This pancocojams post presents some examples of the old song and children's rhyme "She's My One Black, Two Black".
This pancocojams post also includes a YouTube sound file of the 1928 Blues song "Chocolate To The Bone" by Barbecue Bob. I believe that song is the primary source for the "chocolate to the bone" phrase that is found in versions of "She's One Black, Two Black" rhyme/song.
This post also includes references to the song "My Gals A Corker" (written in 1895). I believe that song is a source for the rhyming descriptions that are found in the song "She's My One Black, Two Black".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/barbecue-bob-chocolate-to-bone-sound.html for the lyrics to "Chocolate To The Bone" as well as my comments about that Blues song.
My speculations about the meaning of the song "She's My One Black, Two Black" are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
FEATURED SOUND FILE
Barbecue Bob - Chocolate to the Bone
PreWarMusic, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2008
A song recorded by Barbecue Bob, the most successful musician who played in the Atlanta Blues style who's recording career was cut short by his premature death in 1931.
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EXAMPLES OF "SHE'S ONE BLACK TWO BLACK"
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
The only examples of "She's My One Black Two Black" that I have been able to find to date [2012] are those given below from two different Mudcat Cafe discussion threads (Mudcat is an online discussion forum for Folk & Blues music.)
These examples are presented in chronological order with the example that has the oldest posting date given first.
Example #1
"My father used to sing a variant of My Girl's a Corker.We think he learned it while at Georgia Military Academy (now Georgia Military College) in Milledgeville, Georgia in the 1940s.He may have learned it at Fort Benning, Georgia. He said they used it as a marching song. He has been gone now 8 years, and we occasionally think of that tune, but can't remember the rest of the words in his version. Anybody out there know?
I walk upon the track
She drives a Cadillac
I work both day and night
To keep her satisfied
......
Refrain
She's my one black, two black sure enough true black
Chocolate to the bone."
-Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57013 Origins: My Girl's a Corker, August 22, 2006
-snip-
This example includes made up verses that fit the pattern of the American song "My Girl's A Corker" with the "She's One Black Two Black" song/rhyme.
ADDED - October 21, 2020:
Here's an example of the song "My Girl's A Corker" followed by information about that song:
Subject: ADD Version: My Girl's a Corker
From: Abby Sale
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 09:29 PM
MY GIRL'S A CORKER
I buy her everything to keep her in style
She's got a pair of legs, just like two whiskey kegs
Hey boys, that's where my money goes-oes-oes
That's where my money goes, to buy my baby clothes
I buys her everything to keep her in style
She's worth her weight in gold, my coal black baby
Hey boys, that's where my money goes ...
When we go walkin', she does the talkin'
And when my arm's round her, how time does fly
She does the teasin', I do the sqeezin'
Hey boys,...
She's got a pair of eyes, just like two custard pies
And when she looks at me, I sure get a thrill
She's got a pair of lips, just like potato chips ...
She's got a pair of legs, just like two whiskey kegs
And when they knock together, oh what a sound
She's got a pair of hips, just like two battle ships
She's got a bulbous nose, just like a big red rose
And when the lights go out, it really does shine
She wears silk underwear, I wear my latest pair ...
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: My Girl's a Corker
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 May 03 - 02:15 AM
As I read Ewen's American Popular Songs, it appears that words and music were written by John Stromberg in 1895, and the original song title was "My Best Girls' a New Yorker (or, My Best Girl's a Corker)"
Here's a response to Guest, August 22, 2006's post by Joe_F, (another commenter on that same discussion thread) wrote on 22 August 2006):
"Guest: That refrain is stolen from another song, which I could have sworn I had the text of, but now I can't find it. Anyway, it begins "She's got eyes like Jezebel, teeth like pearls". And "sure enough true black" used to be "honest-to-God shoe-black".
****
Example #2
"My mom and I have been trying to remember the words to this song for months now. My uncle (her brother) taught it to me (us) when I was really young.
