When ole massa take his sleep, he bid dis nigga sight to keep, an when he gows to shut his eye. Nov 30, 2016 in my early life, this weeks selection the blue tail fly aka jimmy crack corn was a song with a pleasing melody and some silly lyrics about jimmy cracking corn and not caring about it, whatever the heck that was supposed to mean. Sep 29, 2017 the song jimmy crack corn is also known as blue tail fly. Provided to youtube by smithsonian folkways recordings jimmy crack corn the bluetail fly tom glazer tom glazer sings honkhisstweetgggggggggg and. The song has a double edged meaning which was quite subversive for its. And when hed ride in the afternoon, id follow after with a hickory broom. Jimmy crack corn was slang for gimme cracked corn or corn liquor.
The whole masters gone away line is the source of the trouble here although we have no idea who jimmy is or why everybody is so indifferent to his enthusiastic corn cracking. Chorus one day he rode around the farm, the flies so numerous they did swarm. When he would ride in the afternoon id follow him with my hickory broom the pony being rather shy when bitten by the bluetail fly. Image 2 of jim crack corn, or, the blue tail fly contributor. Jimmy, crack corn and i dont care jimmy, crack corn and i dont care jimmy, crack corn and i dont care my masters gone away. Its is an american song and it became popular duri. Feb 22, 2012 music company drops childrens classics. Jimmie crack corn an i dont care jimmie crack corn an i dont care jimmie crack corn an i dont care ol massas gone away. Its an american folk song, at least 150 years old, and supposedly an antislavery. Jim crack corn or blue tail fly is an american song which first became popular during the rise of blackface minstrelsy in the 1840s, regained currency as a folk song in the 1940s at the beginning of the folk revival, and has since become a popular childrens song under the name jimmy crack corn.
The lines from the chorus of his signature ditty, blue tail fly. What do the lyrics of the refrain of jimmy crack corn and i. Provided to youtube by ingrooves blue tail fly jimmy cracked corn baby genius 100 favorite childrens songs. The song jimmy crack corn, also named blue tail fly was the first one to become widely popular. This post presents some theories about the meaning of crack corn in the song that is now known as jimmy crack corn the blue tail fly. The southern stables grits and corn meal are essentially finelycracked corn. The reference to jimmy crack corn has several possible meanings. The site contains over 3,500 nursery rhymes, cartoons and kids songs. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been written and compiled by the slangit team. Jimmy crack corn an i dont care, jimmy crack corn an i dont care, jimmy.
From a petroleum engineers perspective, this could simply refer to corn whiskey. Chorus jimmy crack corn and i dont care, jimmy crack corn and i dont care, jimmy crack corn and i dont care, my masters gone away. Jimmy crack corn an i dont care, jimmy crack corn an i dont care, jimmy crack corn an i dont care, the masters gone away. Unlike many songs performed by blackface minstrels, however, jimmy crack corn or, the blue tail fly as it is sometimes known was also popular among african americans.
Jimmy crack corn and i dont care, jimmy crack corn and i dont care, my masters gone away. The verdict put the blame for the masters demise on the bluetail fly. However, in the oldest version it is jim crack corn, and jim crack has always meant something cheap or shoddily built, and corn is an american euphemism for corn whiskey. You can crack corn, but the lyrics to the old song might have meant something else.
Jimmy crack corn or blue tail fly is an american song which first became. If jimmy cracked corn and no one cared, why is there a. Go on, jimmy crack your corn daily leader daily leader. Called bluetail fly when it was first written in the 1840s, the original lyrics werent jimmy crack corn, but rather jim crack corn thats not just us standing on formality. If you actually read through the full song lyrics, it tells the story of an unhappy slave whose job is to follow around his. Jimmy crack corn pop culture wiki fandom powered by wikia. As with many slang idioms, like a bluearsed fly was almost certainly in circulation for some time before it appeared in print. When audiences saw it played by a band in cartoonishly racist face paint, they didnt take it as nonsense. If jimmy cracked corn and noone cared why write a song. So the meaning of the song according to my research shows that jimmy is a slaves slang for crows or mules, and according to the song, they are being allowed into the old masters corn fields instead of being chased away. Music company drops childrens classics news palo alto. The blue tailed fly, made notorious in the folk song jimmy crack corn, refers to the insect pest known as a horse fly.
