Edited by Azizi Powell
This post presents lyrics and five YouTube videos of the Old Time Music song "Goodbye Liza Jane" (also known as "Going To Cairo", "Black Them Boots", "Scraping Sand In The Bottom Of The Sea", and other titles). Comments about these songs are also included in this post.
The composers of these songs are unknown. However, many of these songs' verses are found in 19th century dance songs that have been attributed to African Americans.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers and collectors of these songs, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the featured artists in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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COMMENTS ABOUT THESE SONGS AND SOME EXAMPLES OF LYRICS FOR THESE SONGS
(These comments/lyrics are presented in no particular order and are numbered for reference purposes only.
1. From http://web.lyon.edu/wolfcollection/songs/ferrellblack1271.html
BLACK THEM BOOTS
"Sung by: James Clifton Ferrell
Recorded in Memphis, TN 6/30/63
Black them boots and make them shine,
A goodbye and a goodbye.
Black them boots and make them shine,
Goodbye, Liza Jane.
Oh, how I love her,
It's a scandal and shame.
Oh, how I love her,
And it's goodbye, Liza Jane.
Black them boots and make them shine,
It's a goodbye and a goodbye.
Black them boots to make them shine,
And a goodbye, Liza Jane.
(Comment by Mr. Ferrell: "We used to have a . . . At school, there was four of us that used to play them things, them play-party numbers and dance to it. And there was a whole bunch of them things that we would do, and I just . . . Every once in a while once of them runs across my mind. Now that's one, and I . . . I bet I haven't put that together in years like that.")"
-snip-
"Black them boots" means to polish the boots with boot wax. (Initially, "black" was the only color of shoe and boot polish (wax).) My sense from these lyrics is that the singer was getting his boots polished so that he would make a good impression on Liza Jane who was leaving town after rejecting his romantic interest. Another song title in the large family of "Liza Jane" songs is "Rejected By Liza Jane"[Read Comment #5 below]. "Poor Liza" ("Poor Old Liza Jane") is another Old Time Music "Liza Jane" song. The lyrics to that song indicate that Liza died on the train.
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2. From http://hogfiddle.blogspot.com/2007/02/going-down-to-cairo.html
"The story behind “Going Down to Cairo" is certainly specific to Illinois. In his book “Folk Songs and Singing Games of the Illinois Ozarks,” David McIntosh said it comes from a “play party” circle dance for eight couples. In spite of its strong association with children’s singing games, it traces back to Cairo’s past as a wide-open river town when farmers shipped corn to market there by flatboat.
“It was pretty hard to find a good place to pass the time away so they began going to the saloons and various other places where they were entertained,” said McIntosh’s source for the song. “The women noticed on the return trips that the men ‘blacked their boots’ and dressed up a great deal more than usual and began to make frequent trips to Cairo.”
The words are:
Black them boots and make them shine,
Goodbye and a goodbye.
Black them boots and make them shine,
Goodbye, Liza Jane.
Going down to Cairo, with a goodbye and a goodbye.
Going down to Cairo, goodbye Liza Jane.
And another verse begins:
I ain’t got time to kiss you now,
Goodbye and a goodbye.
I ain't got time to kiss you now,
Goodbye, Liza Jane ..."
-snip-
“Cairo” (pronounced KAY-row] is a town in Illinois.
That blogger also wrote "Maybe there’s an echo here of how a rowdy old fiddle tune like “Going Down to Cairo” turned up in southern Illinois as a children’s game."
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3. From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=48893#742204 "Lyr Req: Limber Jim: History & Lyrics", posted by John Minear, 04 Jul 02
[writing about songs that include the refrain "Shiloh" as does versions of "Limber Jim"]
"...I have found two other references on this. First of all is the play-party song in Ruth Crawford Seeger's AMERICAN FOLK SONGS FOR CHILDREN, pp. 96-97, called "Scraping Up Sand In The Bottom Of The Sea".... The chorus goes:
Scraping up sand in the bottom of the sea, Shiloh, Shiloh,
Scraping up sand in the bottom of the sea, Shiloh, Liza Jane.
[Pete] Seeger says that this comes from "The Missouri Play-Party" by Mrs. L.D.Ames, Vol. 24 of the AMERICAN FOLKLORE SOCIETY's bulletin.
