Johnny Depp has found himself in the midst of another chaotic situation. On their collaborative album 18, Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp are being charged with stealing the lyrics from a poem. They claim that “Sad Motherf***in’ Parade” contains parts from Slim Wilson’s poem and song “Hobo Ben”. The song is the alias of a man who served time for murder and armed robbery.
Both Rolling Stone and the description of the official YouTube video credit Johnny Depp and Beck for the composition, leaving Wilson and Jackson out of the credits. According to a Rolling Stone story, the duo has been charged with stealing the tune from a forgotten “toast” performed by an inmate and recorded and published by a folklorist in 1974.
Official video description credits Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck
When the author of the poem was serving his sentence at Missouri State Penitentiary for an armed robbery that was the first time he met folklorist Bruce Jackson 1964. Jackson documented authors’ poetry and toasts. He described it as “a comic form of narrative Black folk poetry, akin to hobo balladry,” to incorporate in Jackson’s 1974 book, a selection of the latter art form. A two-year-later album called ‘Get You’re A**in the Water’ and ‘Swim Like Me’ featuring Slim performing his songs was created from the book.
In the toast, ‘Hobo Ben’, the man in the song’s title is at a party and says, “‘Ladies of culture and beauty so refined, is there one among you that would grant me wine? / I`m raggedy I know, but I have no stink/and God bless the lady that`ll buy me a drink.`/ Heavy-hipted Hattie turned to Nadine with a laugh/and said, `What that funky motherfucker really needs, child, is a bath'”.
“‘Sad Motherf***in Parade’ includes similar lines such as “I`m raggedy, I know, but I have no stink,” “God bless the lady that`ll buy me a drink,” and “What that funky motherf***er really needs, child, is a bath.” It will probably be impossible to identify the author of “Hobo Ben,” a literary work passed down through a competitive oral tradition. In the meantime, Johnny Depp’s ex-girlfriend Ellen Barkin has levied rather serious claims about him.
