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

Jim Croce

James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...

 from his album of the same name

You Don't Mess Around with Jim

-Notes:-Notes:-Notes:*A Tracks 1-12 correspond to the original 1972 album-Personnel:*Jim Croce - guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals, background vocals*Maury Muehleisen - guitar, vocals*The Briggs - background vocals...

. The song was also Croce's debut single when it was released in July 1972. It reached a peak of 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Content

The lyrics tell story of "Big Jim Walker", a pool hustler

Hustling

Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...

 who is not too bright but is very strong and respected because of his tough reputation and his skill at pool. The regulars at the pool hall have this advice:
A man named Willie McCoy who is also a pool player comes to the pool hall to get his money back from Big Jim after being hustled out of it the previous week. Willie McCoy is known as "Slim" back in his hometown in south Alabama. Big Jim comes into the pool room and is shot and killed by Willie McCoy. McCoy gets his money back and the regulars at the pool hall now have different advice as Willie McCoy now has all of the respect: "You don't mess around with Slim".

Croce tells a nearly identical story (tough guy whom everybody fears is brutally beaten when he meets an even tougher guy) in his hit single Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is the title of a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released as part of his 1973 album Life and Times, the song was a Number One pop hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973...

.

In popular culture

• On an episode of the ABC drama Eli Stone
  Eli Stone
  Eli Stone is an American TV series, and also the name of the title character.San Francisco lawyer Eli Stone begins to see things, which leads him to discover a brain aneurysm...
  
  , Victor Garber
  Victor Garber
  Victor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
  
   performed this song in one of Eli's visions.
• The song was featured in an episode of The Greatest American Hero
  The Greatest American Hero
  The Greatest American Hero is an American comedy-drama television series that aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981...
  
   "Don't Mess Around With Jim". It also inspired the episode title.
• It was also played during the Life on Mars
  Life on Mars (TV series)
  Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
  
   episode "All the Young Dudes"
• Josh Turner
  Josh Turner
  Joshua Otis "Josh" Turner is a country music singer and actor signed to MCA Nashville Records in 2003, Turner has released four studio albums for the label. The first of these was 2003's Long Black Train, whose title track was his breakthrough single release...
  
   covered the song on his album Long Black Train
  Long Black Train
  Long Black Train is the debut 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 produced three chart singles for Turner on the Hot Country Songs charts:...
  
  .
• "Weird Al" Yankovic
  "Weird Al" Yankovic
  Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
  
   references the song in his own song, "CNR" from the album Alpocalypse
  Alpocalypse
  Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It is his first studio release in almost five years, following the release of Straight Outta Lynwood in 2006. It is also his first studio album since 1989's UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and...
  
  ("You can spit in the wind or tug on Superman's cape, but Lord no, you just don't mess around with CNR").

Live performances

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

Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live

Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live is a live album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in 2006, over thirty years after his death. The album is a companion to a DVD released previously in 2003 of Jim Croce's performances. The recordings were taken from different television programs that...

, and Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour

Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour

Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour is a live album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, originally released in 1980, roughly seven years after his untimely death at age 30 in a plane crash on September 20, 1973...

.

Track listing

7" Single (ABC-11328)

1. "You Don't Mess Around With Jim " - 3:00
2. "Photographs and Memories" - 2:03

Weekly charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	8
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	9
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	7
Canadian RPM Top Singles	4
France Pop Singles	15

Year-end charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	56
US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972 This is a list of Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1972....	68