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

strophic Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, w ...

(all verses have the same tune) story song by

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American 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 odd jobs to pa ...

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 befo ...

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'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

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

Content

The lyrics are set around an

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

pool hall A billiard, pool or snooker hall (or parlour, room or club; sometimes compounded as poolhall, poolroom, etc.) is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve ...

on 42nd Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. "Big" Jim Walker, a pool

hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more gener ...

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
/ref>

You don't tug on
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
's cape You don't spit into 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 ...
And you don't mess around with Jim

A fellow pool player named Willie "Slim" McCoy comes from

south Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

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 ambushes and kills 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". 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 stick ...

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'', was 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.

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

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Poison Cover

American

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

band

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

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 ''Look What the Cat Dragged In'' is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Poison (band), Poison, released on May 23, 1986 through Enigma Records. Though not a success at first, it steadily built momentum and peaked at #3 on the US B ...

. It is the 13th track on the album.

Josh Turner Cover

Josh Turner Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country and gospel singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to MCA Nashville Records. That same year, his debut album's title track, "Long Black Train", was his breakthrough single r ...

covered "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" on his 2003 debut album ''

Long Black Train ''Long Black Train'' is the debut studio album from American country music artist Josh Turner, released on October 14, 2003. It peaked at No. 29 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, and peaked at No. 4 on the Top Country Albums. Overall, the album pro ...

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