Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases Big Bill Broonzy's 1951 song "Black, Brown, And White".
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Big Bill Broonzy for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
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Much of the content of this post was originally published on pancocojams June 2012 with the titled "Big Bill Broonzy -"Black, Brown, And White" (A Song About Racism)". This October 2018 post includes more of the content from the featured dailykos.com and selected comments from the discussion thread of a YouTube video other than the one that is embedded in this post.
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SHOWCASE SONG: 'Black, Brown And White' BIG BILL BROONZY (1951) Blues Guitar Legend
Uploaded by RagtimeDorianHenry on Apr 2, 2009
" Black, Brown And White " (1951)
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LYRICS: BLACK, BROWN, AND WHITE (Version 1)
by Big Bill Broonzy
(recorded September 20 1951, Paris)
This little song that I'm singin' about,
people you know it's true
If you're black and gotta work for a living,
this is what they will say to you,
they says, "If you was white, should be all right,
if you was brown, stick around,
but as you's black, hmm brother, get back, get back, get back"
I was in a place one night
They was all having fun
They was all buyin' beer and wine,
but they would not sell me none
They said, "If you was white, should be all right,
if you was brown, stick around,
but if you black, hmm brother, get back, get back, get back"
Me and a man was workin' side by side
This is what it meant
They was paying him a dollar an hour,
and they was paying me fifty cent
They said, "If you was white, 't should be all right,
if you was brown, could stick around,
but as you black, hmm boy, get back, get back, get back"
I went to an employment office,
got a number 'n' I got in line
They called everybody's number,
but they never did call mine
They said, "If you was white, should be all right,
if you was brown, could stick around,
but as you black, hmm brother, get back, get back, get back"
I hope when sweet victory,
with my plough and hoe
Now I want you to tell me brother,
what you gonna do about the old Jim Crow?
Now if you was white, should be all right,
if you was brown, could stick around,
but if you black, whoa brother, get back, get back, get back
From http://blueslyrics.tripod.com/artistswithsongs/big_bill_broonzy_1.htm#black_brown_and_white_version 1 [This link is no longer active]
Read the comment given as #13 below for another version of this song.
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bill_Broonzy for information about Big Bill Broonzy (June 26, 1903 – August 15, 1958).
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COMMENTARY ABOUT BIG BILL BROONZY'S "BLACK, BROWN, AND WHITE" SONG
From http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/01/22/687894/-If-You-s-Black-Brother-Get-Back Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 08:15 PM PST. "If You's Black? Brother, Get Back!" by amnesiaproletariat
..."As the fight against Hitler raged, the U.S. military was stretched to the breaking point. The crisis (and the lack of alternatives) pushed the further integration of the armed forces. Throughout the 40's, the government set up all black combat units on a provisional basis, and the higher ups watched closely to see if black people could absorb bullets as well as their lighter hued peers (spoiler : they could). The Tuskegee Airmen were among these groups.
Watching the war closely was a black World War I veteran named Bill Broonzy, the son of slaves and a former sharecropper. After the war, Broonzy made a name for himself as a blues musician, gaining popularity in the northern US and Europe, and occasionally touring the south and his home state of Mississippi.
Racial discrimination, of course, was still a facet of life - there had always been places he couldn't go and places he couldn't play because of Jim Crow legislation. But throughout his career, he held out hope that an integrated military would bring together blacks and whites who otherwise would have never interacted, and get the gimpy wheelbarrow of racial progress in America on at least a downward incline.
Not so much. Black veterans who returned from war* found many changes, but the harsh realities of their lives remained the same. They were still the last ones hired and the first ones fired whenever there were employment opportunities. That's well known, but what's less well known is that there was also intraracial bias in the hiring practices of the time. The better someone could pass for white, the better chances they had at getting and keeping a job. If you were black and darkskinned, you were at the very bottom of the totem pole. Big Bill Broonzy didn't miss a beat, writing "Get Back (Black, Brown, and White)" the song that would get him a following in Europe, and a complete blacklisting from the American music industry.
American record companies refused to record the song, and it all but sank his career. Like many black Americans with talent in the arts, he spent plenty of time in Europe, and after a couple of years on the road, a French label recorded the track, and with time, he was able to do other, better quality cuts of the song. Like many musicians who put in years on the road, it only took a little luck to raise his stature enough that he could make a living off of his music.
The timing was bittersweet. By the 50's, the next generation of blues musicians was striking out into the world, and they gratefully acknowledged the debt they owed to his efforts. At the same time, Broonzy's own style was becoming outdated - the blues was transitioning to a more uptempo, electric style. Still, he became something of a senior ambassador for jazz abroad, directly assissting in the career of Muddy Waters, and serving as a major influence on Eric Clapton, who would go on to cover "Key To The Highway", another of Broonzy's songs, with rock supergroup Derek and the Dominoes."
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* The reference to "war" in this post is "World War II".
**
For the folkloric record, I recall chanting the verse "if you're white, you're alright/if you're brown, stick around, if you're black, step back" as a child in the 1950s (Atlantic City, New Jersey). I don't remember doing any movements while saying this verse, and I believe that I and other children in my neighborhood said this rhyme from rote memory because of its rhyming value and not as a taunt. Also, prior to 2005 I didn't know anything about Blues guitarist Big Bill Broonzy, and didn't know anything about the "Black, Brown, And White" song.
**
With regard to the "if you're white" etc. verse, TrueBlueMajority, a commenter on the discussion thread for that above mentioned Daily Kos post wrote:
"I remember hearing that rhyme as a kid in DC
in the 60s:
if you're black, get back
if you're brown, stick around
if you're white, you're all right"
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*"DC" is the United States' capital "Washington, DC" [District of Columbia].