There is a verse in this song that goes:
Black those shoes and make them shine,
Shiloh, Shiloh,
Black those shoes and make them shine,
Shiloh, Liza Jane.
Vance Randolph, in his OZARK FOLKSONGS (Vol ?, p. 359) has a version of this song, without the "Shiloh" response, that goes:
Black them boots an' make'em shine,
Good-bye, good-bye,
Black them boots an' make'em shine,
Good-bye, Lazy Jane.
Oh how I love her, ain't that a shame?
Goobye, goodbye,
Oh how I love her, ain't that a shame?
Goodbye lazy Jane
See that snail a-pullin' that rail?
Goodbye, goodbye,
See that snail a-pullin' that rail?
Goodbye, lazy Jane.
In his headnote, Randolph says, "Compare the "Shiloh" game-song reported by Ames (JAFL 24, 1911, p.317), also a similar item published by Hamilton (JAFL 27, 1914, p.296) under the title "So Goodbye Susan Jane."
-snip-
For the record (no pun intended), John Minear also mentioned that the song "Salt Rising Bread" (#110 pp. 71-72) in Thomas W. Talley's 1922 collection Negro Folk Rhymes Wise and Otherwise has a verse that mentions dancing "Shiloh". That blogger also wrote that "There is a very interesting discussion [about call and response and dancing Juba]... at the end of Talley's book (p.269). The response "Shiloh!" would be given by the larger group of people"...
A digital reproduction of Talley's book can be found at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm
****
4. From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=892 "Going to Shiloh? (from John Hartford)", posted by Will,27 Feb 97
Subject: Lyr Add: SHILOH (from Kathleen Krull)
"I don't know about John Hartford, Kathleen Krull's book "Gonna Sing My Head Off" has the following lyrics.
2/4 time, in E
Scraping up sand in the bottom of the sea, Shiloh, Shiloh.
Scraping up sand in the bottom of the sea, Shiloh, Lisa Jan.
Ch: Oh, how I love her, O, Liza Jane. Oh, how I love her, goodbye Liza Jane.
v2. Black those boots and make them shine.
v3. A hump-back mule I'm bound to ride.
v4. Hopped up a chicken and he flew upstairs."
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5. From http://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Goodbye_Liza_Jane_(1)
"GOODBYE LIZA JANE [1]. AKA- "Liza Jane (1)." Old-Time, Bluegrass, Western Swing; Breakdown. USA. ... Bob Wills (Texas), the father of western swing, said this was the first tune he learned (as "Goodbye, Miss Liza Jane") to fiddle.
Swing Ma, swing Pa, goodbye, goodbye,
Swing that gal from Arkansas, Goodbye Liza Jane.
Chorus:
Oh how I loved her, ain't that a shame,
Oh how I loved her, Goodbye Liza Jane.
Swing that gal and don't be late, goodbye, goodbye,
Knock down Sal, big fat gate, Goodbye Liza Jane.
Take a chaw of tobacco, spit on the wall, goodbye, goodbye,
Swing that gal clear across the hall, Goodbye Liza Jane.
Three wheels 're off and the axel's draggin', goodbye, goodbye,
You can't ride the little red wagon, Goodbye Liza Jane.
Other versions go:
Charlotte Town is burning down, goodbye, goodbye.
Burning down to the ground, goodbye, Liza Jane.
Chorus:
Oh, how I miss you, ain't that a shame,
Oh, how I miss you, goodbye, Liza Jane.
Alt. Chorus:
Ain't y'mighty sorry? Goodbye, bye-bye
Ain't y'mighty sorry? Goodbye, Liza Jane.
Liza Jane had a dress of red, goodbye, goodbye,
Queen of hearts, or so she said, goodbye, Liza Jane.
Liza Jane countin' her toes
You can smell her feet wherever she goes.
I got a gal and a hound dog too,
She don't bite, but the hound dog do.
Liza Jane 'bout half grown,
Jumps on a man like a dog on a bone
Liza Jane, pretty as a rose,
Bites her nails and picks her nose.
Goin' down to Caro, goodbye, goodbye,
Goin' down to Caro, goodbye Liza Jane.
Well, I blacked my boots and I made 'em shine, goodbye, goodbye.
I blacked my boots and I made 'em shine, goodbye Liza Jane.
