The thing about these old songs is that many have roots from the Scots Irish and tracking down the exact origins can be impossible. The melody is basic old time fiddle that is a simple A/B tune that sounds like a bunch of other tunes and lyrics for these old tunes get passed around and change regionally and over time. The STD thing is probably pure modern internet BS passed around by people with zero exposure to old time music. It's not an opera, it's an old dance song that had words tacked on.
@MusicKit2 жыл бұрын
I doubt this tune traces back to IRELAND -It is almost certainly of African-American origin.
@everpassingpxpx Жыл бұрын
@@MusicKit Most likely a blend of music. Most line dances are inspired by the format of an Irish jig. And while the banjo is definitely of African origin, the fiddle was not. The fact is that the American South from 1600-1900 was a collision of many Euro, African, Indigenous, and Latin cultures. The exchange of cultures led to numerous new culinary dishes, dances, music, dialect, and more. To attribute these to anyone one culture is misleading. It's probably one of the only positive things that can be observed from the American South in that time period.
@MusicKit Жыл бұрын
@@everpassingpxpx Yes, but 'Cotton-Eyed Joe' was definitely of African American origin. Fact is the fiddle DOES have African antecedents AND African Americans were playing the European fiddle as early as the 17th century, and in the south enslaved African Americans both adapted Irish and other British Isles traditions AND evolved their own 'African American Jigs,' and were the major 'keepers' of the fiddle tradition on the plantations. African Americans invented the 'Square Dance' with and the idea of a caller improvising dance patterns. And tis tune is more akin to the Square Dance than line dancing. Here is the earliest known recording of the tune - But of course it predates ANY recording in the early 19th century. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXLFeH-Na7KUr6M
@everpassingpxpx Жыл бұрын
@@MusicKit That's essentially what I said... it was written by slaves who mashed up their own cultural background with that of European background. That doesn't change the fact that the fiddle was invented and popularized in Europe or that line dancing was most heavily inspired by Irish jigs. It's this cultural exchange that created bluegrass, blues, and eventually rock and roll. And we know these only resulted from cultural exchange because there was no other place in the world that had this music. It's one of the very few positive outcomes to come from such a horrendous time and place.
@Oguy20206 ай бұрын
@@MusicKitsince when did America exist in the 17th century
@teamcrossover248311 ай бұрын
A couple of years ago, one night, I was about to propose to my girlfriend when my roommate Joseph barged into the room out of nowhere, tripped and fell over, breaking a glass table with his face. Totally ruined the mood. Now, I didn't know Joseph THAT well, don't even remember where he was from, but let' just say I put my plans on hold to help him through his injuries. Joseph had gotten big glass shard in his eye, making him completely blind in that eye. He was walking around with one of those cotton pads on his eye for a couple of months. Then suddenly, he disappeared, along with my girlfriend Apparently they'd bonded during the time after his injuries, and eloped together , left me behind without as much as a note. I tried to track them down, but never could. In conclusion, if it hadn't been for cotton eye Joe, I'd have been married a long time ago. Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, cotton eye Joe? (This is a stolen cotton eye joke)
@triggymalla42546 ай бұрын
GOD SPEEEEEDDDDD!!!!!
@metoo9357Ай бұрын
This joke told me the real meaning of the song, thanks
@thepirateboyeternally9917 Жыл бұрын
The version that sticks out to me is from a female perspective. "Don't you remember, don't you know? Daddy worked a man called Cotton Eye Joe. Daddy worked a man called Cotton Eye Joe..." (He was a slave.) "Had not have been for Cotton Eye Joe, I'd have been married a long time ago." "Down in the cotton patch, down below, Mama was singing to Cotton Eye Joe. Mama was singing to Cotton Eye Joe." Other verses say "Everybody singing to Cotton Eye Joe..." It's clearly a scandal, in which a slave has affairs with mother and daughter plantation owners, to start with - whether or not the scandal was exposed by a syphilis outbreak...
@logi-a7 ай бұрын
That’s a newer version though. Looking at the oldest possible version it seems to be about a black man having his girlfriend taken away by cotton eyed joe.
@Julesdaboi6 ай бұрын
Cotton Eye Joe is a guy blinded by wood alcohol making his eyes milky white
@_m3ytr0_442 жыл бұрын
honestly expected this video to have a shit ton of comments. i found this very informative. thank you.
