You do n't Mess Around with Jim - wikipedia You do n't Mess Around with Jim You Do n't Mess Around with Jim Studio album by Jim Croce Released April 1972 Recorded 1971 - 1972, The Hit Factory, New York City Genre Folk rock Length 33 : 22 Label ABC ( USA ) Vertigo ( UK ) Producer Terry Cashman, Tommy West Jim Croce chronology Jim & Ingrid Croce ( 1969 ) Jim & Ingrid Croce 1969 You Do n't Mess Around with Jim ( 1972 ) Life & Times ( 1973 ) Life & Times 1973 Singles from You Do n't Mess Around with Jim `` You Do n't Mess Around with Jim '' Released : July 1972 `` Operator ( That 's Not the Way It Feels ) '' Released : October 1972 `` Time in a Bottle '' Released : November 1973 Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic You Do n't Mess Around with Jim is the third studio album by American singer - songwriter Jim Croce, released in 1972. Contents 1 History and release 2 Tracks 3 Covers 4 Track listing 5 Personnel 6 Production 7 Chart history 7.1 Certifications 8 References History and release The album was recorded over a three to four week period for approximately $18,000, with most funding coming from the PolyGram Group in Baarn, the Netherlands on the basis of hearing an 8 - song demo tape assembled by production team Cashman & West. The deal with PolyGram was made after team attorney Phil Kurnit approached a contact within the record company who then had PolyGram executives to listen to the demo tape. After having the finished album rejected by up to 40 record labels, Croce was signed to ABC Records after Cashman & West had a chance meeting with ABC promotion man Marty Kupps. Kupps urged label head Jay Lasker to sign Croce after hearing cuts from a cassette tape of the finished album. The record spent 93 weeks on the charts, longer than any other Jim Croce album. Due to the strong performance of the posthumous single release `` Time in a Bottle '' ( # 1 pop, # 1 AC ), You Do n't Mess Around with Jim was the best selling album in the U.S. for five weeks in early 1974. It was listed at # 6 on the 1974 Cash Box yearend album charts. Two singles were originally released from the album in 1972 : the title track ( # 8 pop ) and `` Operator ( That 's Not the Way It Feels ) '' ( # 17 pop ). The album was issued on CD by the Rhino Flashbacks record label on September 30, 2008. Tracks Main article : You Do n't Mess Around with Jim ( song ) The lyrics of the title track concern the fate of a ' pool - shooting son - of - a-gun ' by the name of ' Big ' Jim Walker when his ' mark, ' Slim, from a south Alabama Honkytonk shows up to get a refund from being hustled or get revenge. The song is notable for the line `` You do n't tug on Superman 's cape / You do n't spit into the wind / You do n't pull the mask off that ol ' Lone Ranger / And you do n't mess around with Jim. '' However, after the song ends with Jim being thoroughly thrashed by his victim ( `` he 'd been cut ' n ' bout a hundred places / and he 'd been shot in a couple more '' ), the chorus now sings about how `` You do n't mess around with Slim. '' Covers The song `` You Do n't Mess Around with Jim '' has been covered by Ty Herndon on What Mattered Most, Josh Turner on Long Black Train, and Donna Fargo on My Second Album. Kid Rock covered `` Box # 10 '' in 1995 as part of The Bootleg Series. Jesse Malin covered `` Operator '' on his 2008 album On Your Sleeve. On an episode of the ABC drama Eli Stone, Victor Garber performed this song in one of Eli 's visions. Tori Amos covered `` Operator '' live in 2005 while on her Original Sinsuality Tour. An official live recording can be found in The Original Bootlegs box set. Guitarist Jerry Reed has covered this song also, interpreting it with his own style. Track listing All tracks written by Jim Croce. No. Title Length 1. `` You Do n't Mess Around with Jim '' 3 : 02 2. `` Tomorrow 's Gonna Be a Brighter Day '' 2 : 57 3. `` New York 's Not My Home '' 3 : 10 4. `` Hard Time Losin ' Man '' 2 : 29 5. `` Photographs and Memories '' 2 : 09 6. `` Walkin ' Back to Georgia '' 2 : 53 7. `` Operator ( That 's Not the Way It Feels ) '' 3 : 50 8. `` Time in a Bottle '' 2 : 29 9. `` Rapid Roy ( The Stock Car Boy ) '' 2 : 46 10. `` Box # 10 '' 2 : 46 11. `` A Long Time Ago '' 2 : 53 12. `` Hey Tomorrow '' 2 : 47 2006 