Versions Of "Shortnin' Bread" Song (1900-1950)

DarbyCrashIsDead, Uploaded on Apr 8, 2008
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Here's a comment from this cartoon's discussion thread:
Barry I. Grauman, 2008
[This cartoon was] "Originally released as a Paramount "Screen Song" in March 1950. The song heard at 1:00 is similar to the one featured two months later in the Little Audrey "Noveltoon", "Tarts and Flowers" (with similar characters featured in 'Cakeland')."
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The song "Shortnin' Bread" begins at 3:23 in this cartoon. This portion of the cartoon is in a "follow the bouncing ball "audience sing-along format. The song is introduced as an "old Southern favorite". A drawing shown during the song is of a white or light skinned woman wearing old clothes and a bandana (scarf) worn over her hair and tied in the front, in the manner of African American "Aunt Jemimas". However, in another drawing that is shown during the song, the two boys lying in bed appear to be White.

The lyrics to this song are given as Example #5 below.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - March 2, 2022

This pancocojams post showcases seven examples of the song "Shortnin' Bread" from 1900 to 1950. Information about the "shortnin' bread" dish is also included in this post.

This post is part of a pancocojams series on African American songs that include lines about "calling the doctor" because of hunger.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to those unknown people who composed these versions of this song. Thanks also to the collectors of this song, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.

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WHAT IS SHORTNIN BREAD?
As referred to in the song with that title, "shortnin bread" is probably homemade bread that is mixed with bacon bits or bacon gravy. "Shortnin bread" was sometimes called 'cracklin' bread.

The Wikipedia article on the song "Shortnin Bread" describes it as "a fried batter bread, the ingredients of which include corn meal, flour, hot water, eggs, baking powder, milk and shortening." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortnin'_Bread

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INFORMATION ABOUT SHORTNIN' BREAD
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortnin'_Bread
"Shortnin' Bread" is often thought of as a traditional plantation song. However the first version was written by white poet James Whitcomb Riley in 1900. His song was named "A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out", the chorus of which is:
Fotch dat dough fum the kitchin-shed—Rake de coals out hot an' red—Putt on de oven an' putt on de led,—Mammy's gwineter cook som short'nin' bread.[1]

Titled "Shortened Bread", E.C. Perrow published the first folk version of this song in 1915, which he collected from East Tennessee in 1912.[2] The folk version of the song—as with Riley's— does not have any distinct theme, but consists of various floating lyrics, some relating to "shortnin' bread", some not. The traditional chorus associated with the folk song goes:

Mammy's little baby loves short'nin', short'nin',Mammy's little baby loves short'nin' bread.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES #1
Although "Shortnin Bread" is now considered a light hearted children's folk song, its beginning verses reflect the fact that Black Americans often lack/ed adequate food.

In contemporary versions of this song, the first verse is given as "two little boys/laying in bed/one was sick/and the other almost dead". The reason why the boys were in those conditions was because they were suffering from malnutrition because of the inadequate food rations that enslaved families were given.

In this song, the doctor was called to examine the children. His prescription was that the children be given some food. However, in actuality, enslaved Black people rarely saw any doctors. Also, shortnin bread and coffee were rare treats for enslaved Black people.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES #2 [ Aded March 2, 2022]
I've read a number of online comments that opine about whether "Shortnin' Bread" is racist in large part because of its lyrics contain what is commonly called "the n word" and also because it includes the word "mammy". 

My response to the question is Shortnin' Bread racist is no and yes.

I believe that publically singing "Shortnin Bread" in the 20th century and in the 21st century can reveal racist attitudes against Black people. 

I'm African American and I really abhor what is now commonly called "the n word". However, if "Shortnin' Bread" was composed by Black Southerns and not by blackfaced White minstrels (or by White people for blackfaced White minstrels), the word "ni&&er" was a  colloquial term for Black people that some (but definitely not all) Black people in the 18th and 19th century used as a self-referent and as a referent for other Black people. As such, For those Black people who used that referent, the n word didn't necessarily have any negative connotation. However, as is still the case in the 21st century, the word ni&&er wasn't considered to be a polite, formal referent for Black people. Judging from its multiple inclusion in the 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes that was edited by (African American university professor) Thomas W. Talley, the referent ni&&er was the informal term for Black people that was used by some Black people, and "Negro" was the accepted formal term. For example, in Talley's collection, the title for the song (rhyme) that is now mostly known as "Shortnin' Bread" has the title "Two Sick Negroes". But the song/rhyme itself includes the word "ni&&ers". 