A version of the tune and song, under the title "Rejected by Eliza Jane," was collected by the African-American collector Thomas Talley which he printed in his book Negro Folk Rhymes (1922, reprinted 1991 edited by Charles Wolfe). His lyrics go:
W'en I went 'cross de cotton patch
'I give my ho'n a blow.
I thought I heared pretty Lizie say:
"Oh, yonder come my beau!"
So: I axed pretty Lizie to marry me,
An' what d'you reckon she said?
She said she wouldn' marry me,
If ev'ybody else was dead.
An': As I went up de new cut road,
An' she go down de land;
Den I though I heared somebody say:
"Good-bye, ole Liza Jane!"
Well: Jes get 'long, Lizie, my true love.
Git 'long, Miss Lizie Jane.
Perhaps you'll sack "Ole Sour Bill"
An' git choked on "Sugar Cain." "
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FEATURED EXAMPLES:
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their YouTube posting date. The videos with the oldest dates are given first.
Example #1: Turkey Creek String Band - "Goodbye Liza Jane"
TurkeyCreekSB, Uploaded on Jul 15, 2009
The Turkey Creek String Band is an exciting seven-person acoustic ensemble centered in Southern Middle Tennessee.
Our repertoire consists of traditional fiddle tunes, folk, western swing, waltzes, bluegrass, and Irish jigs...
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Example #2: Going down to cairo
)
TheGriffon87, Uploaded on Jan 26, 2010
Groupe folklorique "LOU GAIS MARCHOIS" danses western
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Example #3: Goodbye Liza Jane - Bob Wills with Tommy Duncan vocal.wmv
radiobob805, Uploaded on Sep 15, 2010
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Example #4: Going Down to Cairo
)
dejibber, Uploaded on Jun 4, 2011
Julia Kindergarten Musical "Going down to Cairo"
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Example #5: Bullis Charter School Treble Voices Going Down To Cairo
)
Anthony Shortland, Published on May 16, 2013
Bay Section CMEA Area V - Large Group Choral Festival
Saratoga High School, Saturday May 11th 2013
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Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label African American dance songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African American dance songs. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Buck Eye Rabbit (Big Eye Rabbit) - lyrics & video example
Edited by Azizi Powell
UPDATE: March 15, 2017
This post presents lyrics and a video example of the old time music dance song "Buckeye Rabbit" (also known as "Buck Eye Rabbit", "Buckeyed Rabbit", "Big Eye Rabbit", and "Big Eyed Rabbit". Comments about this song and the phrase "buckeye" are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers and collectors of these songs, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the featured artists in this video and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
RELATED POST: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/buckeye-jim-limber-jim-comments-lyrics.html ""Buckeye Jim" & "Limber Jim" comments, lyrics, & videos"
****
WHAT "BUCKEYE" MEANS
"Buckeye" ("buck eye"- protruding (bulging) eyes, similar to "buck tooth" (teeth that stick out (protrude). "Buck eye" is also given as "bug eye", probably because some bugs have bulging eyes. "Buck tooth" is a more commonly used adjective (in the United States) and refers to teeth that protrude. All of these terms are considered to be impolite and negative.
It should also be noted that "bugged eyes" (protruding eyes, a wide eyed stare, particularly to express fear; "pop eyes", eyes popping out") have been used as descriptions of a racial (racist) coded look for Black people via 19th black-faced minstrelsy. Also, "buck" is a stereotypical persona that refers to "a large Black man who is proud, sometimes menacing, and always interested in White women" http://black-face.com/. However, I'm not sure if that stereotypical image of Black people or the stereotypical reference to Black men as "Bucks" and Black areas of town being called "Bucktown" have anything to do with the song "Buck Eye Rabbit".
Another meaning for "buckeye" which I think has nothing to do with the "Buck Eye Rabbit" song is the "buckeye tree" (and the brown nut from that tree). Buckeye trees are the official state of Ohio. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/5343/default.aspx. According to that website, holding a buckeye nut in your pocket s considered to bring good luck. http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Ohio/state-tree-ohio.html indicates that the "Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) was designated the official state tree of Ohio in 1953. Ohio's nickname is "the buckeye state." The buckeye is fairly common in Ohio, growing especially well along rivers, streams, and on floodplains."