@utzig-2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for watching!!
@pissmasterslopking5 ай бұрын
Except this is a fabrication.
@ObdurateUniverse2 жыл бұрын
i'm still going to jam to cotton eye joe. i'm also bringing the song back every 200 years.
@non-applicable35486 ай бұрын
Based
@ollyollyoxenfree13372 жыл бұрын
Would it blow your mind if I told you "black vernacular" is rooted in old British dialects. A lot of southern white people spoke that way back then. It faded from use as northerners associated the dialect with being uneducated or a criminal. So those writers may not have been trying to "sound black", there was no such thing. P.S. thanks for answering my random curiosity with this video and the lol moment at the end 😄
@unironicallydel75272 жыл бұрын
Alot of white people today are born with what many would initially assume as 'black' dialect/black sounding voices. They arent being racist, however one might perceive it that way. A good example is Cartoonz, a creator I personally love here on youtube. He is, white. But you wouldn't know that listening to him. Just as well alot of black people are born with what many assume to be 'white' sounding voices. Its an intriguing fact of nature. And just goes to show skin color truly does not matter. You are given what you are given. Atoms, cells, they do not care about race. So why should we?
@datboi42 Жыл бұрын
@@unironicallydel7527 because people lie, disrespect, and mistreat each other because of it. Most white people aren’t born with it anyway. That being said, race should be cared about since as humans we’re stuck with it, and there will always be animosity when it comes to different groups, or when there’s a majority of one and a minority of another. Sucks, but it is what it is. Also, culture plays a part
@whitenobeard Жыл бұрын
@@unironicallydel7527 can confirm as a white person. What most people think of as "black dialect" is actually just how most poor people talk. I honestly find it more racist that people associate the way many poor people talk with black people.
@RamzaBeo9 ай бұрын
You earned a sub for not making it a 5 part video. Soon you gon see them make a horror movie bout cotton eye Joe
@lawrencevenrose2 жыл бұрын
The dancing takes me out every time 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 love the video ❤️😭
@utzig-2 жыл бұрын
LOLL thank you and thanks for watching!!
@ching3586 ай бұрын
Why they/she and not she/her
@ianpaul354724 күн бұрын
Mel Tillis, Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, Bill Monroe, and many others, also, have performed this song over the last 60 years.
@lingling5278 Жыл бұрын
So cotton eye Joe is like the house of the rising sun no body knows when or who written it
@garthf.brooks6531 Жыл бұрын
Thank God a woke lesbian explained this to us
@termikes1747 ай бұрын
It’s all the racist White Man’s fault Don’t you know?!
@Shadowdestroyer.DoD.6 ай бұрын
LMAO
@kortneycormier14504 ай бұрын
Savage ☠️
@hotcherrypodcasts66952 ай бұрын
Ma' face when ya'dink that discredits 'er I live in the middle of the appalachian, Born 'n raised and didn't know nothin' 'bout what she said. So sonder off n Keep yer damn mouth shut unless ya got somethin' damn well good to say bout yer fella human I type in the way I speak, in my mountain tongue
@Red_Gg162 ай бұрын
💀
@TheRealMarriott2 жыл бұрын
If it wasn't for that dahm cotton-eye joe id would be married a long time ago
@TheRealMarriott2 жыл бұрын
But the real question is where did he come from?
@ggcreation16622 жыл бұрын
@@TheRealMarriott where did he go
@TheRealMarriott2 жыл бұрын
@@ggcreation1662 HEY IM ASKING QUESTION /j, where did he come from?
@Heisenberger_696 ай бұрын
@@TheRealMarriott who, Cotton-eye Joe?
@marquesjacobs18242 жыл бұрын
What if cotton eyed Joe is supposed to be a soft eyed attractive guy? Why does his cotton eye have to be tragic?
@MusicKit Жыл бұрын
Cotton-Eyed most likely refers to the milky white color of a damaged or blinded person - very common among poor African Americans in the 18th and 19th century. Here is the earliest known recording of the tune - with some 'calling' as per square dancing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXLFeH-Na7KUr6M
@marquesjacobs1824 Жыл бұрын
Thats pretty eye opening, no pin intended
@DinaM630563 ай бұрын
Some of the old lyrics from the late 1800’s say “His eyes was crossed and his nose was flat.”