My mom thinks a section of the goes..."she's my one black, two black, honest to goodness shoe-black, chocolate to the bone...(then some more lyrics which we can't remember)then into "she wear's my bvd's, I stand outside and freeze, hey boys, that's where my money goes".
Has anyone ever heard of that version?
-Guest, deutschman3, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57013 Origins: My Girl's a Corker, July 1, 2009
-snip-
This example includes another variant form of the American song "My Girl's A Corker."
****
Example #3
To deutschman3
My mother used to sing this version:
She's my one black, two black, honest to goodness shoeblack, chocolate to the bone
If you see my gal walking down the street, you better leave her alone
She's got hair like a jezebel, teeth like pearls
Oh my lawd, she's a gift to the world...
etc.
that's all I remember but funny that just last week my sister was asking me if i remembered the words. if you think of any more please post.
-Guest, pnedwards, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57013 Origins: My Girl's a CorkerSeptember 11, 2009
-snip-
In one last comment to date about "She's My One Black, Two Black" was made on that same Mudcat: My Girl's A Corker discussion thread, the commenter remembers that rhyme/song as "a kid's rhyme" that was heard without any "My Girl's A Corker" verses. [Q, July 16, 2009]
****
Example #4
The song comes to me from somewhere in my past, I have no recollection but after the fe fi stuff I remember this.
She's my
one black
two black
shoe shine
shoe black
chocolate to the bone
if you see that gal
comin'
down the street
better leave that gal alone
she's got eyes like diamonds
teeth like pearls
guys don't cha mess
with that girl
she's my
one black
two black
shoe shine
shoe black
chocolate to the bone
-posted by Guest, rusty on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=65298&messages=79 Origins: Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah, November 15, 2009 [Be aware that this Mudcat comment thread contains songs with lyrics that have the "n word" completely spelled out as do a number of other Mudcat folk music threads.]
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from https://newfangleddad.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-dark-history-of-ive-been-working-on.html "The dark history of "I've Been Working On The Railroad" February 20, 2014 by Newfangled Dad
..."In case you're super curious, there is also a missing verse [to “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”] popular in FL and GA where the "fee fi fiddley-i-o" section substitutes for this:
She’s a one black, two black
Honest goodness shoe black
Chocolate to the bone
And if you see my gal
Walking down the street
You’d better leave my gal alone!
She’s got eyes like a jezebel
And teeth like a pearl
Goodness God gracious,
She’s a gift to the world."
****
UPDATE: October 21, 2020- Another Example Of This Song
Two Camp Songs
by Jane Bagby
Hoosier Folklore, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Dec., 1948), pp. 126-127
TWO CAMP SONGS
By Jane Bagby
[...]
She's a One-Black, Two-Black
She's a one-black, two-black,
Honest to goodness shoe-black,
Chocolate to the bone.
And when you see my gal
Walkin' down the street,
You better leave my gal alone.
She's got eyes like Jezebel,
Teeth like a pearl,
Good Gosh a'mighty,
She's a gift to this world!
She's a one-black, two-black,
Honest to goodness shoe-black,
Chocolate to the bone.
(You'd better leave her alone !)
This is another song I heard at the same time and
place, summer of 1947 and Wyoming. The
same two Virginian boys* [who shared another song on that page “ I Don't Want
Your Greenback Dollar”] sang it and prompted us until we had learned the words.
I have no idea of the origin of the song. The rhythm is syncopated and delayed,
giving the effect of clapping the hands or tapping the feet.
*Here’s information that was given about the contributor and the “Virginian
boys” who taught her these two songs:
“Miss Bagby, a high school junior, sent the following two songs in
foridentification. Asked to provide some description of the songs to aid in the
identification, she supplied the accompanying notes. Hoosier Folklore's expert
in songs and ballads could do no more with the songs than go along with the
guess that the first sounds somewhat calypso and the second somewhat like a
minstrel or game song.)
I heard this song on a ranch forty miles south of Rawlins,Wyoming.
