"Down on the Corner" is a song by the American band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the B-side of the "Fortunate Son" single and appeared on their fourth studio album, Willy and the Poor Boys (1969). The combined single peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 20 December 1969.
In Canada, the single reached number four in December 1969, and number five in New Zealand. The song performed better in much of Continental Europe, where it made number two in Germany, number nine in Austria, number eight in the Netherlands, number 17 in Flemish-speaking Belgium and number six in French-speaking Belgium than in the United Kingdom, where it stalled at number 31.
Composition and lyrics The song depicts the fictional band Willy and the Poor Boys, and how they play on street corners to cheer people up and ask for nickels.
Songwriter John Fogerty explained how the lyrics were derived:
The song makes reference to a harmonica, washboard, a kazoo, a Kalamazoo guitar, and a gut bass. In a 1969 appearance on The Music Scene, the band performed the song dressed up as "Willy and the Poor Boys". Stu Cook played a gut bass, Doug Clifford the washboard, and Tom Fogerty the Kalamazoo, which mimicked the appearance of the band as they appear on the album cover.
Billboard described the single as having "an infectious calypso beat".
Certifications
Jerry Reed version
The song was covered by Jerry Reed for his 1982 album The Bird. The cover reached No. 13 on the US Country chart and No. 11 on the Canadian Country charts.
Notes
References