Stealin'

"Stealin'"
Single by Grateful Dead
B-side	"Don't Ease Me In"
Released	June 1966
Format	7"
Recorded	June 1966
Genre	Blues rock Psychedelic rock
Length	2:36
Label	Scorpio Records
Songwriter(s)	Gus Cannon
Producer(s)	Gene Estribou
Grateful Dead singles chronology

Stealin' (also called Stealin', Stealin') is an American folk song from the 1920s. The song is particularly identified with the jug band tradition, but gained wider popularity after several folk and blues artists recorded it in the 1960s.

Although different artists have recorded different verses, the chorus has remained consistent:

Stealin', stealin', pretty mama don't you tell on me

I'm stealin' back to my same old used to be

Origins

The lines “If you don’t believe I love you, look what a fool I’ve been / If you don’t believe I’d fall for you, look what a hole I’m in” were recorded by the New Orleans jazz musician Clarence Williams in 1921 and again by Leona Williams in 1922 as “If You Don't Believe I Love You, Look What a Fool I've Been.”

Gus Cannon claimed to have written the opening line, "Put your arms around me like a circle 'round the sun." On this basis, Cannon is sometimes credited with authorship of the song. However, this line doesn’t appear in any of his recorded songs. It does appear in the folk song “I Know You Rider” and may actually predate Cannon.

Another lyric associated with Gus Cannon is “She's a married woman, but she comes to see me all the time,” which appeared in his “Minglewood Blues,” recorded January 30, 1928.

Memphis Jug Band

The song as we know it today was first recorded by the Memphis Jug Band as "Stealin' Stealin'." This recording session took place on September 15, 1928 in Memphis, TN and featured Will Shade (harmonica), Charlie Burse (lead vocal and guitar), Ben Ramey (harmony vocal and kazoo), and Jab Jones (jug).

The label on this release named Will Shade as the composer, and the copyright is still administered by Shade’s publisher, Peermusic (formerly known as the Southern Music Publishing Company). By some standards, this is correct, as a compilation of earlier lyrics is often equated with authorship in the blues genre. On the other hand, most of the lyrics clearly predated the Memphis Jug Band recording. In any case, this recording provided the basis for modern remakes after it was re-released on a compilation called The Country Blues in 1959. When the Grateful Dead recorded it seven years later, they mistakenly attributed the song to Gus Cannon, perhaps because Cannon's song "Walk Right In" appeared on the same compilation.

Grateful Dead

The song was part of the first ever release by the San Francisco, CA based psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead, along with "Don't Ease Me In." The Scorpio Sessions, as the recording session was known, comprised several tracks which were released in limited supply by Scorpio Records in July 1966.

Years later, the sessions would appear on the band's twelve-CD box set The Golden Road (1965-1973) released on October 21, 2002 before released as part of the stand-alone album Birth of the Dead in March 2003. Other Dead albums the song has appeared on including:

Historic Dead, 1971
Rare Cuts and Oddities 1966, 2005

Jerry Garcia also recorded the song with friend and collaborator David Grisman. "Stealin'" appeared performed by them on the album Shady Grove in 1996 and on the compilation album Acoustic Disc 100% Handmade Music, Volume 3 in 1997.

Album appearances

The Country Blues, Various Artists (Memphis Jug Band), 1959
Folksinger's Choice, Bob Dylan, 1962
Stealin', Bob Dylan, 1969
Great White Wonder II, Bob Dylan, 1970
San Francisco Bay Blues, Jesse Fuller, 1963
Singin' 'n' Sole-In, The Brotherhood (Don Partridge & Pat Keene),^[1] 1966
Johnny Young and His Chicago Blues Band, Johnny 'Man' Young, 1966
Running Down the Road, Arlo Guthrie, 1969 (his version appears in the film "Two-Lane Blacktop")
Ragtime Jug Stompers, Dave Van Ronk, 1969
Clover, Clover, 1970
Schlagers!, Various Artists (Arlo Guthrie), 1970
Jim Kweskin's America, Jim Kweskin, 1971
Happy Just to Be Like I Am, Taj Mahal, 1971
Music People, Various Artists (Taj Mahal), 1972
Welcome The Rock People, Various Artists (Taj Mahal), 1972
Together In Concert, Pete Seeger, 1975
Janis Soundtrack, Janis Joplin, 1975
Reckless Abandon, David Bromberg, 1977
The Clover Chronicle: The Best Of The Fantasy Years, Clover, 1979?
Laughing At Life, (The Armpit Jug Band), 1985
The Best Of The Chicago Blues, Various Artists (Johnny Young's South Side Band), 1987
Complete Recorded Works, Vol 2 (1928-1929), Memphis Jug Band, 1990
Charles et Les Lulus, Arno Hintjens, 1991
Let No One Deceive You, Dave Van Ronk, 1992
Out On The Rolling Sea, Various Artists (Ralph McTell), 1995
What Kind of Woman Is That, Texas Red, 1997
Mandolin Blues, Various Artists (Johnny Young), 1997
Reckless Abandon / Bandit in a Bathing Suit, David Bromberg, 1998
Ruckus Juice & Chitlins, Vol. 2: The Great Jug Bands, Various Artists (Memphis Blues Band), 1998
Chasin' Gus' Ghost, John Sebastian, 1999
Still Crazy Soundtrack, Various Artists (Billy Connolly), 1999
Wire Less, The Blues Band, 2000
Memphis Jug Band Story: 1927-1934, Memphis Jug Band, 2000
As Good As It Gets: Country Blues, Various Artists (Memphis Blues Band), 2000
Essential Memphis Jug Band, Memphis Jug Band, 2001
Best of the Memphis Jug Band, Memphis Jug Band, 2001
When the Sun Goes Down: The Secret History of Rock & Roll, Various Artists (Memphis Blues Band), 2002
Back On Track, Bees Make Hone, 2003
Hot Fingerpickin' Slide Guitar, Various Artists (Johnny Johnston), 2003
Baby, Don't You Tear My Clothes, James Cotton, 2004
Live At Tonic EP, Wood Brothers, 2006
Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Vol. 4, Various Artists (Devil in a Woodpile), 2007
Wrong Doings and Done Wrongs, Escape the Floodwater Jug Band, 2008
Six Days on the Road, Dylan Charles and Karl Kerfoot, 2008
Prohibition Blues, The Rumblestrutters 2016

References

↑ Fontana TL5390, track 6

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[1] Fontana TL5390, track 6