A Brief History of Cotton-Eye Joe: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

[@johnjriggsarchery2457]

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.

[@MusicKit]

I doubt this tune traces back to IRELAND -It is almost certainly of African-American origin.

[@everpassingpxpx]

@@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]

@@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]

@@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.

[@Oguy2020]

@@MusicKitsince when did America exist in the 17th century

[@teamcrossover2483]

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)

[@triggymalla4254]

GOD SPEEEEEDDDDD!!!!!

[@metoo9357]

This joke told me the real meaning of the song, thanks

[@thepirateboyeternally9917]

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-a]

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.

[@Julesdaboi]

Cotton Eye Joe is a guy blinded by wood alcohol making his eyes milky white

[@_m3ytr0_44]

honestly expected this video to have a shit ton of comments. i found this very informative. thank you.

[@utzig-]

Thank you for watching!!

[@pissmasterslopking]

Except this is a fabrication.

[@ObdurateUniverse]

i'm still going to jam to cotton eye joe. i'm also bringing the song back every 200 years.

[@non-applicable3548]

Based

[@ollyollyoxenfree1337]

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 😄

[@unironicallydel7527]

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]

@@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]

​@@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.

[@RamzaBeo]

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

[@lawrencevenrose]

The dancing takes me out every time 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 love the video ❤️😭

[@utzig-]

LOLL thank you and thanks for watching!!

[@ching358]

Why they/she and not she/her

[@ianpaul3547]

Mel Tillis, Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, Bill Monroe, and many others, also, have performed this song over the last 60 years.

[@lingling5278]

So cotton eye Joe is like the house of the rising sun no body knows when or who written it

[@garthf.brooks6531]

Thank God a woke lesbian explained this to us

[@termikes174]

It’s all the racist White Man’s fault Don’t you know?!

[@Shadowdestroyer.DoD.]

LMAO

[@kortneycormier1450]

Savage ☠️

[@hotcherrypodcasts6695]

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_Gg16]

💀

[@TheRealMarriott]

If it wasn't for that dahm cotton-eye joe id would be married a long time ago

[@TheRealMarriott]

But the real question is where did he come from?

[@ggcreation1662]

@@TheRealMarriott where did he go

[@TheRealMarriott]

@@ggcreation1662 HEY IM ASKING QUESTION /j, where did he come from?

[@Heisenberger_69]

@@TheRealMarriott who, Cotton-eye Joe?

[@marquesjacobs1824]

What if cotton eyed Joe is supposed to be a soft eyed attractive guy? Why does his cotton eye have to be tragic?

[@MusicKit]

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]

Thats pretty eye opening, no pin intended

[@DinaM63056]

Some of the old lyrics from the late 1800’s say “His eyes was crossed and his nose was flat.”

[@pancreticsheenbeans7914]

I rarely find exactly what I’m looking for. So thanks for providing me with this once in a lifetime experience. Great informational video 👍

[@friede6586]

Although I am still confused about its meaning, thank your explaining.😮

[@TyhlerNovac]

We need somebody to do another cover it's been 30 years on average it seems to be like that

[@Recroomsniperpro]

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

[@MrDeathRay]

Girl sees everything through the eyes of race, definitely a raging progressive

[@BiggestEmuFan]

How

[@tonycampbell4982]

The country sisters group really have many views to their live performances to cotton eye joe

[@grizzly.plumber]

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]

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.

[@Snowyvr138]

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

[@shawn4997]

Gedagadigidagadao abinmaridalontamago wediducomfom wedidugo wediducomefom buckulajo

[@pissmasterslopking]

Source : “I made it tf up” - a woke lesbian

[@unstoppablelokz1364]

lmfao so fucking cute. i loved watching you explain that, lmao funny as hell.

[@nasima1151]

I never knew a song would be racist

[@Oguy2020]

Imagine taking a university course about cotton eye joe

[@GrumpyLoco6]

IDK how this showed up in my recommended list but I'm glad it did. Great video!

[@darkwolf5319]

Cotton eyes back then manly was symbolic for having blue eyes

[@K24guy]

The person I expected

[@shoutingatclouds1050]

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.

