Here are the lyrics to Chris LeDoux’s Cadillac Cowboy. There are some phrase there I don’t understand. I assume they have to do with riding in or preparing for a rodeo. Can anyone translate for me?
jingle in my jeans
leavin’ on a saw blade
With a push and a pull
Chug-a-luggin’ up one side, slidin’ down the other
check the scan
I am not a rodeo expert, but I have watched a few. I would guess that “jingle in my jeans” has to do with the sensation of jostling in your nether regions as you get bounced up and down in the saddle by the bucking bull.
“Leavin’ on a saw blade” might refer to the subsequent pain in that same region of the anatomy.
I have no idea about “with a push and a pull”.
I don’t think that “Chug-a-luggin’ up one side, slidin’ down the other” refers to anything in the rodeo, but has to do with the difficulty the Cadillac has with pulling the stock trailer up the hill, and then the ease with which it rolls down the other side.
“Check the scan” seems to be CB radio jargon, going along with the “10-4 buddy, come on back” phrase.
Also, this thread might do better in Café Society, since it has to do with the interpretation of lyrics, and might not have a concrete answer.
Moderator Action
Yep. Since it’s about song lyrics, CS is definitely the place for it.
Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society.
My interpretation:
Jingle in my jeans - Got a little money in the pocket of his jeans/won the last go-round
Leaving on a saw blade - It’s a wild and dangerous ride
With a push and pull - When the bull is in the chute, he often will lean on the bars (or your leg) and you want him standing straight when you nod. The guys setting up will push and pull him to get him standing straight and centered in the chute.
Chug-a-luggin’ up one side, slidin’ down the other - It is tough pulling a horse trailer on hills.
Check the scan- CB lingo
Chris LeDoux was a roughstock rider so there was no reason for him to haul a horse trailer. Either he was appealing to all rodeo riders/fans or he was catching a ride with a timed event rider.
Hmm. “Buzz saw” in rodeo/cowboy lingo can refer to either a bronco that spins around and around during the ride or a type of spur (that shouldn’t be used in a rodeo contest, IIRC).
But saw blade? I think there was a slang expression similar to “run out of town on a rail” where the threat was to give someone a ride on a log going thru a saw mill.
I think that “leavin’ on a saw blade” means being carried off on one of those really long, two-person sawblades, as if it were a stretcher. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it in cartoons, but my Google-fu is not producing any results.
Also, I think that “jingle in my jeans” refers to having a little money. Check the lyrics for “Dixieland Delight” by Alabama and “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” by the Georgia Satellites.
Never mind … incorrect reading of ftg’s post.
My dad was a bareback rider in his younger days and my mom was in rodeo club when I was younger, plus they drug us to many rodeos, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard those terms.