At first I thought it was from Virginia ; for it was sung by two Virginia boys
with their guitar.”…
****
The phrase "shoe shine shoe black" means the color black that is as dark as black [color] shoe shine polish.
Another way of saying "chocolate to the bone" is "brown [or "black"] through and through". Technically, the opposite of "chocolate to the bone" is a person who is of mixed Black/non-Black racial heritage. However, in the United States- because any person with any degree of African racial ancestry is considered to be Black regardless how she or he looks- a person of mixed Black racial heritage could use and probably has used "chocolate to the bone" as a synonym for being part of the Black race.
Yet, it should be noted that still today in the United States, frequently Black children get "on a set" (get angry) if someone -including another Black person who may or may not be their same skin color- calls them "blackie".
The term "brown skin" is no longer used in Black songs or other cultural offerings. Indeed, people generally don't mention their race or another person's race in general conversation, which absolutely doesn't mean that that person's race isn't noted or guessed at if it doesn't appear to be clearly determined.
**
I wonder if the earliest words for "She's My One Black, Two Black" were these:
"She's my one and only Black [girl]."
The remaining words "Two Black, shoe shine shoe black" were probably created to serve as as a counting & rhyming sequence for jumping rope.*
****
POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY FOR "SHE'S MY ONE BLACK, TWO BLACK" RHYME
I imagine that one girl or several girls jumped in the center of the rope while those turning the rope and other girls waiting their turn to jump recited the lyrics to this rhyme. One the words "One Black" the girl/s jumping would jump with one foot. On the words "two Black" the girl/s would jump with two feet. And on the words "sure enough true Black shoe shine shoe Black" the girls would show off some fancy jump movement.
This is only a guess. For the record (no pun intended), I should indicate that I've never heard about this rhyme before reading about it on Mudcat Cafe.
I suggest "jump rope" as the performance activity for this playground rhyme/song as, until about the end of the 1960s, groups jumping single and/or double Dutch rope were a very popular pastimes among African American girls under 13 years old. But after the 1950s and almost entirely by the end of the 1970s, the performance activity for jump rope rhymes [that were still sung] had changed to hand clap rhymes. Of course, new handclap rhymes (and, for a time in the 1980s and the early 1990s anyway) new foot stomping cheers- were created.
Also, in an attempt to revive the art of Double Dutch jump rope, that performance activity was organized by adults into a competitive sport, a sport that didn't include the recitation of rhymes. One unforeseen consequence of this is that in the United States few children play non-competitive jumping Double Dutch or single jump rope.
Click http://www.nationaldoubledutchleague.com/History.htm for information about the history of the Double Dutch sport.
****
A POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL SOURCE FOR A LINE IN VERSIONS OF THIS RHYME/SONG
I wonder if this verse from "Barbecue Blues", another Barbecue Bob song, influenced the "she's got eyes like diamonds/teeth like pearls" line in that "She's My One Black Two Black" rhyme:
"I know I ain't good looking : teeth don't shine like pearls
So glad : good looks don't take you through this world"
The entire lyrics for that song are found at http://www.maxilyrics.com/barbecue-bob-barbecue-blues-lyrics-26a4.html
****
ADDENDUM
I should clarify that I don't mean to imply that children who recited "She's My One Black, Two Black" knew what those words meant.* Nor do I mean to imply that all of the people or most of the people those who recited or sung this rhyme/song were Black. That said, given the words to this song and given the Blues song which I believe is its primary source, it's my strongly held opinion that "She's My One Black, Two Black" is of African American origin.
*Notice that I've used the past tense. I don't get the sense that this rhyme is still recited.
****
Thanks to the legacy of Bluesmen Barbecue Bob. Thanks also to the uploader of this sound file. Also, my thanks to those commenters from Mudcat Cafe who I quoted in this post.
Finally, thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
With regard to the use of color references in children's songs, I think it's interesting that the Caribbean singing game "Brown Girl In The Ring" uses the color word "brown" and not "black".