[@ldtexas1648]

Do you know where, when and by whom the song Dixie was done?

[@bumblebee7542]

Yes vernacular is old english - from england 😂

[@dominicboatswain861]

I totally enjoyed looking at your video, live the fact that you've actually researched first... bright smiles

[@darkwolf5319]

Wtf simp

[@emaginationproductions]

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-ze1hi]

i was wondering wtf cotton eyed joe meant, thanks

[@braccoz]

Sounds like a lot of built up self hatred...

[@LDarmy]

Bro,no way that: 🧑🏿‍🌾🌿->🎻->🐮🤠->🍗

[@michaelnorton1427]

I heard somewhere that the song was about STDs

[@binguinhozinho-ze1hi]

gedagadigidagidago i be married long tim ago

[@jayreynolds9455]

This is an important historical expose 😁

[@darkwolf5319]

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.......

[@finosuilleabhain7781]

Also, apparently, "news".

[@malekabedrabbo6301]

i think i may have found it out

[@CebiCells..._...]

Idc racism and black , i like cotton eye joe

[@turtl3games82]

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.

[@monstar4]

ummm i think some links to your sources would be good as most people actually know "cotton eyed-joe" as an STD.

[@stewiegriffin9768]

2:24 bro violated my skin tone 😭

[@malekabedrabbo6301]

i may know what it means

[@hereforit2347]

My understanding is the original song was written by an enslaved person. I’m sure the lyrics have been changed since. 🎶

[@lormoon]

...my friend Laura was telling me about this .. curiosity brought me here. You are cool! very intresting. Regards from Italy👨‍🌾🧑‍🌾

[@llcoolg7028]

Not quite sure what the description of your middle school had to do with anything...?

[@niteowlsongs]

Can u do the hillbilly dance again?❤😅

[@Palisade5810]

I personally use this song to blame Biden for my poor life choices.

[@DjMakurimaru]

I apologize for any perceived insult or insensitivity to any slaves present.

[@hereforit2347]

I’m sure you thought that was clever.

[@Mike-bk5yc]

Possibly over 150 years old

[@user-pi2ri8lk1v]

It went back to the 1800s

[@TiffanyLewis-OKAY]

I’ve only heard the rednex version😢

[@angelinachristina3904]

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.

[@darkwolf5319]

Cotton eyes back then basically meant you have blue eyes..,... I don't see the racism

[@djviter2ukrajina591]

Thanks!

[@samariumproductions5287]

racism eurobeat brainrot

[@zacmitchell_1984]

Dr demento lol

[@ispeaktruth9090]

I should’ve known by the hair you were going to try and make it about racism.

[@THEMASHUPDECK]

OMG this is interesting and very bizarre

[@dapopo1249]

Youre a grown woman act like it

[@Staingo_Jenkins]

Video interaction

[@isaacgary6801]

Pre civil war + cotton...oh noooo

[@garthf.brooks6531]

It's about an std not racism.

[@Foureyesvr]

Gedagedegedageda o🤑

[@oogaways3rdcousin]

Are you Steve-o in disguise

[@armstrong0019]

ratio-ed

[@Kazperian]

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.

[@wellsfam700]

Who cares we all are racist we were all slaves we all hate each other get over it

[@ewanmcneill7780]

Of course it’s racist! How could I have been so silly to think otherwise…

[@ldtexas1648]

What is your pronoun?

[@tyraevinson453]

The song was originally from the 1930s look it up

[@oregonvibez]

👍

[@Chrysriph]

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

[@jonathanroberson6447]

1847

[@Rupert1213]

cringe

[@BiggestEmuFan]

This is an educational video 💀

[@goodtime5564]

Jsm

[@bizardugrenier]

Goooooodoooooooo!

[@pear_of_cheeks]

Booooo

[@lillianhoward9637]

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! 🙄🤔😕

[@mikeyjoe419]

🤮🤮🤮

[@weststar7348]

Ain't that a girl

[@OfficialNavyOHA]

WHITEEE