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I'm a Roustabout

Words & Music by Otis Blackwell, Winfield Scott

Go Back

I'm a Roustabout

Words & Music by Otis Blackwell, Winfield Scott

Build it up, knock it down
Hold it square, roll it around
Throw it in the air,
Stick it in the ground
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

Tie it loose, make it tight
If it's wrong, do it right
Makes me kinda feel,
Like I wanna fight
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

Orders all day and half the night from the boss
That guy just doesn't wanna see one minute lost

Stack it up, in the rear
Better still, bring it here
Wanna take it out, stick it in his ear
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

A handyman is all I am around this place
Every time I turn around, he's right up in my face

Bring it in, bring it out
When I'm slow, boy, he shouts
Getting awful tired, running in and out
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

More info:

It was custom with Elvis' movies to invite submissions by several different sets of songwriters for each of the songs, and in the case of Roustabout, Elvis had already recorded an excitingly dynamic version of Winfield Scott's title track before it was dropped by Paramount Pictures for another, entirely different song, because of what the studio deemed an unsuitable lyric. But in 2003 Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, when preparing the release of 2nd to None, was even unaware of the existence of such original track until songwriter Winfield Scott kindly provided him with his acetate version, the only known surviving copy of this lost gem.


Build it up, knock it down
Hold it square, roll it around
Throw it in the air,
Stick it in the ground
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

Tie it loose, make it tight
If it's wrong, do it right
Makes me kinda feel,
Like I wanna fight
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

Orders all day and half the night from the boss
That guy just doesn't wanna see one minute lost

Stack it up, in the rear
Better still, bring it here
Wanna take it out, stick it in his ear
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

A handyman is all I am around this place
Every time I turn around, he's right up in my face

Bring it in, bring it out
When I'm slow, boy, he shouts
Getting awful tired, running in and out
But it's too bad, I can't get mad
'Cause I'm a roustabout

More info:

It was custom with Elvis' movies to invite submissions by several different sets of songwriters for each of the songs, and in the case of Roustabout, Elvis had already recorded an excitingly dynamic version of Winfield Scott's title track before it was dropped by Paramount Pictures for another, entirely different song, because of what the studio deemed an unsuitable lyric. But in 2003 Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, when preparing the release of 2nd to None, was even unaware of the existence of such original track until songwriter Winfield Scott kindly provided him with his acetate version, the only known surviving copy of this lost gem.