It appears to me from reading Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes as well as reading some other 19th and 20th century sources, that the n word was a referent for poor and working class Black people and not for the Black middle class.

I really dislike the word "mammy" because of that word's negative connotations about Black women. (And yes, I know that "mammy" was also used as a relatively neutral referent for White people in 19th century Europe. However, the word "mammy" usually automatically confers images of fat Black women who may or may not be someone's mother and not images of White women who are mothers.)

But if "Shortnin' Bread" was composed by Black Southerns and not by blackfaced White minstrels (or by White people for blackfaced White minstrels), the word "mammy" was probably just a colloquial term for "mama" and probably didn't have any negative connotation.

That said, besides the word "mammy" being loaded with negative connotations, that word is very outdated. So why use the very problematic word "mammay" when you could substitute it for the word "mama". And why not just sing "two little boys" without adding a racial descriptor?

As I've alluded to earlier in this post, I dislike the "Shortnin' Bread" song because some might use it to minimize the horrid conditions of chattal slavery in the United States and the malnutrition that was a part of slavery. As such, I'd use this song as a teaching tool and not as a song to be song for pleasure.  

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ADDITIONAL EARLY EXAMPLES OF THE SONG "SHORTNIN BREAD"
Read the Information section above for examples of this song from 1900 and 1915.

These examples are presented in chronological order based on their publication dates.
Note: For the most part, I've retained the dialectic English that was used in these examples, although I strongly believe that this song shouldn't be sung that way now. However, I've substituted "the n word" for the referent for Black people that was fully spelled out in these examples.

Example #1: TWO SICK NEGRO BOYS

Two liddle [the n word] sick in bed,
One jumped up an' bumped his head.
W'en de Doctah come he simpully said:
"Jes feed dat boy on shorten' bread."

T'other liddle [the n word] sick in bed,
W'en he hear tell o' shorten' bread,
Popped up all well. He dance an' sing!
He almos' cut dat Pigeon's Wing!

Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm, originally published in 1922 (p. 173)
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"cut the Pigeon's Wing" = performed the dance step with that name

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Example #2:
One liddle [the n word] a-lyin' in de bed;
His eyes shet an' still, lak he been dead.
Two liddle [the n word plural] a-lyin' in de bed;
A-snorin' an' a-dreamin' of a table spread.

Three liddle [the n word plural] a-lyin' in de bed;
Deir heels cracked open lak shorten' bread.
Four liddle [the n word plural] a-lyin' in de bed;
Dey'd better hop out, if dey wants to git fed!

Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm, originally published in 1922 (p. 187)

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Example #3:
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread

Put on de skillet
Put on de led
Mammy's gwine to make
A li'l short'nin’ bread
Dat ain't all
That she's gwine to do.
She's gwine to make
A li'l coffee too.

Chorus [2x]

Three lil [the n word plural]
lyin in bed
Two wus sick
An t'other 'most dead
Sent fo' de doctor
An' de doctor said
"Give dem [the n word plural
Some short'nin' bread!"...

Source: Dorothy Scarborough, editor, On The Trail Of Negro Folk Songs, originally published in 1925

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Example #4:
Put on the skillet, put on the lid
Mama's gonna cook some shortnin bread

Oh Mammy loves shortnin bread.

[guitar]

Two little boys layin in the bed
One turned over and the other one said
My mama cookin shortnin bread

[guitar]

Two live chickens ?] off that lid.
Pour the [?]

[guitar playing]

Oh, mammy loves shortnin bread.

[guitar]

Two little boys layin in the bed
One turned over and the other one said
My mom's ???
My mama cookin shortnin bread
-Source: record by Mississippi John Hurt, 1928

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/mississippi-john-hurt-shortnin-bread.html for a pancocojams post on this record.

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Example #5

Two little ni&&ers
Lyin' in bed
One of 'em sick
An' de odder mos' dead.
Call for de doctor
An' de doctor said,
"Feed dem darkies on shortenin' bread"

cho: Mammy's little baby loves
Shortenin', shortenin',
Mammy's little baby love shortenin' bread.

Or: Shortenin' bread, shortenin' bread,
How I love shortenin' bread!

Or: Shortenin' shortenin' bread,
Don' my baby like shortenin' bread!

Stole de skillet, Stole de lead
Stole dat gal makin' shortenin' bread.
Got six months fo' de skillet, got six months fo' de led;
Got six months fo' de gal makin' shortenin' bread.

