The Black Gospel Source of The "Beans, Greens, Potatoes, Tomatoes (U Name It) Song & Dance Challenge

                        Big Bobby The Boss Game, Nov. 16, 2016

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision: Nov. 23, 2023

This pancocojams post provides information and comments about the Gospel source of the Thanksgiving holiday "U Name It" viral dance challenge videos/meme. This post also showcases videos of the Shirley Caesar Gospel song "Hold My Mule" that is used for this dance challenge and other videos about the "U Name It" challenge/meme.

Two videos that were embedded in that 2016 video are no longer available. However, I'm keeping the comments that were written about those videos in this post for the folkloric record.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, religious, entertainment purposes

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Pastor Shirley Caesar, DJ Suede, and all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these YouTube videos.

Special thanks to Jennifer T. for letting me know about this dance challenge.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/11/gospel-singer-shirley-caesar-singing.html for a 2021 pancocojams post entitled "Gospel Singer Shirley Caesar Singing "Beans, Greens, Potatoes, Tomatoes, You Name It!" (with background information, DJ Suede's Remix/Lyrics & An Old School "U Name It!" Video)"

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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold_My_Mule
"Hold My Mule" is a 1980 black gospel song by Shirley Caesar.

 Telling the story of an old man named Shoutin' John who boisterously praises God for his numerous blessings to the dismay of more conservative, "spiritually dead" clergy, the song earned newfound popularity in 2016 after DJ Suede the Remix God remixed the song into the Thanksgiving anthem "You Name It!"

In 2016, DJ Suede the Remix God released a remix, consisting of a portion of the story where Shoutin' John lists the items that grow on his farm*:

Look! I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, lamb, ram, hogs, dogs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits—you name it!

Under the title "You Name It!," the song went viral,[1] (initially on Vine and Musical.ly) as part of DJ Suede's effort to create a Thanksgiving-themed Internet challenge to dance to the remix,[2] with the help of Chris Brown. It proved to be DJ Suede's breakthrough hit, peaking at number 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. In the wake of DJ Suede's remix, the original recording shot to the top of the Hot Gospel Songs chart, peaking at number one on December 10, 2016.[3] Billboard noted that despite the uptick in interest in the song, it did not receive a corresponding rise in airplay on radio stations, in part because Caesar was focusing her efforts on more recent singles.[4] The song has since been reused in November 2020 and November 2021 on TikTok's Thanksgiving-themed dance and challenge videos."
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As a correction to this Wikipedia page: Shouting John lists various things that are found on his farm not grown on farms. (Notice he also lists "dog". which people don't eat but which are often found on farms .)

The "Beans, Greens, Potatoes, Tomatoes U Name It" meme reflects and reinforces the  custom in the United States of cooking and eating excessive amounts of food and desserts during the Thanksgiving dinner. The inclusion of "greens" especially speaks to one essential part of most African Americans' Thanksgiving menu: kale or collard greens (or a mix of both of these greens).  

One of the viral memes has a child asking her grandma what she is cooking for Thanksgiving and the grandmother answers with the words from this viral clip: "Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, You name It!"  

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/shirley-caesar-shouting-john-hold-my.html
for a 2014 pancocojams post of a rendition of Shirley Caesar & choir singing "I'm Going To Praise The Lord While I Have A Chance". 

A transcription of a rendition of Shirley Caesar & choir singing "I'm Going To Praise The Lord While I Have A Chance" is included in this 2014 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/shirley-caesar-shouting-john-hold-my.html.

This internet page http://www.thelyricarchive.com/song/1005551-133923/While-I-Have-a-Chance provides lyrics for another version of this song and credits African American Gospel composer, vocalist, and choir director James Bignon as its composer. However, the book that James Bignon authored* which contains a list of his compositions doesn't include "Praise The Lord While I Have A Chance".

*Google Books (Table of Content) for Timeless Gospel Music Collection : Songs written and arranged by James Bignon

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Shirley Caesar first recorded "Praise God While You Have A Chance" in 1988.  However, I don't know if that rendition included the story about Shouting John. I also don't know if Shirley Caesar was the person who made up that story about Shouting John.

A 2016 article about the "U Name It" internet meme http://www.blackenterprise.com/news/hot-topics/shirley-caesars-big-social-media-payout/. indicates that 
"In the original song, Caesar tells the story of an 86-year-old man named Shouting John, who joined a church that didn’t believe in dancing and speaking in tongues. John was kicked put [sic] out of the church for shouting too loudly during the sermon.

He countered his ouster with a testimony that God had blessed him as a farmer.”Look!” he shouted. “I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, lambs, rams, hogs, dogs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits … you name it!” (See the 5:45 mark in the YouTube video [given in this pancocojams post as Example #1]. That line became the foundation for Suede’s “You Name It! ” remix."
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'"The word "original" in that article's quote probably refers to Shirley Caesar's rendition at that church service before Dj Suede's remix.

According to a Shirley Caesar interview https://abc11.com/gospel-icon-shirley-caesar-beans-greens-tomatoes/1623066/  , that program occurred in 2008 at Shirley Caesar's church in 2008.