ReplyDeleteI think that's because in the past and still in the present in Caribbean and in the United States, people of some African descent considered to be more acceptable to be called "brown" than to be called "black".
"We sang this song when we were children (I am 73 now). Our rendition went: "Oh she's my one black, two black, honest to gawd shoe black, chocolate to the bone; and if you see that gal of mine you sho' bettah leave her alone; cause she's got eyes like a diamonds, teeth like a pearls, great gawd amighty shes a wonderful girl, cause she is one black, two black, honest to gawd shoeblack, chocolate to the bone.....you bettah leave her aloooooone."
ReplyDeleteWe jazzed up, and sang it faster and faster as we repeated the verses, except "you bettah leave her aloooooone." That phrase was drawn out and harmonized.
Thanks anonymous for sharing your memory of this song.
DeleteFor the folkloric record, it would be great if you would share some demographical information such as how you learned this song, where [in what state] you learned this song, your race & gender and your recollection of whether this song was sung mostly by Black people and mostly by girls. Also, did you do any handclaps or jumpe rope while you sang this song?
Thanks again!
This is exactly How I remember the words of this song, taught to me from my father who was born in 1911 in Arkansas.. Except he said "gosh" instead of gawd. I'm 83 now, but remember it well because our family sang a lot when we traveled. Another song was "Georgia Pine" (pining for you). And, "Ole Mamie Riley" (gone far away...)
DeleteHello, Sheila. Thanks for sharing your memories of this song along with demographic information. I don't know the other two songs that you mentioned, I found at least two songs with the words "pining for you" but I don't know if they're old enough to fit your memories and I found a mention of some troops marching while singing the chorus of "Ole Mamie Riley". I'd love more information about those songs.
DeleteThanks again and best wishes!
Hello! I know this song!!! My mother sang it to me and told me only "It's the REAL ending to the railroad song." She first explained our heritage.
ReplyDeleteWe are caucasian north Floridans, but in our history, we never owned or condoned slavery and worked plantation fields after we came here from England. My great-grandmother picked cotton to help provide for our family. Anywho, this is the version.
"She's a one black,two black,
honest to God shoe black
chocolate to the bone.
If you see my girl walkin' down the street
you better leave my girl alone.
She's got eyes like a jezebel
teeth like a pearl
Good Gosh almighty
she's a gift to this world.
She's a one black two black
honest to God shoe black
Chocolate to the bone
You better leave her alooooooooooone.
I used to play hand clapping games with my sister to this song. The hand clapping was to the beat on "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should"..
Hi Anna!
DeleteThanks for that version of "She's a one black,two black". Also, thanks for including demographical information and informaton about its tune & performance activity.
I'm curious, what was the year (decade) you learned this song from your mother, and how did she learn it?
I also learned a watermelon (watermelyon) song and many of the lyrics seem cleaned up... and only performed my white artists with no history of the origination.
ReplyDeleteHello, again.
DeleteWhat song was this- title at least, because as per the policy of this blog, I will delete any comment with pejorative words.
I'm re-reading this (March 21, 2016) and I hope that I didn't scare off Anna's reply. I'm sincerely curious about the "watermelon song" that she mentioned.
DeletePlease share, Anna. Thanks!
As white as I am, these song as close to my heart. They are part of me any my culture. Deeply engrained and unapologetically.... me.
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Anna.
DeleteI can appreciate that some songs whicht may not be socially correct now are part of a person's fond memories of their childhood and/or their parents' and grandparents' childhood.
The question is should socially insensitive & therefore problematic songs* & rhymes be passed on to children, generation after generation without those songs being "cleaned up", if possible.
*I don't include "One Black Two Black" in the category of socially insensitive & therefore problematic songs.