-snip-
People who live in Ohio are sometimes informally called "buckeyes". That nickname has nothing to do with their eyes. Also, the mascot of Ohio State University is "Brutus Buckeye".
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UPDATE March 13, 2014
From a 2002 discussion on Rootsweb of the song "Buckeye Jim":
"Buckeye" (every meaning but the candy?) as a reference would seem to denote the dark eyes of Africans -- that might be assumed by lots of folks who associate songs like this, and "slavery times", with the era
of chattel slavery; but as Thom Moore's comment indicates, this song probably predates that era. "Buckeye" might've endured among enslaved people of all kinds of color & mixture, as an admonition to keep your gaze "dark" -- impassive, so as not to reveal your emotions or intentions.... whatever the color of your own eyes or skin, or the colors showing in your parents, or your children... or in your
"masters", or in their children."...
-Angela in KY http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/Melungeon/2002-08/1030349013
-snip-
UPDATE March 15, 2017
When I added that March 13, 2014 Update, I initially changed my mind about the meaning of "buck eye" (as used in the song "Buck Eye Rabbit"). However, I now believe that my initially comments about "buck eye" meaning "big eye", if not protruding eyes, were correct. Read more below.
From http://folkinharlemrenaissance.weebly.com/connection-to-invisible-man.html
"Folklore was how Negroes dealt with their world. They identified themselves as the characters in the well-known folk tales similar to how the narrator of Invisible Man identifies himself as characters such as Jack the Rabbit and Jack the Bear. These characters come from the stories known by the name "Uncle Remus tales" and were remade by Walt Disney in the movie "Song of the South".
Folklore in [the novel] Invisible Man [by Ralph Ellison]
- Jack the Bear
- Buckeye Rabbit / Br'er Rabbit
- The Tortoise with the Pretty Daughter
[...]
"'WHO WAS BUCKEYE THE RABBIT?' I WAS FILLED WITH TURMOIL. WHY SHOULD HE THINK OF THAT?... I LAUGHED, DEEP, DEEP INSIDE ME, GIDDY WITH THE DELIGHT OF SELF-DISCOVERY AND THE DESIRE TO HIDE IT. SOMEHOW I WAS BUCKEYE THE RABBIT... IT WAS ANNOYING HOW HE HAD HIT UPON AN OLD IDENTITY... 'BOY, WHO WAS BRER RABBIT?'... ANYONE KNEW THEY WERE ONE AND THE SAME: 'BUCKEYE' WHEN YOU WERE VERY YOUNG AND HID YOURSELF BEHIND WIDE INNOCENT EYES; 'BRER' WHEN YOU WERE OLDER." (ELLISON 241-242)
Br'er Rabbit / Jack the Rabbit / Buckeye the Rabbit
"Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby" is an old folktale with its origins drawing back to Africa. Br'er Rabbit is characterized as a trickster, but is seen as a source of entertainment for other characters such as Br'er Fox. Br'er Rabbit is sometimes gullible as shown in the story of "Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby", but he is cunning and uses his intelligence to ultimately find his way out of the sticky situation. The narrator is compared to Br'er rabbit for several reasons. One, his is associated with the Brotherhood where they call themselves by the name "Brother" which is what Br'er means. Also, the narrator is compared to Br'er Rabbit because he is used as a resource like Br'er Rabbit is used as entertainment by Br'er Fox. Lastly, the narrator uses his strength and intellectual ability to find his way out of tough situations."...
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BACKGROUND & EARLY LYRICS
The song "Buck Eye Rabbit" ("Big Eye Rabbit") is a song of African American origin. The song is composed of a chorus and floating verses from (other?)19th century African American dance songs and/or children's play song.
Here a comment about this song that I found at http://mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=743415 , posted by John Minear, "Lyr Req: Limber Jim: History & Lyrics",06-Jul-02
..."I've only found two other references to "buckeye" or "buck-eyed". One is the song "Big Eye Rabbit". A version from Alabama goes as follows:
I wanted sugah very much,
I went to Sugah Town
I climbed up in that sugah tree.
An' I shook that sugah down.
CHORUS:
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo! Shoo!
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo-dah!
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo-dah!
I went down to my sweetheart's house,
I ain't been dah befo'
She fed me out of an old hog trough,
And I don't go dah no mo'!
Way down yonder on Cedar Creek,
Where all them gals grow 'bout 'leven feet,
Jump in the bed but it ain't no use,
Feets stick out like a chicken roost.
