What “Rag Mama Rag” means

Loose, rowdy and irresistibly good fun, “Rag Mama Rag” is the Brown Album's party piece, and, surprisingly, the group's biggest UK hit, reaching No. 16 (their highest UK chart placing ever).

What it's about

Don't overthink the words. That's not where the meaning lives. The lyrics are a randy, tumbling come-on to a maddening woman; critics have variously called them “almost nonsensical,” “lusty tomcat” lines, and pure “brothel music.” It's a turn-of-the-century New Orleans good time, and the joy is in the romp, not the message.

The great instrument swap

The reason it sounds so deliciously homemade is that almost everyone switched instruments. When the straight version wasn't working, the band rearranged itself: Levon Helm sang lead and played mandolin, Richard Manuel moved to drums, Rick Danko picked up the fiddle, producer John Simon blew the tuba, and Garth Hudson hammered a ragtime upright piano. The result is a giddy, swinging shambles that's actually held together with total control.

A happy accident

Tellingly, the band didn't rate it much at first. They cut it almost as an afterthought. Robertson later said: “It didn't have very much importance until we recorded it, but it showed something else we could do, in a style that didn't exist.” The fans, and the UK charts, disagreed about its importance.