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteThis is the version I remember singing as a little girl:
She's a one black, a two black, a honey black a shoe black,
a chocolate to the bone, a boney boney bone,
If you see my sweety walkin' down the street, you better leave her a alone,
'cause she's got eyes like a jelly bean, teeth like a pearl,
good gosh O'mighty she's a gift to the world,
she's a one black a two black a honey black, a shoe black, a chocolate to the bone....yeah!
Greetings, Anonymous.
DeleteThanks for sharing that version of "One Black Two Black".
I hope that you are reading this response and will post some demographical information for the folkloric record. I think it's particularly important to document if this song was sung by Black people to reaffirm their sense of esteem, and/or if it was sung by non-Black people (who may have heard it from Black people or not). I also think its important to document the decade and location that people sung their versions of this song.
Thanks again!
My name is Laura and my dad was just posting some original recordings of songs we learned from my great grandparents who were white, from England and came to America in the 1950's. One Black Two Black was one of our favorites, which I have taught to my kids. We sing it in 2 part harmony and it has a different part at the end. It goes:
ReplyDeleteShe's Got One Black Two Black
Eyes like shoe black
Chocolate to the bone.
If you see that girl walkin down the street,
you better leave that girl alone.
She's got eyes like a jezebel, teeth like pearls
Gosh oh gee she's out of this world.
She's got one black two black eyes like shoe black
chocolate to the bone
Harmony, my baby harmony
first thing you do is you get 4 boys
next thing you do is you make a lot of noise
Harmony, my baby harmony
This is harmony, my baby harmony...yeah!
Hello, Laura. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteIt's interesting that the line says "She's Got One Black Two Black
Eyes like shoe black". I think this was a way to make sense out of the song by those who didn't know that "black" and "chocolate to the bone" referred to Black people.
I wonder whether the Harmony verse was composed by someone in honor of their baby whose name was Harmony(and who had four brothers).
Thanks again!
The version passed down to me - grandmother to mother to daughter (me) to my daughter and now granddaughter is almost exactly like the one above (including the 4 boys and harmony lines). The only line really different is - gosh, oh jeez, she's a gift to the world. I don't really know where my grandmother learned it, but she was born in 1923 in Nevada and lived in California most of her life. She was a "scout" leader and sung it around the campfire (for many years) at Camp Fire Girls' camps. We've always known it was referencing a Black girl, but thought it was celebrating her beauty and spunk.
DeleteGreetings, Randy.
DeleteThanks for sharing that information. I like the interpretation that you gave to that rhyme. I wish I had known it when I was growing up, and when my children were growing up. But it occurs to me that I can start a new tradition and share it with my grand daughter, and reinforce its meaning as celebrating a Black girl's beauty and spunk.
I love it!!
I learned this version at a (very white) girl scout camp in Colorado in the early 2000s. Someone had changed the word "girl" to "cow;" eventually another camper intuited what the original word was. After that, we all found it very sinister---we interpreted the "four boys" lines as being about an assault on the black woman described earlier in the song. That impression was (probably inadvertently) strengthened by whoever had decided that "cow" was a good substitute for "girl."
DeleteThanks for collecting all this history, the memory of this song has haunted me for 20 years and I had always wondered about it. I last did a google search in 2010 and didn't turn anything up.
anonymous Oct. 6, 2020
DeleteThanks for adding to the folkloric record about the song "She's My One Black, Two Black" by sharing your memories of this song and also for remembering to share demographics (your gender, race, and where and when you learned this song).
I appreciate your comments about my collecting this history. I'm surprised there's not more information online about the "She's My One Black, Two Black Song".
Notice that one other person in this discussion thread remembers that the word "cow" was substituted for "girl" and also included the "Harmony..." verse. (Anonymous March 28, 2018 at 9:51 AM.
That commenter wrote that "I learned this song at a summer camp when I was 11 or 12. A female, white counselor around 18 yrs old taught it to us."...
-end of quote-
The commenter's noting that the counselor was "white" leads me to guess that that commenter isn't white, since White race is usually a default position in the United States (with people in the mainstream media assuming that people are White and only mentioning race or ethnicity (meaning Latinx) if the person or people aren't White.