[From: p. 120 of FOLK SONGS OF ALABAMA, Byron Arnold (University of Alabama Press, 1950). Reprinted in Alan Lomax's THE FOLK SONGS OF NORTH AMERICA, #266, p. 504]
Note the "trough" and the "way down yonder".
Thomas Talley also has a version called "Buck-Eyed Rabbit! Whoopee!" (#269, p.149, THOMAS W. TALLEY'S NEGRO FOLK RHYMES): last verse only
Buckeyed Rabbit! Whoopee!
Buckeyed Rabbit! Ho!
Buckeyed Rabbit! Whoopee!
Squir'l's got a long way to go.
It is not clear which came first, "buckeyed" or "big-eyed". Mellinger Henry has a different variation of "Big-Eye Rabbit" (#173 FOLK-SONGS FROM THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, 1938), obtained from Mr. C.L. Franklin, of Crossnore, Avery County, North Carolina, "who learned it when a child from his father, William Franklin." Henry does not give a date.
Big eyed rabbit behind the pine;
Big eyed rabbit, you are mine.
Rabbit skipped; rabbit hopped;
Rabbit ate my turnip top.
I cocked my gun; the hammer flew;
I tore that rabbit square in two.
My only other reference is to a "buck-eyed Whippoorwill" in a song in Talley's book (#79,pp.51-52) called "Sheep Shell Corn": (first verse only)
Oh: De Ram blow de ho'n an' de sheep shell co'n;
An' he sen' it to de mill by de buck-eyed Whippoorwill.
Ole Joe's dead an' gone but his Hant blows de ho'n;
An' his hound howls still from de top o' dat hill.
So, who knows the orign of "buckeye". It could refer literally to a deer's eye, or to a horse chestnut, or to Ohio, or be a form of "big-eyed", or simply brown-eyed, or it might have a racial overtone, like "Cotton-eyed Joe". There is a "Buckeyed Jim" version in the DT [Digital Tradition- A collection of song lyrics on Mudcat]."...
-snip-
If "Buck Eye Rabbit" was composed in the 19th century as is suggested by the fact that its verses are found in other 19th century African American dance songs, the scarcity of sugar and the desire for sweet treats among many 19th century African Americans (enslaved or otherwise) helps to add context to the first verse of that song. In that verse the person speaks about wanting sugar, journeying to a fictitious town where sugar trees grow, and shaking sugar down from sugar trees. sugar tree.
Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=44133 for the Mudcat thread ""Buckeye Jim: Oddest Lullaby I've heard".
There's a lot of debate about the meaning of "cotton-eyed" in the song "Cotton Eyed Joe". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton-Eyed_Joe for information and comments about that song.
-snip-
The chorus of "Buck Eye Rabbit" is the only part of that song which refers to a rabbit. I imagine the singer walking along singing this song, and upon seeing a buck eyed rabbit in his path, waves his hands and says "Shoo Shoo! (Shoo means "leave", "run away").
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FEATURED VIDEO: Buckeye Rabbit
)
dgustav, Uploaded on Oct 28, 2006
Old River Band reunited.
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LYRICS: BUCK EYE RABBIT
(as sung by Old River Band)
I wanted sugar very much.
I went to Sugar Town.
I climbed up in that sugar tree
And I shook that sugar down.
Chorus:
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo Shoo.
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo now.
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo Shoo Shoo.
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo now.
[instrumental]
I went down to my sweetheart’s house.
I ain’t been there before.
She tossed me in the old pig pen.
And I don’t go there no more.
Chorus
[instrumental]
Love it is a killing thing,
Beauty is a blossom.
If you want your finger bit,
Poke it at a possum."
Chorus
[instrumental]
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ADDENDUM: EXCERPTS OF VERSES IN "BUCKEYE RABBIT" THAT ARE FOUND IN SOME (OTHER?) 19th CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN SONGS
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123317#2714105 Richie, "RE: Folklore: Negro Folk Rhymes (Thomas W. Talley)", 01 Sep 09
"The next song in Talley is:
LOVE IS JUST A THING OF FANCY
Love is jes a thing o' fancy,
Beauty's jes a blossom;
If you wants to git yo' finger bit,
Stick it at a 'possum.
