Among traditional New Orleans jazz classics, “Oh, Didn’t He Ramble” has to rank near the top in popularity. “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Muskrat Ramble” are the only contenders that come to mind that may have been played more often.
But “Oh, Didn’t He Ramble” may even surpass them, since it is traditionally played on the way back from the cemetery following a New Orleans funeral, in contrast to the slower, sadder spirituals that are played on the way to a burial. It’s a joyous tune that suggests the deceased should have no regrets because he “rambled all around, in and out of town.”
But as currently played, the song is heard in truncated form. As copyrighted in 1902 by “Will Handy,” the song has seven verses in addition to its familiar chorus. The verses tell the exploits of Buster Beebe, a ne’er do well compared to his two brothers. Buster’s escapades get him a 90-day jail sentence, an eviction from a hotel for refusal to pay his bill, and the loss of his car, his jewelry, and his money in a gambling house.
Then comes the familiar chorus, which is typically the only part of the song that is sung:
Oh! didn’t he ramble, ramble?
He rambled all around, in and out of town,
Oh, didn’t he ramble, ramble,
He rambled till the butchers cut him down.
Even the strictest law-and-order types among us would surely agree that to butcher a m