That Daily Kos commenter also mentioned that he (or she) didn't know "the yellow and red lines" for that rhyme. I didn't know that there were "yellow and red" lines to that rhyme, but I found them online. Those lines were included in a March 2012 post decrying the actions of students from a majority White Texas high school who chanted "USA USA USA" to celebrate their basketball victory over a "mostly minority" Texas high school team:
"From the Texass poet laureate:
If you're black, better step back.
If you're brown, better not come around.
If you're red, you're better off dead.
If you're yellow, no need for you, fellow.
But if you're white - you're ALL RIGHT!
USA! USA! USA!"
(JGL53 - March 8, 2012 http://www.librarything.com/topic/133922)
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A commenter who posted in response to JGHL53 indicated that those words were from "a Big Bill Broonzy song" and also indicated that JGHL53 gave those lines "backwards" (which I presume means that the "if you're white" line came first [in Broonzy's song].
It's likely that this "if you're white you're alright" etc verse was a folk saying before Broonzy included it in his song. I'm also sure that there are other song and rhyme examples of this verse after Broonzy's 1951 recording. For example, I don't know who the Texas poet laureate is, and which poem that laureate wrote includes that "if you're black step back" verse. If you know this, and/or know any other examples of these verses, it would be great if you'd share that information in this post's comment section. Thanks in advance.
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SELECTED COMMENTS
(From the discussion thread of another YouTube sound file of Big Bill Broozy's "Black, Brown, and White"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0c1c0ZsTLA "Big Bill Broonzy: Black, Brown and White" published by HaloedG on Jan 23, 2009
[Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.)
1. 7SonsofFeanor, 2009
"I've been thinking of this song ever since the Inauguration :)"
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This comment refers to the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States in 2008.
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2. karinablacktie, 2009
"I was sorry that Rev Lowery didn't credit Big Bill Broonzy in his inauguration benediction, whose ending was obviously a paraphrasing of this song.
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REPLY
3. ana2881, 2011
"I'm not sure why people assume Rev Lowery somehow stole or forget to credit Broonzy. The saying is old and widespread, I doubt anyone knows its exact origins. Its like a lot of old folk, spiritual and... blues songs where the origins are murky, various individuals and musical styles mold it, verses are adapted and changed by various artists for different audiences and musicians play around with the music, and a lot of on the spot improvisation happens."
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4. turtledogg, 2009
"lol we watched this video in school about Civil Rights, and this was playing in the beginning, now i can't stop singing it!"
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REPLY
5. Aroe1994, 2009
"I listened to this song in school too. LoL, it's so sad =[
I havent heard it in 2 years, and something someone said reminded me of this song, so I had to listen to it again."
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There are lots of comments in this discussion thread about hearing this song in various school and/or university classes. The classes that were specifically mentioned were music, history, social studies, history of Rock & Roll, and Feminism.
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6. Solid E, 2009
"The song is a classic example of what the blues is. The blues is the truth laced with irony!"
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7. polyesterpoontang, 2010
"So much truth in Broonzy."
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8. Coblu, 2010
"Surprised I never heard this. Such a well written, important song that illustrates the time period."
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9. Andrew Luck The G.O.A.T, 2011
"this song was made around when there was segregation"
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10. Kikoo27, 2011
"There is no hate in these lyrics. Just the facts!! I heard it once. I got hooked on it."
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11. imperiumdiaboli, 2011
"One thumb down? I didn't realize the president of the KKK had a YouTube account."
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There are 2,200 thumbs up (likes) and 33 thumbs down (dislikes) as of 10/8/2018 11:03 PM EDT.
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12. David C, 2011
"@glenneveaux youre completely wrong actally. Blacks are still the most feared group During the nineteenth century, racists liked to portray themselves as 'scientific.' Brown signified that a race was closer to white than pure blacks were. As a result, mulattos were given better jobs then pure blacks. NOt just in the USA, but in Brazil, Peru, Cuba.... similar things happened in Vietnam, Nigeria, and Rwanda (see the movie)."
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I can't find the comment from @glenneveaux and I don't know what movie David C is referring to.
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13. ana2881, 2011
"There is another version which skewered the colorism of some early 20thC black American communities.
If you're white you're all right
if you're yellow stay mellow
if you're brown stick around
if you're black get back
all referring to different shades of African Americans
variations have been applied to racism and complexion prejudices since the 19th C"
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14. MidnightChipmunk, 2012
"If you was white, Your alright, If you brown stick around, but if you black oh brother get back get back get back. I love it the sad thing is that this is what still happens today"
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15. Hi Everybody!, 2012
""Only a small number of people are racist, it's a minority." (:o) I wish this was really true as the the world would be a far better place. Let's just say that it's a very large minority."
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16. MarcBrewer, 2012
"The percentage of racists is about the same as the percentage of stupid people"
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17. Terrill Wyche, 2012
"He ain't lied yet."
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18. Arkansas Red, 2012
"Truer words were never spoken. Even in today's world. As Pete Seeger so rightfully said, "When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn"?"
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19. Jonas Ra, 2013
"God I love this cat"
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20. Colino Deani, 2013
"Sad song... I mean.. Where do I get back to? =("
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21. Kakkarot Red, 2013
"Great song !! Love it !! But he forgot the yellow's. ^_^"
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In the United States, in contrast to "black" and "brown", "yellow" and "red" are considered inappropriate to use as skin color referents. That said, some Black people who are redbones (whose skin have reddish hues) may be given the nickname "Red" or may call themselves "Red" with no negative connotations implied or meant by that nickname. This may explain the screen names "Arkansas Red" (Comment #18) and "Kakkarot Red" (Comment #21).
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