Beauty, it's jes skin deep;
Ugly, it's to de bone.
Beauty, it'll jes fade 'way;
But Ugly'll hoi' 'er own.
It's incredible that there is so much wisdom in these two simple verses. Both are well known folk sayings:
Teh first usually appears in Bile Dem Cabbage Don as from Frank Warner:
"Love it is a killing thing,
Beauty is a blossom,
If you want your finger bit,
Poke it at a possum."
or
"Love is a funny lookin' thing
Shaped like a blossom;
If you want your finger bitten,
Stick it to a possum."
or in the song "Mabel":
Love it is a an awful thing and beauty is a blossum,
If you want your finger bit just poke it at a 'possum.
Perrow had an ealier vesion, he collected from African-American in Virgina in 1912:
Love it am a killin' thing, beauty am a blossom;
Ef yuh want tuh get yuh finger bit, poke it at a 'possum.
BEAUTY'S BUT SKIN DEEP is a poem by John Davies of Hereford
from 1616.
There is also an old jingle, author unknown, which parodies the famous beauty line. It reads:
"Beauty is but skin deep, ugly lies the bone;
Beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own." "
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.
UPDATE: March 15, 2017
This post presents lyrics and a video example of the old time music dance song "Buckeye Rabbit" (also known as "Buck Eye Rabbit", "Buckeyed Rabbit", "Big Eye Rabbit", and "Big Eyed Rabbit". Comments about this song and the phrase "buckeye" are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers and collectors of these songs, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the featured artists in this video and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
RELATED POST: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/buckeye-jim-limber-jim-comments-lyrics.html ""Buckeye Jim" & "Limber Jim" comments, lyrics, & videos"
****
WHAT "BUCKEYE" MEANS
"Buckeye" ("buck eye"- protruding (bulging) eyes, similar to "buck tooth" (teeth that stick out (protrude). "Buck eye" is also given as "bug eye", probably because some bugs have bulging eyes. "Buck tooth" is a more commonly used adjective (in the United States) and refers to teeth that protrude. All of these terms are considered to be impolite and negative.
It should also be noted that "bugged eyes" (protruding eyes, a wide eyed stare, particularly to express fear; "pop eyes", eyes popping out") have been used as descriptions of a racial (racist) coded look for Black people via 19th black-faced minstrelsy. Also, "buck" is a stereotypical persona that refers to "a large Black man who is proud, sometimes menacing, and always interested in White women" http://black-face.com/. However, I'm not sure if that stereotypical image of Black people or the stereotypical reference to Black men as "Bucks" and Black areas of town being called "Bucktown" have anything to do with the song "Buck Eye Rabbit".
Another meaning for "buckeye" which I think has nothing to do with the "Buck Eye Rabbit" song is the "buckeye tree" (and the brown nut from that tree). Buckeye trees are the official state of Ohio. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/5343/default.aspx. According to that website, holding a buckeye nut in your pocket s considered to bring good luck. http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Ohio/state-tree-ohio.html indicates that the "Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) was designated the official state tree of Ohio in 1953. Ohio's nickname is "the buckeye state." The buckeye is fairly common in Ohio, growing especially well along rivers, streams, and on floodplains."
-snip-
People who live in Ohio are sometimes informally called "buckeyes". That nickname has nothing to do with their eyes. Also, the mascot of Ohio State University is "Brutus Buckeye".
****
UPDATE March 13, 2014
From a 2002 discussion on Rootsweb of the song "Buckeye Jim":
"Buckeye" (every meaning but the candy?
of chattel slavery; but as Thom Moore's comment indicates, this song probably predates that era. "Buckeye" might've endured among enslaved people of all kinds of color & mixture, as an admonition to keep your gaze "dark" -- impassive, so as not to reveal your emotions or intentions.... whatever the color of your own eyes or skin, or the colors showing in your parents, or your children... or in your
"masters", or in their children."...
-Angela in KY http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/Melungeon/2002-08/1030349013
-snip-
UPDATE March 15, 2017
When I added that March 13, 2014 Update, I initially changed my mind about the meaning of "buck eye" (as used in the song "Buck Eye Rabbit"). However, I now believe that my initially comments about "buck eye" meaning "big eye", if not protruding eyes, were correct. Read more below.