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EXPLANATION OF THE SONG TITLE "HOLD MY MULE"
When the church deacons (church officials) went to John's farm to tell him that he was being ousted as a member of that church because he believed in "shouting", John said "Hold my mule" to one of the deacons so that he could praise God by dancing and shouting right then and there.

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 "Dancing" here refers to people doing "the Holy dance" (also known as "getting happy", "cutting a step" etc.) during a church service because they feel the Holy Spirit and want to praise God that way.

Here's more information about that "Shouting John" clip:
From http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7587981/gospel-legend-shirley-caesar-soars-thanks-to-remix-memes-of-hold
"Gospel icon Shirley Caesar's remix* of "Hold My Mule," featuring Albertina Walker and Milton Brunson, kicks onto Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs chart (dated Dec. 3) at No. 2, propelled by its No. 1 debut on Gospel Streaming Songs, as it surges by 7,510 percent to 821,000 U.S. streams in the week ending Nov. 17, [2016] according to Nielsen Music. The 79-year-old vocalist and pastor originally recorded the track in 1988. (Caesar first reached a Billboard chart in 1975.)

Why the sudden surge in the song's popularity? In the tradition of recent social media memes (like the Mannequin Challenge) comes the #UNameIt Challenge, which started when DJ Suede The Remix God created an update of "Mule," with special focus on the line, "beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes" among other food shout-outs, obviously timely just ahead of Thanksgiving."...
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It's important to emphasize that Shirley Caesar's introductory remarks/sermon and her renditions of "Shouting John" ("Hold My Mule") song had nothing whatsoever to do with the Thanksgiving holiday or with food.

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COMMENTS ABOUT THE "U NAME IT (DANCE) CHALLENGE/MEME"
1. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRqd4TFctbQ
(Video given as Example #3 below)
"This past week [November 17, 2016], Thanksgiving-inspired memes featuring a snippet from legendary gospel singer Shirley Caesar's "Hold My Mule" have been hitting the internet by storm.

The meme has been branded as the #UNameItChallenge and builds off of Caesar's chant, "beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes," in response to the question, "Grandma, what are you cooking for Thanksgiving?"
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DJ Suede remixed the brief portion of Shirley Caesar's "Hold My Mule" adding a trap beat.

Like other dance challenges (such as "Hit The Quan" and "Juju On The Beat"), #UNameIt Challenge videos consist of multiple clips of people doing the same or similar currently popular dance moves to very brief portion of a song.

"You name it" is a shortened way of saying "I've got whatever you might name (list) in one or more given categories."

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2. From https://bcnn1wp.wordpress.com/2016/11/25/shirley-caesar-rebukes-people-dancing-in-a-sexually-suggestive-way-to-her-song-used-in-u-name-it-challenge/
Pastor Shirley Caesar loves the fact that a song she recorded decades ago is getting remixed into a viral cultural sensation, but she’s vehemently opposed it being used in sexually suggestive twerking videos that are being posted online.

Caesar, the 78-year-old pastor and gospel singer first recorded a song called “Hold My Mule” for the 1988 album, Live in Chicago. Close to three decades later, one portion of the song where Caesar sings ‘I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes,” has inspired people of all ages, various forms of undress and sexual poses to dance to her song, including an elderly grandmother who twerks while holding onto her walker.

While Caesar is grateful that even a small part of her music is reaching a new audience, she’s dismayed by the manner in which the song is being used.

“I’m really excited about everything that’s going on,” Caesar told TMZ before explaining the concerns she has with the “U Name It” challenge. “When you look and see all the gyrations and especially the women. I can even put up with the dancing, but all of the shaking and the twerking and all of that. I just want everybody to know that I’m a gospel singer, I’m a born-again believer, I’m a pastor, and I don’t ever want anything to bring a [negative] reflection on what I stand for.”...

The 11-time Grammy Award gospel singer who was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June went on to explain the shock that she experienced as she watched some of the dance videos inspired by her song.

“There’s those where they have women showing their rumps, their butts, I think they call it twerking. I want them to know that I see it as a sign of disrespect because I’m a pastor, I’m a gospel singer, and I love the Lord,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’m shocked they would do that.”

She added, however, that one positive aspect of the viral sensation is that her music is being heard by new generations. “They don’t really know who I am unless their moms or their grandparents tell them. I’m glad,” she said. “I mean, little 3-year-olds are singing, ‘I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes."...
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These excerpts are given as they are found in that article, including the word "negative" that was written in brackets.

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LYRICS: #UNAMEITCHALLENGE (THANKSGIVING CHURCH REMIX) LYRICS
(from the sermon/introduction to a rendition of the Gospel song "Hold My Mule" -also known as "Shouting John" by Shirley Caesar)

[Produced by DJ Suede]


[Shirley Caesar]:
Look!

I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Lamb, rams, hog maw
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, rabbit (You name it)

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Lamb, rams, hogs, dogs
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, chicken, turkeys

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Lamb, rams, hog maw
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, rabbit
You name it!