Thanks again, Anonymous!
Here's a comment that was written by commenter Oct. 6, 2020 in response to mine. I deleted it because it contained a curse word that was fully spelled out. (As this is a family friendly blog, I only use and quote amended spelling for profanity.)
DeleteAnonymous, October 8, 2020 at 11:37 AM
"I saw that comment too, and it made me wonder if we had gone to the same camp that summer. I was about the same age when I learned the song; I don't remember exactly who taught it.
I'm also white; I noted race partly because I saw in the other comments you were interested in learning demographic information about who knew the song. That was also the summer I first learned that some white southerners are taught in school that the Civil War "wasn't about slavery, it was about states' rights." This is a f--ked* up country, we need to understand our history if we can ever hope to do better."
-end of quote-
Thanks again, Anonymous. I appreciate your inclusion of demographics in your comment as it adds to the folkloric record for that rhyme/song.
I also agree with your assessment of this nation and how it will (continue) to get better.
Best wishes, and stay safe!
I was taught this song by my mother, born 1927, in the mid 50's. She learned it from her mother, born in the 1880's in Arkansaw. I was taught as the ending to "I've Been Working on the Railroad"
ReplyDeleteKim, thanks for sharing that demographical information.
DeleteI'm curious about your mother's racial demographics as a way of suggesting whether this song/verse was known by White people and Black peopl in Arkansas.
I went to college in North Dakota and one of the fraternities sang this song. Their version was "she's my one black, two black, blacker than a shoe black, chocolate to the bone, if you see my baby walking down the street you better leave her alone. She's got eyes like a Jezebel, teeth like a pearl, man o man she's a whale of a girl, she's my one black, two black, blacker than a shoe black, chocolate to the bone.
ReplyDeleteThanks anonymous for sharing that version.
DeleteMy assumption is that the fraternity members singing this song were White. Is that correct? And if so, what was the context in which that song was sung. Was it meant to be a put down of Black women?
I just found this thread while trying to find out the original lyrics. I'm no more sure now that I was when I started. I learned the song from my grandfather, the son of Irish immigrants from the Detroit area. It was always added to the end of I've Been Working on the Railroad with the version given by Anna on 12/14/13. Being Caucasian, I was always afraid to be called a racist for even knowing the lyrics, but it was so catchy. It was never sung with malice, but only ever by my grandfather, an Episcopal priest with a big bellowing voice. I'm glad to have stumbled upon this blog.
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Michael Gass. I'm glad you found this blog!
DeleteThanks for sharing your memories about this song and thanks for including demographical information. It's interesting that the song "She's My One Black" was added to the end of "I've Been Working On The Railroad". I'm not sure what the origin of that "...Railroad" song is, but I believe it's old.
I don't think that "She's My One Black" is a racist song. On the contrary, the lyrics praise a woman who is "chocolate to the bone". Yet, I can understand your concern about how some people who are Black and/or some people who aren't Black could misunderstand the lyrics to this song and also misjudge people who sing this song in public.
Best wishes!
The version I learned (mid-1950's, east Tennessee, white, Scots-Irish, German, AmerIndian) was the same as Anna's, except for the line, " If you see my gal, walkin down the street, boy, you better leave her alone!" I heard it sung by adults (I was a child) as a sort of drinking song. A medley, with "Railroad," "Dinah, Won'tcha Blow," "Someone's Inna Kitchen With Dinah", "Fee, Fi, Fiddly Eye Oh," and ending with "One Black, Two Black." I have often wondered if it were a show-tune, maybe from a musical, Broadway, Vaudeville, etc. Just a guess. They're all dead, now. No one left to ask.
DeleteWim, you win the commenting prize for demographical information. Thanks!!
DeleteThe combination of songs that were sung with "One Black Two Black" sounds like that might have been "a musical, Broadway, Vaudeville,". We may never know- unless someone else remembers this and shares that information.