From http://folkinharlemrenaissance.weebly.com/connection-to-invisible-man.html
"Folklore was how Negroes dealt with their world. They identified themselves as the characters in the well-known folk tales similar to how the narrator of Invisible Man identifies himself as characters such as Jack the Rabbit and Jack the Bear. These characters come from the stories known by the name "Uncle Remus tales" and were remade by Walt Disney in the movie "Song of the South".
Folklore in [the novel] Invisible Man [by Ralph Ellison]
- Jack the Bear
- Buckeye Rabbit / Br'er Rabbit
- The Tortoise with the Pretty Daughter
[...]
"'WHO WAS BUCKEYE THE RABBIT?' I WAS FILLED WITH TURMOIL. WHY SHOULD HE THINK OF THAT?... I LAUGHED, DEEP, DEEP INSIDE ME, GIDDY WITH THE DELIGHT OF SELF-DISCOVERY AND THE DESIRE TO HIDE IT. SOMEHOW I WAS BUCKEYE THE RABBIT... IT WAS ANNOYING HOW HE HAD HIT UPON AN OLD IDENTITY... 'BOY, WHO WAS BRER RABBIT?'... ANYONE KNEW THEY WERE ONE AND THE SAME: 'BUCKEYE' WHEN YOU WERE VERY YOUNG AND HID YOURSELF BEHIND WIDE INNOCENT EYES; 'BRER' WHEN YOU WERE OLDER." (ELLISON 241-242)
Br'er Rabbit / Jack the Rabbit / Buckeye the Rabbit
"Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby" is an old folktale with its origins drawing back to Africa. Br'er Rabbit is characterized as a trickster, but is seen as a source of entertainment for other characters such as Br'er Fox. Br'er Rabbit is sometimes gullible as shown in the story of "Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby", but he is cunning and uses his intelligence to ultimately find his way out of the sticky situation. The narrator is compared to Br'er rabbit for several reasons. One, his is associated with the Brotherhood where they call themselves by the name "Brother" which is what Br'er means. Also, the narrator is compared to Br'er Rabbit because he is used as a resource like Br'er Rabbit is used as entertainment by Br'er Fox. Lastly, the narrator uses his strength and intellectual ability to find his way out of tough situations."...
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BACKGROUND & EARLY LYRICS
The song "Buck Eye Rabbit" ("Big Eye Rabbit") is a song of African American origin. The song is composed of a chorus and floating verses from (other?)19th century African American dance songs and/or children's play song.
Here a comment about this song that I found at http://mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=743415 , posted by John Minear, "Lyr Req: Limber Jim: History & Lyrics",06-Jul-02
..."I've only found two other references to "buckeye" or "buck-eyed". One is the song "Big Eye Rabbit". A version from Alabama goes as follows:
I wanted sugah very much,
I went to Sugah Town
I climbed up in that sugah tree.
An' I shook that sugah down.
CHORUS:
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo! Shoo!
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo-dah!
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!
Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo-dah!
I went down to my sweetheart's house,
I ain't been dah befo'
She fed me out of an old hog trough,
And I don't go dah no mo'!
Way down yonder on Cedar Creek,
Where all them gals grow 'bout 'leven feet,
Jump in the bed but it ain't no use,
Feets stick out like a chicken roost.
[From: p. 120 of FOLK SONGS OF ALABAMA, Byron Arnold (University of Alabama Press, 1950). Reprinted in Alan Lomax's THE FOLK SONGS OF NORTH AMERICA, #266, p. 504]
Note the "trough" and the "way down yonder".
Thomas Talley also has a version called "Buck-Eyed Rabbit! Whoopee!" (#269, p.149, THOMAS W. TALLEY'S NEGRO FOLK RHYMES): last verse only
Buckeyed Rabbit! Whoopee!
Buckeyed Rabbit! Ho!
Buckeyed Rabbit! Whoopee!
Squir'l's got a long way to go.
It is not clear which came first, "buckeyed" or "big-eyed". Mellinger Henry has a different variation of "Big-Eye Rabbit" (#173 FOLK-SONGS FROM THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, 1938), obtained from Mr. C.L. Franklin, of Crossnore, Avery County, North Carolina, "who learned it when a child from his father, William Franklin." Henry does not give a date.
Big eyed rabbit behind the pine;
Big eyed rabbit, you are mine.