edition - Disc 1 No. Title Length 13. `` Which Way Are You Going ' '' 2 : 20 14. `` Mississippi Lady '' 3 : 59 15. `` Country Girl '' 1 : 49 16. `` King 's Song '' 3 : 21 17. `` Chain Gang Medley '' 4 : 29 18. `` Ol ' Man River '' 2 : 26 2006 edition - Disc 2 No. Title Length 1. `` Maybe Tomorrow '' 2 : 30 2. `` Stone Walls '' 2 : 58 3. `` Railroads And Riverboats '' 3 : 12 4. `` ( And ) I Remember Her '' 2 : 49 5. `` More Than That Tomorrow '' 2 : 44 6. `` The Way We Used To Be '' 2 : 30 7. `` Cotton Mouth River '' 2 : 00 8. `` Circle Of Style ( featuring Ingrid Croce ) '' 2 : 09 9. `` Carnival Of Pride ( featuring Ingrid Croce ) '' 1 : 53 10. `` Wear Out The Turnpike ( featuring Ingrid Croce ) '' 2 : 14 11. `` Ca n't Wait ( featuring Ingrid Croce ) '' 1 : 53 12. `` ( The ) Migrant Worker ( featuring Ingrid Croce ) '' 1 : 54 13. `` Railroad Song ( featuring Ingrid Croce ) '' 2 : 55 14. `` Child Of Midnight '' 2 : 48 Notes A ^ Tracks 1 - 12 correspond to the original 1972 album Personnel Jim Croce - guitar, rhythm guitar, lead vocals, background vocals Maury Muehleisen - guitar, background vocals The Briggs - background vocals Terry Cashman - background vocals Tommy West - bass, percussion, piano, rhythm guitar, keyboards, electric piano, background vocals Joe Macho - bass Jimmy Ryan - bass Gary Chester - drums Production Producers : Terry Cashman, Tommy West Recording Engineer : Bruce Tergesen Photography : Paul Wilson Chart history Year Chart Position US Billboard 200 Canadian RPM 100 Singles Year Single Chart Position 1972 `` You Do n't Mess Around with Jim '' Pop Singles 8 1972 `` You Do n't Mess Around with Jim '' Easy Listening 9 1972 `` Operator ( That 's Not the Way It Feels ) '' Pop Singles 17 1973 `` Time in a Bottle '' Pop Singles 1973 `` Time in a Bottle '' Adult Contemporary Certifications Country Certifications United States Gold References Jump up ^ Strong, Martin Charles & John Peel The Great Rock Discography Jump up ^ Ruhlmann, William. You Do n't Mess Around with Jim - Jim Croce at AllMusic. Retrieved October 9, 2011. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955 - 1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 88, 505. Jump up ^ `` The Cash Box 1974 yearend album charts ''. Archived from the original on 2012 - 10 - 03. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 06. Preceded by Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John Canadian RPM 100 number - one album December 8 -- 28, 1973 Succeeded by Life and Times by Jim Croce Preceded by The Singles : 1969 - 1973 by The Carpenters Canadian RPM 100 number - one album ( second run ) February 2, - February 22, 1974 Succeeded by Greatest Hits by John Denver Preceded by The Singles : 1969 - 1973 by The Carpenters Billboard 200 number - one album January 12 - February 15, 1974 Succeeded by Planet Waves by Bob Dylan Jim Croce Studio albums Facets Jim & Ingrid Croce You Do n't Mess Around with Jim Life and Times I Got a Name Live albums Jim Croce Live : The Final Tour Have You Heard : Jim Croce Live Compilation albums Photographs & Memories : His Greatest Hits The Faces I 've Been Time in a Bottle : Jim Croce 's Greatest Love Songs Down the Highway Home Recordings : Americana Tribute albums Jerry Reed Sings Jim Croce Jim Croce : A Nashville Tribute Songs `` You Do n't Mess Around with Jim '' `` Operator ( That 's Not the Way It Feels ) '' `` One Less Set of Footsteps '' `` Bad, Bad Leroy Brown '' `` I Got a Name '' `` Time in a Bottle '' `` It Does n't Have to Be That Way '' `` I 'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song '' `` Workin ' at the Car Wash Blues '' `` Chain Gang Medley '' `` Mississippi Lady '' `` Age '' Related articles Discography Ingrid Croce A.J. Croce Maury Muehleisen Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=You_Don%27t_Mess_Around_with_Jim&oldid=816881283 '' Categories : Jim Croce albums 1972 albums ABC Records albums Vertigo Records albums Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from March 2015 Articles with hAudio microformats Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Scots Edit links This page was last edited on 24 December 2017, at 10 : 14. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote you don't mess around with jim
Answer: Jim Croce