Here's hoping...
Thanks again!!
PS: I know "Wim you win" is really corny, but, hey I can't help being me :o)
DeleteI learned a very similar string of songs as Wim described from my parents when we sang songs on road trips in the late 1950s and early 60s. My father has died but my mom says he was the one who introduced it to us and she thinks he learned it in Lutheran high school or Lutheran college or possibly at camp. He was white, German heritage, born in 1931 and raised and went to both schools in the Chicago area.
DeleteHis version started with the Railroad song that included Dinah Wontcha Blow, Someones in the Kitchen with Dinah and Fee,Fi, Fiddly Eyoh. Then he would continue:
Now you may think that there aint no more.
Now you may think that there aint no more.
Now you may think that htere aint no more.
Well there aint!
(LONG PAUSE)
But there is!
She's my one black, two black, eyes like a shoeblack
Chocolate to the bone.
Hair like a Jezebel, teeth like pearls,
Mama Moses, she's some girl!
She's my one black two black, eyes like a shoeblack,
chocolate to the bone.
(very slow) You better leave her alone!
When he would sing it to me he would change "Dinah" to "Diane" (my name) and implied that the girl with the dark tan was Diane, too. Even though my eyes were actually blue it made me feel like he was telling all the boys not to mess with his beautiful and wild daughter!
Hi, Diane!
DeleteThanks for sharing your memories of your father and those songs.
I appreciate your inclusion of demographics (years, race, and city, state) for the folkloric record.
The "one black, two black" song may be more widely remembered than I thought.
Hi, Diane!
DeleteThanks for sharing your memories of your father and those songs.
I appreciate your inclusion of demographics (years, race, and city, state) for the folkloric record.
The "one black, two black" song may be more widely remembered than I thought. And that fact that a number of people from different locations were taught "One Black Two Black" as a medley, with "Railroad," "Dinah, Won'tcha Blow," "Someone's Inna Kitchen With Dinah", "Fee, Fi, Fiddly Eye Oh" suggests that it probably was (as commenter Wim guessed) "a show-tune, maybe from a musical, Broadway, Vaudeville, etc."
I learned this song at a summer camp when I was 11 or 12. A female, white counselor around 18 yrs old taught it to us. I don't think she realized the meaning, and I didn't realize it until now because I wanted to find the title of the song. Her version went like this
ReplyDelete"I've got a one black
Two black
Eyes like a true black
Chocolate to the bone
If you see that cow walking down the street
You better leave that cow alone
She's got eyes like a Jezebel, teeth like a pearl
Gosh, oh gee, she's out of this world
She's a one black
Two black
Eyes like a shoe black
Chocolate to the bone
As I was reading the above comments, I saw a verse that went
Delete"Harmony, my baby harmony
first thing you do is you get 4 boys
next thing you do is you make a lot of noise
Harmony, my baby harmony
This is harmony, my baby harmony...yeah"
And I remember this (or some variation of this) added to the end of the song. As a kid, I thought she was talking about an actual cow and I had no idea what four boys would've helped with. I still don't really understand what the four boys part was about.
Hello, Anonymous March 28, 2018 at 9:51 AM
DeleteThanks for sharing that version of "She's my one black" and including how you learned it.
I learned the "She's My One Black" song from reading about it online, but it might be more widely known in the USA then I had originally thought.
Anonymous March 28, 2018 at 10:05 AM
If I understand you correctly, you read an example of the "Harmony, my baby harmony" verse that was added to the end of the "She's my one Black" song.
I think this addition is risque and isn't really pertinent to that focused song itself.
Thanks again for commenting!
My mother used to sing this song -- she learned it at church camp in Indiana in the 1940s. She sang:
ReplyDelete"One black, Two black, Blacker than shoe black
Chocolate to the Bone...
If you see that gal of mine, won't you tell her to come home?
She's got hair like a raven and teeth like a pearl
O Land's Sake, what a Beautiful girl!