Went to de kitchen an' kicked off de led,
An' filled my pockets full o' shortenin' bread.
Shortenin' bread an' it baked thin,
Dat what it take to make 'em grin.

Put on de skillet, put on de led,
My lil baby wants shortenin' braad.
Two little ni&&ers upstairs in bed,
One turned over an' to de odder said,

"How about dat shortenin' bread,
How about dat shortenin' bread,"
One lil ni&&er a-layin' in de bed,
His eyes shet an' still, like he been dead.

Two lil ni&&ers a-layin' in de bed,
A-snorin' an' a-dreamin' of a table spread.
W'en de doctor come he simpully said,
"Feed dat boy some shortenin' braad."

T'other lil ni&&er sick in de bed,
W'en he hear tell o' shortenin' bread,
Popped up well, he dance an' sing,
He almos' cut de pigeon wing.

I do love liquor, an' I will take a dram,
I'd ruther be a ni&&er dan' a po' white man.
-From American Ballads & Folk Songs, 1934, by John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax.
quoted in http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Shortenin_Bread.htm
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“The pigeon wing” is an antebellum Black Southern United States dance. “To cut [dance name]” means to do that dance. 

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Example #6:
[Chorus]
Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Mama’s gonna make some shortnin bread.

Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Mama’s gonna make some shortnin bread.

[Verse #1]
Get that wood out out of the shed.
Oh mercy! Lookee there.
Boys, mother’s gonna make some shortnin bread.

[Verse #2]
Two Senegambians* layin in bed.
One turned over to the op** and said
“Fine, fine, fine fine bread”
Spoken “Serve it. Serve it mama. Serve it!”

[Verse #3]
Hey delivery man, where have you been?
Oh mercy, it sure is a sin.
Mama mama don’t be fast.
Do not show your big fine……shortnin bread.

[Chorus]

[Instrumental portion]

[Yelled over instruments playing]
Come on mama!
Open it up!
Open it!

[Spoken at the end of the recording]
What kind of bread is that?
It must be good bread.

-Source: record by Fats Waller, 1941
*"Senegambians" = although "Senegambians" refers to people from a specific part of West Africa, in this song, it is used as a general referent for "Black people"

** "turn over to the op" = [a vernacular way of saying "turned over to the other", with "op" [pronounced "ohp" meaning the word "other"]

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/fats-waller-shortnin-bread-sound-file.html for a pancocojams post about this version of "Shortnin Bread"

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Example #7
Chorus:
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread
feed dem chillum some shortnin

Two lit-tle chil-lun lyin’ in bed
One of ‘em sick an’ de odder mos’ dead
Call for de docter an’ de doc-torr said
“Feed dem chillun on short’-nin’ bread

Goin to da kitchen an’ put on da led
Put on da skillet for short ‘nin bread
Short ‘nin bread an’ bake it thin
Al-ways make dem chil-lun grin

Chorus [2x]

Mossin ‘round da kitchen lak a bus-y bee
Da busi-est mammy you ever did see
Gotta hurry up wid da short ‘nin bread
Gotta git dem chillun right out-ta bed

Chorus [2x]

“How ‘bout dat short-nin bread
When I gonna git that short’-nin’ bread”
Cried a lit-tle baby a-lyin’ in bed
His eyes were shut like he ben dead

Chorus [2x]

De odder little fel-la sick in de bed
When he hear tell of short’-nin’ bread
Popped up well, he dance and sing
He al-most cut da pi-geon wing

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KOmfX4gSc [1950 cartoon]

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Example #8
Two little ni&&ers lyin in bed,
One of 'em sick an' de odder mos' dead.
Call for de doctor, an' de doctor said,
"Feed dem darkies on short'nin bread."

Source: Southern Cook Book Of Fine Old Recipes, compiled & edited by Lillie S. Lnstig, S. Claire Sondheii, Sarah Rensel [with] decorations [illustrations] by H. Charles Kellui; published by Culinary Arts Press, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1935) ; republished on https://ia802607.us.archive.org/25/items/southerncookbook00lustrich/southerncookbook00lustrich.pdf
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This example was added December 30, 2017.

The "n word" is fully spelled out in this song fragment and in other song fragments in that book.

Thanks to Anonymous December 30, 2017 at 1:11 AM on the somewhat related pancocojams post entitled "The Racist Roots Of The "Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" for alerting me to this archived 1935 Southern Cookbook. Most of the pages of this cookbook include Southern Black American or minstrel song fragments and drawings of Black people from the 19th century United States South.

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