@pancreticsheenbeans7914 Жыл бұрын
I rarely find exactly what I’m looking for. So thanks for providing me with this once in a lifetime experience. Great informational video 👍
@friede65865 ай бұрын
Although I am still confused about its meaning, thank your explaining.😮
@TyhlerNovac7 ай бұрын
We need somebody to do another cover it's been 30 years on average it seems to be like that
@Recroomsniperpro6 ай бұрын
And we danced to this in the 2nd grade Nah I thought we were dancing to hillbilly music but we were thugging it out not knowing the real meaning That used to kill my knees
@MrDeathRay6 ай бұрын
Girl sees everything through the eyes of race, definitely a raging progressive
@BiggestEmuFan6 ай бұрын
How
@tonycampbell4982 Жыл бұрын
The country sisters group really have many views to their live performances to cotton eye joe
@grizzly.plumber Жыл бұрын
I can't get the image of per civil war Americans playing the rednex version out of my head its just too funny and probably better than what they would have actually sang
@everpassingpxpx Жыл бұрын
Most historians believe the song was written by slaves, so I'm not sure how the song itself can be deemed racist. The way the lyrics were scribed is nothing more than accounting for regional dialect, much in the same way crik = creek. In the American south, this dialect is not exclusive to any race. It's actually the result of several groups of poor people interacting, including Scots, Irish, English, Indigenous, and Blacks. The wealthy whites were the only ones in the south during that time who spoke with a more "formal" English dialect. Now, there's a case that can be made for appropriation of this song, but the song itself is no more racist than Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit.
@Snowyvr1386 ай бұрын
In 1861 cotton eye joe was wiriten but sang in no one heard t execpt 3 people in 1929 we got a grown man with a kid singing it in 1963 jfk death year and martin matching a band sang the 1861 ver with their country accent in 1994 he had the rednexcs one
lmfao so fucking cute. i loved watching you explain that, lmao funny as hell.
@nasima11515 ай бұрын
I never knew a song would be racist
@Oguy20206 ай бұрын
Imagine taking a university course about cotton eye joe
@GrumpyLoco62 жыл бұрын
IDK how this showed up in my recommended list but I'm glad it did. Great video!
@darkwolf53192 жыл бұрын
Cotton eyes back then manly was symbolic for having blue eyes
@K24guy7 ай бұрын
The person I expected
@shoutingatclouds105028 күн бұрын
Obviously the song is about a stud getting with someone's wife who had to get treated for a STD and the husband questioning her. Here is some of the song lyrics. His eyes was his tools and his smile was his gun But all he had come for was having some fun. = a reference to the stud that got his wife in bed.
@ldtexas16482 жыл бұрын
Do you know where, when and by whom the song Dixie was done?
@bumblebee7542 Жыл бұрын
Yes vernacular is old english - from england 😂
@dominicboatswain8612 жыл бұрын
I totally enjoyed looking at your video, live the fact that you've actually researched first... bright smiles
@darkwolf53192 жыл бұрын
Wtf simp
@emaginationproductions2 жыл бұрын
Nice of the algorithm to bring me here AFTER I made my video.😅 I'm glad you made this video. There were definitely some points you made that I left out in mine and some things I included in my video that were left out in yours.
@binguinhozinho-ze1hi4 ай бұрын
i was wondering wtf cotton eyed joe meant, thanks
@braccoz6 ай бұрын
Sounds like a lot of built up self hatred...
@LDarmy5 ай бұрын
Bro,no way that: 🧑🏿🌾🌿->🎻->🐮🤠->🍗
@michaelnorton14277 ай бұрын
I heard somewhere that the song was about STDs
@binguinhozinho-ze1hi4 ай бұрын
gedagadigidagidago i be married long tim ago
@jayreynolds94552 жыл бұрын
This is an important historical expose 😁
@darkwolf53192 жыл бұрын
Nope just people looking for attention 😂 Please so me the racism xD cotton eye back then is coal miners with blue eyes of just anyone with blue eyes.......
@finosuilleabhain77812 жыл бұрын
Also, apparently, "news".
@malekabedrabbo63016 ай бұрын
i think i may have found it out
@CebiCells..._...5 ай бұрын
Idc racism and black , i like cotton eye joe
@turtl3games826 ай бұрын
Wait no way some stuff apart but I guessed the song was 30 years old bro and I got it right u said song was made in 1994 of the one u mentioned not the others.
