[Intro: dead silence. Audible breath, then enormous unaccompanied gospel testimony belt from deep chest. Start low on OH, rise through YEAH into a long sustained melismatic wail with gravel, vibrato, preacher grit and a final cracked high push. Hold several seconds. No instruments or spoken delivery. One beat silence after release] OOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHHHHHH! [Harmonica Intro: filthy blues harmonica answers with a long bent wail, then nasty four bar riff. Full band slams in] [Verse 1: deep gravelly baritone, tight rhythmic groove, playful swagger] Been a minute since I came around Let a few folks have the floor Figured I would give 'em room Let 'em see what they could do I kicked back, took my sweet time Didn't have a thing to prove Then somebody said retired Man, who told that lie to you? I ain't quit, I ain't finished I just gave the room some air Let everybody have a little fun Before I pulled up my chair [Pre Chorus: groove pushes harder, Hammond rises] Y'all got comfortable without me Started thinking I was through I was sitting back and smiling Watching what y'all tried to do [Chorus: huge swamp rock hook, full chest lead, short gang accents] Thought I was gone [Gang] HEY! Thought I retired I just stepped aside a minute Let the other boys get tired Had your turn Had your fun Hope you made the most of it Big Papa's back And looking like He never missed a bit I ain't bragging That's not me I'm too humble for all that I just gave y'all time to play Now Big Papa's back [Verse 2: funky walking bass, rhythmic melodic vocal, no spoken breaks] Didn't make an announcement Didn't need no grand goodbye I just slipped off for a minute Let somebody else go try Heard some fellas getting confident Bless their hearts, they settled in Started walking round like they owned it So I figured I'd check in Now I'm not here to cause trouble I came peaceful as can be But if your seat got less comfortable Don't go blaming that on me I brought my harmonica with me And these boots still know the floor If you thought the old man hung it up You don't know Big Papa Love [Pre Chorus: drums tighten, Hammond swells, vocal builds] Y'all got comfortable without me Started thinking I was done I was giving everybody else A little extra time for fun [Chorus: bigger band, powerful chest belts] Thought I was gone [Gang] HEY! Thought I retired I just stepped aside a minute Let the other boys get tired Had your turn Had your fun Hope you made the most of it Big Papa's back And looking like He never missed a bit I ain't bragging That's not me I'm too humble for all that I just gave y'all time to play Now Big Papa's back [Bridge: bass, drums and dirty Hammond keep driving. Preacher like melodic phrasing builds line by line] I could've stayed gone longer But that didn't seem quite fair Some of y'all were getting hopeful Some were getting way too comfortable there So straighten up the good chair Put the coffee on real strong I appreciate you keeping things warm While Big Papa was gone [Big soulful rise] While Big Papa was goooooone [Brief stop] I'm just sayin' [Harmonica Break: screaming bent blues harmonica tears into a nasty solo over bass and drums, building into full band] [Final Chorus: maximum energy, huge gospel powered chest belts] THOUGHT I WAS GONE [Gang] HEY! THOUGHT I RETIRED I JUST STEPPED ASIDE A MINUTE LET THE OTHER BOYS GET TIRED HAD YOUR TURN HAD YOUR FUN HOPE YOU MADE THE MOST OF IT BIG PAPA'S BACK AND LOOKING LIKE HE NEVER MISSED A BIT I ain't bragging That's not me Wouldn't dream of doing that I just gave y'all time to play NOW BIG PAPA'S BACK [Gang] BIG PAPA'S BACK! [Final Lift: Big Papa breaks loose with gospel soaked ad libs, gritty sustained belts and preacher runs] Thought I was goooooone Oh no no no Thought this old man was doooooone Should've known better than that I gave y'all time I gave y'all room I let y'all have your fun Now Big Papa's back [Huge cracked sustained chest belt] BAAAAAAACK! [Full band hard stop] [Outro: one beat silence, single filthy harmonica lick] Retired... That's funny [Harmonica sting] I'm just sayin'