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Beans, greens
Beans, greens
Beans, beans, beans, beans

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, chicken, turkeys
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, chicken, turkeys

You name it
You name it
You name it
You name it

I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Lamb, rams, hog maw
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, rabbit (You name it)

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Lamb, rams, hog maw
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, chicken, turkeys

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Lamb, rams, hog maw
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, rabbit
You name it!

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Beans, greens
Beans, greens
Beans, beans, beans, beans

Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, chicken, turkeys
Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes
Chicken, turkeys, chicken, turkeys

You name it
You name it
You name it
You name it

Source: http://genius.com/Dj-suede-unameitchallenge-thanksgiving-church-remix-lyrics

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FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Hold My Mule
Here are selected comments from another example of this same video: Pastor Shirley Ceasar Hold My Mule You Name It ORIGINAL Video UnameItChallenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvE1YcJ58Ks

All of these comments are from November 15, 2016 to date November 25, 2016). I've added numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only.

1. Lenext Owens
"What genius put that hard trap beat on this legendary woman's voice and looped into a viral sensation # Hold my mule"

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2. Reply
82,094,361 views
"His name is Dj Suede, and i just uploader 2 videos of him introducing himself and all that, and the full studio tutorial session on how he made the beat here is the link and visit my page for other videos of him...thanks"...
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One of those videos is given as Example #2 below.

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3. Mr. Pepper
"This isn't talking about an actual meal."

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Reply
4. Elijah Quinn
"she said hogs, dogs not hot dogs. Btw after that"chicken, turkey, rabbit" YOU NAME IT"

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Reply
5. Victor Hodges
This is a bit of a joke now, but listen to the message and you might find something in it. IMO, she's telling you to keep your faith in Christ, even when it all seems lost, and your harvest (read life) will be bountiful. Do not despair, as He walks with you. You only need to take your first step towards Him. Seek and you shall find.

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6. ALLANA JACKSON1 week ago
The remixes are cute. I am not religious, but so many miss the message by not viewing the full version. This is not the full version. It skips the deacons of the church visiting the man who dances too much in church...the man who apparently has nothing: yet has everything he needs.

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7. ALLANA JACKSON
"This gospel sermon is about the animals on John's farm...not a meal, and definitely not hot dogs. If you listen, Lamb rhymes with ram. Hog...dog...uh...they rhyme. Pull the full version because this is NOT it."

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Reply
8. Dirtymane1
"+ALLANA JACKSON
The reason most people are confused is probably because they were introduced to this from the "Grandma what are you cooking for Thanksgiving" video

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Reply
9. Nicole Nunya
"+Dirtymane1 yea that's true the song is lit, BUT some ppl are taking it too far and saying crazy things without any knowledge of the origin of the "song"

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10. Callme
"you just have to pay homage for the original u name it!!!! I got peace, joy, faith, hope, love u name it!!!!!!"

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11. gale Teel
"Amen Pastor Shirley"

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Reply
12. Nicole Nunya
+dredvax the song isn't about food lol. it's about a farmer saying what all he has on his farm thanks to the Lord

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13. caplin Grey
"thou shalt not kill. obey the commandments you hypocrite."

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Reply
14. Adunola the Oracle
"caplin Grey What are you talking about??

She wasn't talking about killing the animals! If you would have heard the entire video or song call "Hold My Mule", she is telling a story of a farmer that was thankful to have all of those animals on his farm and is giving praise to God.

She is saying that the farmer is saying "Look at all these things God has blessed me with!"

It had nothing to do with eating Thanksgiving dinner originally. 🙄"

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15. #PrettyonMe
"Like this if you are here because when the You Name it challenge came out you were a little confused as to why this woman was singing about lambs and rams and needed some context lol"

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Reply
16. Killer Bee
"#PrettyonMe Exactly!! lol I'm like, is she in church rapping about food?! and the way the audience engaged her by looking, just intrigued me more lol"

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17. Brittany Negron
she need some money for this song . it's going viral everywhere. THANKSGIVING ANTHEM FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS

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Example #2: Chris Brown NAILS the U Name It Challenge! #unameitchallenge



 Super Celebrity World, Published on Nov 14, 2016
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Here some comments from this video's discussion thread (Added Nov. 26, 2022)

1 Ray Whorton, 2016
"Turned a classic sermon clip into a popular challenge. Impressive!"

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2. Anthony Herrington, 2016
"Chris Brown is the one who started the challenge! Of course he nailed it"

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3. Sharon Davis, 2016
"Hey people .... its all in fun , I love the videos EXPECIALLY Chris Brown !"

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4. Zoey McDaniel, 2016
"it's funny how we can take anything and turn it into songs and dances"

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5. Tee Tee, 2017
"Krissy Brown it's not a disgrace before god....Sis.Shirley Ceasar said she's happy amd excited that people are listen to her music just no twerking to it lol. She was on Wendy Williams I believe a couple of weeks ago"
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The comment from Krissey Brown is no longer shown in that discussion thread.

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6. TT 4, 2018
"The guy that started counting behind pastor Sherlie has me crying lmaoo😂😂😂😂😂😂"

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7. Lucid WaTERR, 2021
"Ight guys todays is thanksgiving ima blast this at my house the whole day lol"
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"Ight" is an African American Vernacular English word that is a shortened form of the word "alright" or "right".

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