You’se a Viper ( If You’re a Viper )

You’se a Viper, later widely known as If You’re a Viper, is a jazz song written by American violinist Stuff Smith and first recorded in 1936 by Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Boys. The original recording was made in New York on 13 March 1936, with trumpeter Jonah Jones providing the vocal.

The song belongs to the colourful “viper” culture of 1930s jazz. In Harlem slang, a “viper” meant a marijuana smoker, and the song is filled with coded references to cannabis and the social language surrounding musicians who used it. One reference points to clarinetist Mezz Mezzrow, whose nickname became closely associated with marijuana in Harlem jazz circles.

Musical character:
You’se a Viper is an energetic swing and jive number with a bluesy character and a vocal line designed as much for rhythmic delivery as for melody. Later musicians often slowed it down considerably, giving the tune a more relaxed, smoky blues feeling.

Connection to Manouche Jazz:
Django Reinhardt is not known to have recorded You’se a Viper. The connection is nevertheless interesting. Stuff Smith was one of the major jazz violinists of the swing era alongside Stéphane Grappelli, while Django recorded another famous piece from the same marijuana-related jazz culture, Viper’s Dream. The songs belong to the same broader world of 1930s swing slang and nightlife.

Interesting facts:

• The song was written by Stuff Smith.
• Its original released title was You’se a Viper; If You’re a Viper became the more common later title.
• The first recording was made in New York on 13 March 1936 by Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Boys.
• The original matrix number is 18820-1, and it was released on Vocalion 3201 with After You’ve Gone on the other side.
• Jonah Jones, trumpeter in Smith’s band, sang the vocal on the original recording.
• In jazz slang, a “viper” was a marijuana smoker.
• Rosetta Howard recorded an influential slower version with the Harlem Hamfats in 1937, substantially changing the vocal treatment of the song.
• Fats Waller recorded another famous version in 1943. His recording was connected with the wartime V-Disc program, although evidence suggests that this particular performance may not actually have been distributed to soldiers because of its subject matter.
• The song belongs to a broader group of 1930s “viper” compositions alongside pieces such as Viper Mad, Viper’s Drag and Viper’s Dream.

You’se a Viper is more than a humorous swing number. It preserves a piece of the slang, nightlife and underground culture of the 1930s jazz world, when musicians could communicate references that were obvious to insiders while remaining obscure to much of the wider public.