The song was about a slave that followed his master, who was on horseback, shooing away fly. This page contains all the misheard lyrics for the blue tail fly jimmy crack corn that have been submitted to this site and the old collection from inthe80s. In my early life, this weeks selection the blue tail fly aka jimmy crack corn was a song with a pleasing melody and some silly lyrics about jimmy cracking corn and not caring about it, whatever the heck that was supposed to mean. Blue tail fly definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. A conspicuous defect of this theory is that jimmy crack corn, published in 1846, is attributed to an outfit called the virginia minstrels.
Both the uk song blue tail fly and the american one have been posted, there is no similarity other than the title. Sep 15, 2019 edited by azizi powell this is part i of a two part pancocojams series about the song jimmy crack corn the blue tail fly. One day he rode around the farm, the flies so numerous they. Another nowobscured possible meaning derives from jim crack. Jimmy crack corn as its also known was written sometime in the 1840s, it was made popular here in the us during the 1940s at the beginninng of the american folk music revival that took place. Chorus jimmy crack corn, and i dont care jimmy crack corn, and i dont care jimmy crack corn, and i dont care my masters gone away. Jul 07, 2019 the childrens song, written in the 1840s and came back into favor around 1940, was originally call bluetail fly and the lyrics were jim crack corn. Oct 18, 2016 there has been much conjecture over the meaning of jimmy crack corn and i dont care. Hidden meaning of childrens popular songs oh my god. If jimmy cracked corn and no one cared, why is there a song about it. The bite is not typically dangerous to humans, but the fly can transmit diseases among livestock. What do the lyrics of the refrain of jimmy crack corn and. The pony being rather shy when bitten by the bluetail fly.
Definition of bluetailfly in oxford advanced learners dictionary. Notated music jim crack corn, or, the blue tail fly about this item. Mar 02, 2017 i wonder if little kids still sing jimmy crack corn in school. Jimmy crack corn is a reference to slaves celebrating the death of a master. Image 1 of jim crack corn, or, the blue tail fly contributor. Maddox said crack corn came from the old english term crack, meaning gossip, and that cracking corn was a traditional shenandoah expression for sitting around chitchatting. Called blue tail fly when first written, the original lyrics werent jimmy crack corn but jim crack corn. Jim crack corn or blue tail fly is an american song which first became popular during the rise. Jim crack corn or blue tail fly is an american song which first became popular during the rise of blackface minstrelsy in the 1840s, regained currency as a. Jimmy crack corn or blue tail fly is an american song which first became popular during the rise of blackface minstrelsy in the 1840s through performances by the virginia minstrels. I always wondered who jimmy was, why he was cracking corn and what it all had to do with a fly with a blue tail. Maddox said crack corn came from the old english term crack, meaning gossip, and that.
Blue tail fly and jim crack corn were used in minstrel shows as separate songs, and also were united by the performers. Over the years, many variants of text have appeared, but the basic narrative remains intact. This page contains all the misheard lyrics for the blue tail fly jimmy crack corn that have been submitted to this site and the old collection from inthe80s started in 1996. Jimmy crack corn phrase meaning and origin the phrase finder. The blue tail fly jimmy crack corn misheard lyrics. The bluetail fly is a supposedly insignificant creature that bites the horse that bucks and kills the master. This strange phrase comes from a song first published in 1846 as jim crack corn, or the blue tail fly. It regained currency as a folk song in the 1940s at the beginning of the american folk music revival and has since become a popular childrens song. Most sources that believe this to be the root of the word point to song the blue tail fly more popularly known as jimmy crack corn which tells the story of a slave who escapes punishment when his master is killed in a riding accident even though it happened because he failed to keep flies from biting the masters nervous horse.
What is the song jimmy cracked corn about yahoo answers. I had to look up an answer because your question made me curious and i thought perhaps this song has an interesting history. This largebodied fly has sharp mouth parts capable of delivering a painful bite. There has been much conjecture over the meaning of jimmy crack corn and i dont care. However, the song is in fact an american minstrel song also known as jimmy crack corn and dates from the 1840s. Does anyone have any additional lyrics other than those posted in digitrad.
