that changed my mind

                                Yea-aay

                               <Instrumental & harp>

                                She started talkin' that d.d. talk
                                And that changed my mind

<end of song>

Leonard:                  We're rollin' (will take two)
                               Take 4

                                DT, Deep, Deep Theme Blues

<Instrumental begins slowly and stops>

Leonard:                 Take 5, hold it, Take 5

<Back up musicians discussion>

Sonny:                    ..ames, C'mon

<harp begins>

Leonard:                     Alright, this is it, take, Take 6

<music & song begin> 1, 2, 3, 4

Sonny:                        Just a little small place
                                   I couldn't call it no city either no town

Leonard:                     Alright, Take 7

Sonny Boy                  'at's right

Leonard:                     Sonny Boy, you came in a little too fast, man

                                  Take 7

<count off>                  1, 2, 3, 4

Sonny:                        You know it's just a small little town

Leonard:                      Hold it

<song stops but tape continues to record background argument>

Unk#1:                       Why does it take five people, to start with?

Sonny                         Say, look, look, ya-ya-ya, ya only got three
                                  Ya only got one chorus
                                  Bom-bom-bom-bom-bom
<tape cuts>

<Begins again while argument continues>

Sonny Boy:                 ..get up there, you'll pick it up
Leonard:                      Take 8, watch it!

Unk #1                         'God all Mighty, the people can tell'
Unk #2                         'Oh, well'
Unk #1                         Aaand they know!
Unk #3                         Ain't playin' that, I don't know but one chord
Unk #1                         'You playin, B12'
Sonny:                          See, I'm not playin' I-I-I touch it off
                                    And then I come around with you, c'mon
Unk#4                           You can play it anyway you all wanna
Unk#1                           You got an opinion aaand
Unk#2                           Just do what you want..

<more musician discussion/argument inaudible>

Leonard:                        Take 9  Watch it!

<Music and Sonny begin again>

Sonny:                          You know I was in a small little place
                                     It's too small to be a place or a town

Leonard:                       Hold it!  Hold it!  Take 10

<long pause silence>

Leonard:                      Take 10

Sonny:                         Just a small place
                                   Not large enough to be no city
                                   Not lar- big enough to be no town

Leonard:                      Hold it!
                                   Hold it! I wanna get you clear, man
                                   Sonny Boy, don't blow, don't blow
                                   between place an-an town, you know what I mean?

Sonny:                       Just sing an' no blow 'till, 'till I move from the mike?
Leonard:                     Don't blow that part, just sing it
Sonny:                       Okay, alright
Leonard:                     Okay, go ahead, Take 11

Sonny Boy:                 You know I dropped into this place
                                   An' it's too small to be a village
                                   Not large enough to be a town
                                   But I fell in love after hours that night
                                   And I had to stick around

                                   Well, this place is a small little village
                                   And not large enough to be a town
                                   Yeah, it's not small enough to be a village
                                   And not large enough to be a town

<Leonard: stops song>

Sonny:                        Because, I'm just doin' me a test run

<Sonny begins harp>

Leonard:                      Alright, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it,
                                  Take 11

Sonny:                        Already started

Leonard:                     Take 11

Sonny:                       Yeah

<song begins again>

Sonny:                        You know I stopped in a little place
                                   Too small to be a village
                                   An' not large enough to be a town
                                   Yeah, it's a little place
                                   Too small to be a village
                                   An' too large enough to be a town

                                    Yeah, now it's large enough to be a village
                                    An-a too small to be a town
                                    But I fell in love with a small little chick
                                    That one night she'd taken me down

                                    She had a cruise, crude apartment
                                    And she invited me around
                                    She had a cruise crude' lil apartment
                                    An' she invited me around
                                    After the night was over
                                    I just had to stick around

                                     Well, alright

<Instrumental & harp>
 
                                     I trust my baby
                                     An' I know somethin' fine
                                     Yes I know, the little girl is nice and kind
                                     She had a swell li'l apartment
                                     That's when she'd invite me down
 
                                     Her nice disposition
                                     An' I couldn't turn her down
                                     Her nice cool 'position
                                     And I could not turn her down
                                     I know li'l place too small to be a village
                                     Not large enough to be a town
                                     Yeah! yeah! yeah!
<Instrumental & harp>
                                     Goodbye, baby
                                     I would just like to stick around
                                     Goodbye, baby
                                     I would just like to stick around
                                     But I got to leave you now
                                     'Cause tomorrow I'm Chicago bound.

                                      Bom-Bom.