About The Song
In November 1973 Bobby Bare released the ambitious double album *Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies* on RCA Records. Largely self-produced and built almost entirely around songs by Shel Silverstein, the collection marked a creative high point for Bare after he had returned to RCA earlier that year. Among the standout narrative tracks was “Bottomless Well,” a swampy tall tale written solely by Silverstein. The five-minute-and-fifty-six-second recording fit comfortably into the album’s mix of lullabies, legends, and humorous stories, showcasing Bare’s gift for bringing vivid characters to life without a traditional single release.
Silverstein crafted the song as a classic Florida backwoods yarn set a little south of Okeechobee. The story revolves around mean old Jesse Langtree, a wealthy but cruel man who lives in comfort while a sweet young maid fans the flies from his eyebrows. One day Jesse decides he wants the young woman for himself. He takes her to a mysterious bottomless well in the swamp, where the water is cold and no one can tell how deep it goes. What follows is a darkly comic twist on murder and justice that only Silverstein could devise.
The lyrics unfold in a conversational style typical of Silverstein’s work for Bare. The young maid, tired of Jesse’s cruelty, pushes the old man into the well. Because the well has no bottom, Jesse keeps falling forever—still alive and presumably still complaining years later. The clever punch line turns the tale into a legal loophole: since Jesse never hits bottom, the maid cannot be charged with murder. The swamp folks still tell the story with a mix of awe and amusement, emphasizing the absurdity of the situation.
Bare delivered the performance with his warm, relaxed baritone and impeccable storytelling timing. His easygoing phrasing made the tall tale feel like something overheard around a campfire or in a backwoods bar. The arrangement stayed rootsy and understated, featuring acoustic guitar, subtle percussion, and just enough atmospheric touches to evoke the humid Florida swamp without overpowering the narrative. Bare’s conversational delivery let Silverstein’s witty lyrics and dark humor shine through naturally.
Although “Bottomless Well” was never issued as a single and did not appear on the Billboard charts, it quickly became a favorite album cut among fans who appreciated Bare’s Silverstein collaborations. The double album itself produced major hits including “Marie Laveau” and the Grammy-nominated “Daddy What If” with Bare’s young son, but deeper tracks like this one highlighted Bare’s willingness to embrace longer, more literary storytelling. The song fit perfectly alongside other Silverstein gems such as “The Mermaid” and “Rosalie’s Good Eats Cafe.”
Over the decades the track has remained a cult favorite on reissues and compilations, including Bear Family’s comprehensive *Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus* box set that paired the original album with previously unreleased material. It has been praised for its clever twist ending and Silverstein’s skill at blending dark humor with folk-tale logic. Other artists have occasionally covered Silverstein’s catalog, but Bare’s warm, unhurried version is widely regarded as definitive.
More than fifty years after its release, “Bottomless Well” stands as a prime example of the creative spark between Bobby Bare and Shel Silverstein. What began as one track on a groundbreaking double album continues to entertain listeners with its absurd logic and sharp wit. The song reminds fans why Bare’s relaxed delivery and Silverstein’s imaginative storytelling produced some of the most memorable narrative country music of the 1970s.
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Lyric
They say there he sits in his big white wicker rocker
Eatin’ candy coated cashews, sippin’ orange lemonade
While a sweet young thing fans the flies from off his eyebrows
He’s dozin’ in the green catalpa shade
Lord, they say that Jesse Langtree’s got it made
A little bit south of the Okechobee
There’s a story that the swamp folks tell
About a mean old man named Jesse Langtree
And a sweet young maid and a bottomless well
That water’s cold but that don’t matter
How deep it is, no one can tell
Just drop a stone, you’ll never hear it splatter
It just falls down, down forever in the bottomless well
Through fifteen miles of snakes and gators
With the raging fever and the trembling chills
I wandered lost through the Okechobee
And there I seen ’em sittin’ there by the bottomless well
Yeah now there he sits in his big white wicker rocker
Eatin’ his candy coated cashews, sippin’ orange lemonade
While that sweet young thing fans the flies from off his eyebrows
He’s dozin’ in the green catalpa shade
Lord. I swear that Jesse Langtree’s got it made
Oh, let’s hear it for Jesse now
I asked her for a drink of water
And as Jesse slept, me and her we talked a spell
She said that she was his wife and daughter, Lord, Lord
But his heart was cold, cold and dark as the bottomless well
And as he slept, I bent to kiss her
I heard a loud and jealous yell
Felt my head explode in darkness
Two big hairy arms picked me up
And dragged me to the bottomless well
Well, I woke up in fear and trembling
I was staring down into the jaws of hell
As he held me high above his shoulders
A gonna throw me down, down, down to the bottomless well
Now here I sit in Jesse’s big white wicker rocker
Eatin’ his candy coated cashews, sippin’ his orange lemonade
While that sweet young thing fans the flies from off my eyebrows
I’m dozin’ in the green catalpa shade
Enjoying things that Jesse Langtree made
Oh God bless you, Jesse
Now some folks say that sweet thing pushed him
But I was there and I’d swear he fell
But it ain’t murder ’cause he ain’t dead, ’cause he’s still a-fallin’
Goin’ down, down forever in the bottomless well
Goin’ down, down, down, down, down
Bye Jesse