Bo Diddley - Diddy Wah Diddy

First performance: 20/08/1994


Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song 6 times and once as a snippet : 
 

2000-11-03 Stone Pony (The), Asbury Park, NJ
Light of day

1995-10-21 Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA
1995-07-22 Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ
1994-08-20 Marz American Style, Long Branch, NJ 
 
 
  • Snippet
during LIGHT OF DAY

1999-08-22 FleetCenter, Boston
 

Songinfo

"Diddy Wah Diddy" is a song written by Willie Dixon and Bo Diddley, and recorded by the latter in 1956.The song shares only its title with Blind Blake's song "Diddie Wah Diddie" recorded in 1929. Lyrically, the song makes mention of the mythical town of Diddy Wah Diddy. It was not unusual in the early part of the 20th century for African Americans in the southern states (particularly in Florida) to speak of various mythical cities and countries such as Beluthahatchie, Ginny Gall, Diddy Wah Diddy and West Hell as if they were real. Of all the imaginary locations that were in common usage at the time, folklorist and ethnomusicologist Benjamin A. Botkin has noted that Diddy Wah Diddy was "the largest and best known of the Afro American mythical places. It was commonly believed that in Diddy Wah Diddy food could be found in abundance, the townsfolk did not have to work, and people and animals had no concerns. Diddley’s song is sung from the point of view of a man whose lover lives in this mythical location.
 
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

1987-01-21 - WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL, NEW YORK CITY, NY

Bo Diddley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.Bruce had one performance with Bo Diddley during the second annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony. Bruce gives a stirring induction speech for Roy Orbison and then duets with him on "Oh, Pretty Woman" during the jam. Other inductees include Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, and Smokey Robinson. Performers during the jam, along with Bruce and Orbison, include Bo Diddley, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, and more.
 
 
 

Lyrics

I gotta girl in Diddy Wah Diddy
Ain't no town and it ain't no city
She loves her man till it's a pity
Crazy 'bout my girl in Diddy Wah Diddy
Diddy Wah
Diddy Wah
Diddy Wah
This little girl is sweet as she can be
I know she's in love with me
A lovely face, she's so pretty
She lives way down in Diddy Wah Diddy
Diddy Wah
Diddy Wah
Diddy Wah
Ain't no town, ain't no city
Whoa, how they love in Diddy Wah Diddy
She kissed me all the time
Gonna drive me outta my mind
Any day she say she's ready
? right back to Diddy Wah Diddy
Diddy Wah
Diddy Wah
Diddy Wah