These are not intentional rephrasing of lyrics, which is called parody. That was a very old piece of slang for sitting around idly gossiping. While that coule be, i wounder if it might mean corn that isnt soft enough to eat whole so its cracked up and used as slave rations, since it would be cheap, and although they couldnt have known, its a lousy. When i was young i used to wait on the master and hand him his plate. The pony run, he jumped, he pitch he threw my master in the ditch he died and the jury wondered why the verdict was the blue tail fly. Read the lyrics to the childrens song jimmy crack corn blue tail fly on. For more information about the misheard lyrics available on this site, please read our faq. Jim crack corn, or, the blue tail fly library of congress. If jimmy cracks corn and no one cares then why does he. If you would like to suggest a term or an update to an existing one, please let. Bluetail fly definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. The song jimmy crack corn is also known as blue tail fly.
Jimmy crack corn the blue tail fly dead link removed ed. Jimmy crack corn started off as a minstrel numberit was sung by white men with faces painted black and big red smiles drawn on their lips. Jimmy crack corn blue tail fly chords and lyrics, plus a recording and an explanation of this folk songs origins. Feb 26, 2017 provided to youtube by ingrooves blue tail fly jimmy cracked corn baby genius 100 favorite childrens songs. When i was young i used to wait on my master n bring him his plate, and passed the bottle when he got dry and brush away the blue tail fly. And pass the bottle when he got dry, and brush away the blue tail fly. That is why he claimed not to care but he was celebrating the death of his master. Maddox claimed jimmy crack corn was an abolitionist song, and that bluetail fly referred to federal troops in their blue uniforms overthrowing the slave owners. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. In this collection, poet vievee francis gives voice to outsidersfrom soldiers and common folk to leading political figureswho play. An international music company has agreed to drop two childrens songs shoo fly and jimmy crack corn after a palo alto mother pointed out the racist lineage of the lyrics. The bluetailed fly, made notorious in the folk song jimmy crack corn, refers to the insect pest known as a horse fly. The title of bluetail fly comes from an antebellum song commonly known as jimmy crack corn.
Misheard lyrics song b the blue tail fly jimmy crack corn. Some theories about the meaning of crack corn in the. If jimmy cracks corn and no one cares why is there a song. Jimmy crack corn the blue tail fly dead link removed ed refr. So the meaning of the song according to my research shows that jimmy is a slaves slang for crows. If jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song. The blue tail fly jimmie crack corn song and lyrics from. Misheard lyrics also called mondegreens occur when people misunderstand the lyrics in a song. The pony run, he jump, he pitch, he threw my master in a ditch. Called blue tail fly when it was first written in the 1840s, the original lyrics werent jimmy crack corn, but rather jim crack corn thats not just us standing on formality. The blue tail fly is a supposedly insignificant creature that bites the horse that bucks and kills the master.
May 21, 2015 provided to youtube by smithsonian folkways recordings jimmy crack corn the bluetail fly tom glazer tom glazer sings honkhisstweetgggggggggg and other childrens favorites. If jimmy cracked corn and no one cared, why is there a song. Shoo fly and jimmy crack corn after a palo alto mother pointed out the racist lineage of the lyrics. Sep 21, 2012 called blue tail fly when it was first written in the 1840s, the original lyrics werent jimmy crack corn, but rather jim crack corn thats not just us standing on formality. When he would ride in the afternoon, id follow him with my hickory broom, the pony being rather shy, when bitten by the bluetail fly. We are constantly updating our database with new slang terms, acronyms, and abbreviations. The childrens song, written in the 1840s and came back into favor around 1940, was originally call bluetail fly and the lyrics were jim crack corn.
So, the meaning of jimmy crack cornas i was told was a shortened version of, jimmys in the cracked corn, meaning that the mule had found a way, or broken a way, into where the cracked corn was stored, and was having a treat. The song is credited to daniel emmett, a member of the thenpopular blackface minstrel group the virginia minstrels. The title of blue tail fly comes from an antebellum song commonly known as jimmy crack corn. Jimmy crack corn american childrens songs the usa mama. However, its most likely meaning is as a reference to gimcrack whisky which was a cheap form of whisky. Maddox claimed jimmy crack corn was an abolitionist song, and that bluetail fly.