# Unfamiliar terminology in songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 5, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440 "2008-02-05T22:21:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/1 "2008-02-05T22:21:50Z")
I’ve been mildly curious about this one for decades, but I was never sure I wanted to know the answer. Finally, curiosity has overcome. In the song _Aqualung_ by Jethro Tull, the lyrics say, “Leg hurting bad as he bends to pick a dog-end…” How, exactly, does one pick a dog-end. And which end? And why would it make your leg hurt? Yuck. And in _Born On The Bayou_ by Creedence Clearwater Revival, they say “I can still hear my old hound dog barking, chasing down a hoodoo there.” What’s a hoodoo? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/2 "2008-02-05T22:25:31Z")
[dog end](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dog+end) “The end of an already used cigarette.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/3 "2008-02-05T22:25:48Z")
A dog end is a cigarette butt, so if you’re picking them up you’re really desperate. A sore leg is just the icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/4 "2008-02-05T22:29:00Z")
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (pasted with no attempt to fix goofy characters): Main Entry:1hoo£doo Pronunciation:_h_-(_)d_ Function:noun Inflected Form: plural hoodoos Etymology: perhaps alteration of voodoo Date:1875 1 : a body of practices of sympathetic magic traditional especially among blacks in the southern United States 2 : a natural column of rock in western North America often in fantastic form 3 : something that brings bad luck 4 : NONSENSE, HOKUM –hoo£doo£ism -_i-z_m\ noun ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/5 "2008-02-05T22:30:11Z")
A dogend is simply a cigarette butt long enough to still provide a few puffs. I always guessed the pain in the leg was simply arthritis or stiff joints from sleeping on the ground, although there may be more to it. I always figured the hoodoo was just a spook–not a genuine ghost, but the sort of phantom prey that dogs are likely to pursue for fun. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/6 "2008-02-05T22:32:35Z")
[QUOTE=Scarlett67] 1 : a body of practices of sympathetic magic traditional especially among blacks in the southern United States 2 : a natural column of rock in western North America often in fantastic form 3 : something that brings bad luck 4 : NONSENSE, HOKUM [/QUOTE] Yeah, I looked that up, too. None of those sound like something a boy would remember his hound dog chasing down. NB: “Chase down,” unlike “chase” carries an implication that the thing being chased was caught, and that it was actively running away. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/7 "2008-02-05T22:35:16Z")
At least JT didn’t use the synonymous Britishism “fag end”. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/8 "2008-02-05T22:47:21Z")
A hoodoo is a ghost, a haint, a mysterious something out in the swamp. Don’t overthink the “chasing down” part. I think Fogerty was from California, not Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/9 "2008-02-05T22:50:26Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] Yeah, I looked that up, too. None of those sound like something a boy would remember his hound dog chasing down. NB: “Chase down,” unlike “chase” carries an implication that the thing being chased was caught, and that it was actively running away. [/QUOTE] I see your point about the distinction between “chase” and “chase down,” but I think it’s still OK in this sense. The dog intends to catch it, even if he never will because it’s just a figment of his imagination. Our dogs are always barking their fool heads off over nothing at all. Besides, it’s just a song, dude. 🙂 I cringe every time I hear Billy Joel sing “And your momentos will turn to dust . . .” but I still like the song. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unfamiliar-terminology-in-songs/436440/10 "2008-02-05T23:04:35Z")
[QUOTE=Scarlett67] Besides, it’s just a song, dude. 🙂 I cringe every time I hear Billy Joel sing “And your momentos will turn to dust . . .” but I still like the song. [/QUOTE] I don’t get what’s supposed to wrong with this. A memento is a keepsake or souvenir, not a thought or abstract. Keeping them until they turn to dust makes perfect sense. Your cited definition of hoodo is also lacking. [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) has several definitions that would work better in context. > [@](#): > > a person or thing that brings bad luck. A hoodoo, therefore, is something that can be chased down.