One Black, Two Black, Blacker than Shoe Black,
Chocolate to the Bone."
The tune she sang was NOT the same as other folk songs mentioned. it was more like doo wop.
DeleteKatie Simons, thanks for sharing the example of "One Black, Two Black" that your mother taught you.
DeleteThanks for also including demographic information about that example.
It seems that "One Black Two Black" used to be a rather commonly sung song.
Katie Simons version is the same version my grandmother and mother sang except "chocolate to the bone, bone, bone, bone".
DeleteThanks for your comment Anonymous.
DeleteI appreciate it.
We learned the version that Laura offered in January 2014. We learned it at a predominantly white YWCA camp in Southern California in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s.
ReplyDeleteHello, Anonymous.
DeleteThank you for sharing your memories of a version of "She's My One Black, Two Black" and thanks for adding demographic information for the folkloric record abou this song.
Best wishes!
My dad, born in the early 1920’s, sang this as a refrain/bridge in the middle of I’ve been workin’ on the railroad during my childhood in the 60’s & 70’s.
ReplyDeleteShe’s my one, black, my two black
Honest goodness shoe black
Chocolate to the bone
Now if you see my gal a-walkin’ down the street
You better leave my gal alone
She’s got hair like a Jezebel
Teeth like a pearl
I’m tellin’ you boys she’s a gift to this world
She’s my one black, my two black
My honest goodness shoe black
Chocolate to the bone.
Hello, Anonymous. Thanks for adding to the collection of folkloric record of examples and anecdotes about the She's My :One Black Two Black song". please add to note by sharing where you lived (city, state. nation if outside of the USA).and and racial information (your father's race). Also you wrote that he sang this in the middle of "I've been working on the railroad" song. Did he return to that song after singing the 'Chocolate to the bone" line?
DeleteI also learned this song at YMCA camp in the mid 1960's. Our version was:
ReplyDeleteOne black Two black eyes like shoe black
Chocolate to the bone
She's got eyes like a jezzabelle, teeth like a pearl
Gosh o gee she's a gift to this world
She's got One black Two black eyes like shoe black
Chocolate to the bone
Harmony, my baby harmony
first thing you do is you get 4 boys
next thing you do is you make a lot of noise
Harmony, my baby harmony
This is harmony, my baby harmony...yeah!
Hello, Chuck. Thanks for adding the version of "One Black Two Black: that you remember from the mid 1960s to this collection. I hadn't come across that version before.
DeleteIt took me a while, but I finally guessed that "jezzabelle" is a respelling of the female Biblical Old Testament princess Jezebel.
Also, I wonder if the "Harmony, my baby harmony" verse in this example comes from a different rhyme. I've never come upon it before.
Best wishes!
The spelling for jezzabelle came from my spell checker. I didn't have a clue how to spell it. I never saw the song written down. This was our favorite campfire song at Y camp.
DeleteHey, Chuck. thanks again for adding more info about this rhyme/song.
DeleteI think that spell checker got it wrong and "Jezebel" is the correct spelling fort hat female name. Here's an excerpt from an online page about the Biblical Queen "Jezebel":
https://study.com/academy/lesson/who-was-jezebel-biblical-story-characteristics-death.html
"Who was Jezebel's husband?
In the Jezebel Bible story, Jezebel's husband was King Ahab, the seventh King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Both Jezebel and her husband worshiped the Canaanite storm god Ba'al, which was why they were portrayed unfavorably in the Book of Kings.
What did Jezebel do in the Bible?
In the Jezebel Bible story, Jezebel was infamous for several things: persecuting the prophets of Yahweh, instituting worship of Ba'al in Israel, trying to have the prophet Elijah killed, and framing and executing Naboth to get his vineyard."
-end of quote-
Outside of the Bible, the word "jezebel" has been used for an alluring but evil woman, particularly a woman who uses sex to get what she wants.
In the "One Black Two Black" rhyme, I believe that the reference to Jezebel means that her eyes were very attractive.