Rabbit skipped; rabbit hopped;
Rabbit ate my turnip top.
I cocked my gun; the hammer flew;
I tore that rabbit square in two.
My only other reference is to a "buck-eyed Whippoorwill" in a song in Talley's book (#79,pp.51-52) called "Sheep Shell Corn": (first verse only)
Oh: De Ram blow de ho'n an' de sheep shell co'n;
An' he sen' it to de mill by de buck-eyed Whippoorwill.
Ole Joe's dead an' gone but his Hant blows de ho'n;
An' his hound howls still from de top o' dat hill.
So, who knows the orign of "buckeye". It could refer literally to a deer's eye, or to a horse chestnut, or to Ohio, or be a form of "big-eyed", or simply brown-eyed, or it might have a racial overtone, like "Cotton-eyed Joe". There is a "Buckeyed Jim" version in the DT [Digital Tradition- A collection of song lyrics on Mudcat]."...
-snip-
If "Buck Eye Rabbit" was composed in the 19th century as is suggested by the fact that its verses are found in other 19th century African American dance songs, the scarcity of sugar and the desire for sweet treats among many 19th century African Americans (enslaved or otherwise) helps to add context to the first verse of that song. In that verse the person speaks about wanting sugar, journeying to a fictitious town where sugar trees grow, and shaking sugar down from sugar trees. sugar tree.
Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=44133 for the Mudcat thread ""Buckeye Jim: Oddest Lullaby I've heard".
There's a lot of debate about the meaning of "cotton-eyed" in the song "Cotton Eyed Joe". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton-Eyed_Joe for information and comments about that song.
-snip-
The chorus of "Buck Eye Rabbit" is the only part of that song which refers to a rabbit. I imagine the singer walking along singing this song, and upon seeing a buck eyed rabbit in his path, waves his hands and says "Shoo Shoo! (Shoo means "leave", "run away").
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FEATURED VIDEO: Buckeye Rabbit
)
dgustav, Uploaded on Oct 28, 2006
Old River Band reunited.
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LYRICS: BUCK EYE RABBIT
(as sung by Old River Band)
I wanted sugar very much.
I went to Sugar Town.
I climbed up in that sugar tree
And I shook that sugar down.
Chorus:
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo Shoo.
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo now.
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo Shoo Shoo.
Buckeye Rabbit,
Shoo now.
[instrumental]
I went down to my sweetheart’s house.
I ain’t been there before.
She tossed me in the old pig pen.
And I don’t go there no more.
Chorus
[instrumental]
Love it is a killing thing,
Beauty is a blossom.
If you want your finger bit,
Poke it at a possum."
Chorus
[instrumental]
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ADDENDUM: EXCERPTS OF VERSES IN "BUCKEYE RABBIT" THAT ARE FOUND IN SOME (OTHER?) 19th CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN SONGS
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123317#2714105 Richie, "RE: Folklore: Negro Folk Rhymes (Thomas W. Talley)", 01 Sep 09
"The next song in Talley is:
LOVE IS JUST A THING OF FANCY
Love is jes a thing o' fancy,
Beauty's jes a blossom;
If you wants to git yo' finger bit,
Stick it at a 'possum.
Beauty, it's jes skin deep;
Ugly, it's to de bone.
Beauty, it'll jes fade 'way;
But Ugly'll hoi' 'er own.
It's incredible that there is so much wisdom in these two simple verses. Both are well known folk sayings:
Teh first usually appears in Bile Dem Cabbage Don as from Frank Warner:
"Love it is a killing thing,
Beauty is a blossom,
If you want your finger bit,
Poke it at a possum."
or
"Love is a funny lookin' thing
Shaped like a blossom;
If you want your finger bitten,
Stick it to a possum."
or in the song "Mabel":
Love it is a an awful thing and beauty is a blossum,
If you want your finger bit just poke it at a 'possum.
Perrow had an ealier vesion, he collected from African-American in Virgina in 1912:
Love it am a killin' thing, beauty am a blossom;
Ef yuh want tuh get yuh finger bit, poke it at a 'possum.
BEAUTY'S BUT SKIN DEEP is a poem by John Davies of Hereford
from 1616.
There is also an old jingle, author unknown, which parodies the famous beauty line. It reads:
"Beauty is but skin deep, ugly lies the bone;
Beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own." "
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