Do you remember this fellow? I loved the voice and I loved his style. One of his better known song was Blue Tailed Fly. The lyrics went something like this:
When I was young I used to wait
On my master and hand him his plate
And pass the bottle when he got dry
And brush away the blue-tail fly
Chorus:
Jimmy crack corn, and I don’t care
Jimmy crack corn, and I don’t care
Jimmy crack corn, and I don’t care
My master’s gone away
And when he’d ride in the afternoon
I’d follow after with my hickory broom
The pony being rather shy
When bitten by the blue-tail fly
Chorus:
One day he ride around the farm
Flies so numerous they did swarm
One chanced to bite him on the thigh
The devil take the blue-tail fly
Chorus:
Music bridge
The pony run, he jump, he pitch
He threw my master in the ditch
He died and the jury wondered why
The verdict was the blue-tail fly
Chorus:
He lay underthe ‘simmon tree
His epitaph is there to see
“beneath this stone i’m forced to lie
The victim ofthe blue-tail fly”
Chorus:
Kind of a cute little nonsense song, but it got me thinking . . . What does “Jimmy crack corn” mean? Being a computer literate guy, I did some online research. What an eye opener!
Some folks will study anything. Etymologists theorize that “crack” is old English slang for gossip. If that view is true, Jimmy was sitting around with some other folks talking gossip.
Another view is that Jimmy “cracks” open a jug of corn liquor. You’ll have to admit that it makes sense.
But what makes no sense to me at all is if Jimmy cracks corn and the songster doesn’t care, why does he bother to sing about it? Does that make any sense to you? I think I’ll go take a nap.
FishHawk, It is part of Americana.
Lin, That's a neat connection that you have to the man.
Vanilla, I read that and noticed that Lin left essentially the same comment on it. Can't say that I blame her.
Jo, Now that's an interesting anecdote for your family history.
Rebecca, There was a mellow joy in the man's voice that blended well with the guitar and put a smile on everyone's face.
Shark, Why am I not surprised?
Pricilla, It's possible . . .
Anonymous, I can tell that you are a female. Guys don't think with such keen penetrating logic. Thanks for stopping in.
Ida, Yah – I read all that too. Who cares? Master's dead and the singer doesn't care what Jim is doing.
Here is the story I've heard about that song. The song is credited to Daniel Emmett, a member of the then-popular blackface minstrel group the Virginia Minstrels. Jimmy (or Jim) was a common minstrel-show generic name for a slave, a shortening of the term “Jim Crow,” the infamous title of one of the first blackface songs.
The song is actually about the 'blue tail fly' causing the death of the master. I have heard that Jimmy Crack Corn was the name of a slave. So the song would be
"Jimmy Crack Corn, I don't care, my Massa's gone away. " That is what I was told, anyway. Guess no one really knows for certain.
The point of the chorus isn't just that he doesn't care that Jimmy is gossiping or drinking, but that he doesn't care because "My master's gone away." Depression can easily cause a lack of desire to socialize including gossip or drinking.
Maybe he cracked so much corn he didn't care about anything at all….
I have a 10 LP set of Ives singing American folk music. Need to get them put on CD. I'm a folk music junkie.
The baffling mysteries of old songs! No wonder you retreated to your boudoir. 😉
I loved Burl Ives as a kid. I grew up in a guitar-playing family, and this song was a favorite. Not that any of us knew what it was about!
My grandma went to college with him. When she passed we found photos of the two together and all of his old albums! Things that make you go mmmmmmmm! Perhaps they were an item! LOL!
The old Michigan Philosopher presents a poser.
I posted an Ives clip last summer.
http://vanilla-ststt.blogspot.com/2009/06/burl-ives.html
I LOVE that song! It just rocks when I sing it at work–it just sends a special message, don't it? 😉
Uh, Burl Ives was from Western Illinois where I went to college. He left the college a ton of money when he died. He loved coming on campus and we'd see him every so often. My first sighting–he was singing at mass one Sunday morning! It was hilarious to try to go to communion with Burl Ives cranking out tunes in the corner!!
I have heard that song dozens of times, but I never knew that was the name of it.