Although Count Basie held a copyright interest in "Good Bait", he probably had little or nothing to do with the actual composition. The song was apparently written by Dameron well before he joined the Basie band. Lyrics (by Dameron?) were probably added later and start with: "Keep it in mind, advice is cheap and fate is sometimes unkind [...] if you're in to tempting fate then use good bait. A fish gotta swim ..."