@monstar46 ай бұрын
ummm i think some links to your sources would be good as most people actually know "cotton eyed-joe" as an STD.
@stewiegriffin97686 ай бұрын
2:24 bro violated my skin tone 😭
@malekabedrabbo63016 ай бұрын
i may know what it means
@hereforit23472 ай бұрын
My understanding is the original song was written by an enslaved person. I’m sure the lyrics have been changed since. 🎶
@lormoon2 жыл бұрын
...my friend Laura was telling me about this .. curiosity brought me here. You are cool! very intresting. Regards from Italy👨🌾🧑🌾
@llcoolg7028 Жыл бұрын
Not quite sure what the description of your middle school had to do with anything...?
@niteowlsongs4 ай бұрын
Can u do the hillbilly dance again?❤😅
@Palisade58103 ай бұрын
I personally use this song to blame Biden for my poor life choices.
@DjMakurimaru3 ай бұрын
I apologize for any perceived insult or insensitivity to any slaves present.
@hereforit23472 ай бұрын
I’m sure you thought that was clever.
@Mike-bk5yc10 ай бұрын
Possibly over 150 years old
@user-pi2ri8lk1v7 ай бұрын
It went back to the 1800s
@TiffanyLewis-OKAY8 ай бұрын
I’ve only heard the rednex version😢
@angelinachristina39042 жыл бұрын
Yeah I’ve heard lately that that’s what it’s about syphilis lol do you know what it ain’t that deep - It’s a song and it’s fun and I’m gonna continue to dance to it whenever I hear it.
@darkwolf53192 жыл бұрын
Cotton eyes back then basically meant you have blue eyes..,... I don't see the racism
@djviter2ukrajina5916 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@samariumproductions52873 ай бұрын
racism eurobeat brainrot
@zacmitchell_19843 ай бұрын
Dr demento lol
@ispeaktruth9090 Жыл бұрын
I should’ve known by the hair you were going to try and make it about racism.
@THEMASHUPDECK8 ай бұрын
OMG this is interesting and very bizarre
@dapopo12493 ай бұрын
Youre a grown woman act like it
@Staingo_Jenkins Жыл бұрын
Video interaction
@isaacgary68016 ай бұрын
Pre civil war + cotton...oh noooo
@garthf.brooks6531 Жыл бұрын
It's about an std not racism.
@Foureyesvr6 ай бұрын
Gedagedegedageda o🤑
@oogaways3rdcousin6 ай бұрын
Are you Steve-o in disguise
@armstrong00194 ай бұрын
ratio-ed
@Kazperian5 ай бұрын
Dang... I tried... but this was a rabbit hole into the woke brain and it is a really messed up place that makes no sense.
@wellsfam7002 күн бұрын
Who cares we all are racist we were all slaves we all hate each other get over it
@ewanmcneill7780 Жыл бұрын
Of course it’s racist! How could I have been so silly to think otherwise…
@ldtexas16482 жыл бұрын
What is your pronoun?
@tyraevinson4535 ай бұрын
The song was originally from the 1930s look it up
@oregonvibez7 ай бұрын
👍
@Chrysriph2 жыл бұрын
Very random recommended but hey, I had a great time. Have you seen the video of the guy cracking a whip to the tune of cotton eye Joe? That’s my definitive CEJ, personally
@jonathanroberson64479 ай бұрын
1847
@Rupert121311 ай бұрын
cringe
@BiggestEmuFan6 ай бұрын
This is an educational video 💀
@goodtime5564 Жыл бұрын
Jsm
@bizardugrenier2 жыл бұрын
Goooooodoooooooo!
@pear_of_cheeks Жыл бұрын
Booooo
@lillianhoward9637 Жыл бұрын
I’m a 74yr-old black,grandmother visiting Colorado. When I first heard, “Cotton Eyed Joe,” I knew right away that it was a racist song with its roots coming from slavery. Watching my grandkids dance to it yesterday at a day-camp in, Fort Collins, Co, upset me. So I investigated the origin of this song on the internet. I found out that it’s roots came from slavery beginning in the 18th century. Although the song has a catchy-beat the lyrics represent a horrific and undeniable time in our nation’s history. And it’s an insult to many American citizens. So please, Think Twice, before you introduce the song,”Cotton Eye Joe,” to your children! We must put this song to rest, now and forever! 🙄🤔😕