"You Don't Mess Around with Jim" is a 1972 story song by

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American Folk music, folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of o ...

from his album of the same name. It was Croce's debut single, released on ABC Records as ABC-11328.

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

promotion man Marty Kupps took it to KHJ 930 AM in Los Angeles, CA where it first aired. It made the KHJ "30" chart (at #27) that week of June 6, 1972. After spending 11 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, the song peaked at No. 8 the week ending September 9. Croce performed the song on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' on August 12, 1972. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 68 song for 1972.

Content

The lyrics are set around an underground pool hall on 42nd Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. "Big" Jim Walker, a pool hustler who is not too bright but is respected because of his tough reputation, his considerable strength and size, and his skill at pool, has formed a sort of gang of "bad folks" who regularly gather at night in the pool hall. Their recurring words of advice is as follows:Google Play Store: You Don't Mess around with Jim
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You don't tug on
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
's cape You don't spit in the wind You don't pull the mask off the old
Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...
And you don't mess around with Jim

A fellow pool player named Willie "Slim" McCoy comes from south Alabama to the pool hall to get his money back from Jim after being hustled out of it the previous week. When Jim comes in, McCoy gets in a fight with him, stabbing him in "about a hundred places" (to the point where "the only part that wasn't bloody was the soles of the big man's feet") and shooting him "in a couple more", ultimately killing him. It is implied that McCoy now has his money back as well as the respect formerly granted to Jim, and the regulars at the pool hall have now changed their advice to strangers: "You don't mess around with ''Slim''". The song is noted for its spoken recitation, which is heard following the third verse and chorus:

Yeah, Big Jim got his hat Find out where it's at And it's not hustlin' people strange to you Even if you do got a two-piece custom-made
pool cue A cue stick (or simply cue, more specifically billiards cue, pool cue, or snooker cue) is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the . Cues are tapered stic ...

This is followed by the repeat of the chorus and the repeated coda before the song's fade. Croce tells a similar story—a much-feared tough guy who gets his comeuppance from someone even tougher—in his later hit single " Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as being "perfectly polished and honed for super Top 40/MOR/FM impact" despite being Croce's first single. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that the song "is just fine, and it appears another star is born."

Live performances

Live versions of the song have been released on both of Croce's live albums, '' Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live'' and '' Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour''.

Track listing

7" single (ABC-11328)Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim / Photographs And Memories
/ref> # "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" – 3:00 # "Photographs and Memories" – 2:03

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Maury Muehleisen – lead guitar * Tommy West – piano *Joe Macho – bass guitar * Gary Chester – drums *

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", " Be My Baby", " Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", " Do Wah Diddy Did ...

– backing vocals * Tasha Thomas – backing vocals

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Poison cover

American

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band

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covered the song (under the name ''Don't Mess Around With Jim (demo)''). It is included as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster of their 1986 debut album '' Look What the Cat Dragged In''. It is the 13th track on the album.

Josh Turner cover

Josh Turner covered "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" on his 2003 debut album '' Long Black Train''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:You Don't Mess Around With Jim (Song) 1971 songs 1972 debut singles Jim Croce songs Songs written by Jim Croce ABC Records singles Songs about fictional male characters Songs about New York City