Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision - Nov. 24, 2023
This pancocojams post presents some comments* from the Mudcat folk music forum about the 19th century song "Jim Along Josie".
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all Mudcat members and guests who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
*Comments written on Mudcat discussion forum are referred to as "posts".
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on the 19th century American song "Jim Along Josie".. Click the "Jim Along Josie" tag for other pancocojams posts about this song.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Nov. 24, 2023 Update: I just realized that Guest Richie (comment #1) included misinformation that I unwittingly wrote in a cocojams page [published around 2001 -2002] about "Jim Along Josie". I'm referring to Guest Richie's statement that a "josie" was a name for a woman's undergarment.
I also just realized that the paragraph under the title "Slave Dance Songs (on-line)" in Guest Richie's comment that is given as #5 in this pancocojams compilation was quoted from that same cocojams page that focused on the dance song "Jim Along Josie" I wrote the description that was given on that page which Guest Richie quoted. My main source for that description wasThomas W. Talley's 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Otherwise
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm. pages 296-297. I don't have a copy of that cocojams page (or any cocojams page) and don't recall if I added a citation for that book on that page.
Several Mudcat members on that discussion thread questioned the source for the information that I shared about the meaning of the word "josie" in reference to the song "Jim Along Josie", on that Mudcat discussion thread, resulting in one guest emailing me. (That is how I learned about Mudcat). I returned his email and in 2004 I wrote a comment as a guest to that forum which corrected that misinformation about the word "josie" that I had included in that 2001 or 2002 cocojams page. .All of those comments (except for guest's email to me, but including guest's recollection of my initial reply to his query about the source I used for the meaning of the word "josie") are given below in this pancocojams compilation.
In August or September 2004, shortly after I wrote that comment correcting my erroneous information about one meaning of the word "josie", I joined the Mudcat folk music forum. I remained a very active member of that online forum until the middle of November 2014 (with some periods of publishing gaps after 2011). My main interest on that forum was American children's recreational rhymes and children's singing games.
**
This pancocojams compilation doesn't include all of the comments that I wrote on that Mudcat discussion thread about "Jim Along Josie". I didn't include all of my comments on that discussion thread because some of them were a little off-topic or a lot off-topic. That said, I did include one of my off-topic comments in this compilation because I felt/and still feel strongly about what I wrote.
**
As is the case with most Mudcat discussion threads, this Mudcat discussion thread about the song "Jim Along Josie" is still open for comments (as of the publishing date of this pancocojams post.) I wrote the last comment in that discussion thread that includes content (in March 2009). That comment isn't included in this compilation because it mostly consists of me conversing with the previous commenter. The actual last comment in that discussion thread as of Nov. 22, 2023 consists of a possible troll posting with just the screen name "Guest IvanB" and no content.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS
I'm aware that my choice of comments for this pancocojams compilation could be considered somewhat arbitrary. People interested in this subject are encouraged to read the entire discussion thread.
These comments are written as they are found in that discussion thread with the exception of what is now called "the n word" since I use amended spelling for that word on this blog and elsewhere.
These selected comments from that Mudcat folk music forum are quoted without any explanatory notes.
Numbers are added to comments in this compilation for referencing purposes only
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=52464&messages=60&page=1
1.
Subject: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 01:34 AM
Here is a verse of the 1840 Minstrel lyrics:
Now way down south, not very far off,
A bullfrog died wid de hooping cough,
And de other side of Mississippi as you must know,
Dare's where I was christen'd Jim Along Joe.
One 1853 version: "Here come a little gal wid a josey on;" (using the word, josey, as a type of under garment). Any more info on this?
Other versions of Jim Along Josie?
Thanks,
Richie
2.
Subject: Lyr Add: JIM ALONG JOSIE (Play-party song)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 02:04 AM
Tom Glazer's Treasury of Folk Songs has it as a play-party song:
Hey Jim Along, Jim Along Josie,
Hey Jim Along, Jim Along Jo,
Hey Jim Along, Jim Along Josie,
Hey Jim Along, Jim Along Jo.
Walk Jim Along, Jim Along Josie,
Walk Jim Along, Jim Along Jo,
Walk Jim Along, Jim Along Josie,
Walk Jim Along, Jim Along Jo.
Hop Jim Along, Jim Along Josie,
Hop Jim Along, Jim Along Jo,
Hop Jim Along, Jim Along Josie,
Hop Jim Along, Jim Along Jo.
(Or anything else you can think of,
like crawl, roll, swing, etc.)
Somewhat similar text in the Handy Play-Party Book which
cites its source as Katherine F. Rohrbough of Greene County, New York, about
1870.
Hey, Jim along, Jim along Josie,
Hey, Jim along, Jim along Joe!
Any pretty girl that wants a beau, sing,
Hey, Jim along, Jim along Joe!
Click to play
Here are the dance instructions:
FORMATION: The Virginia Reel formation:
four to six couples, boys in one line, facing partners in
opposite line.
ACTION: Old Virginia Reel figures used. Preceding the individual action the lines all advance and go through the first 5 movements with partners opposite. All clap the first note of each 8 beats. All clap in time to the refrain.
Movements are summarized here:
1.First girl and last boy forward and bow (4 measures) All movements repeated
immediately by first boy and last girl---another 4 measures.
2.Turn with the right hand around.
3. Turn with both hands joined.
4. Back to back, pass by the right (Dos-a-dos).
5. Back to back, by the left shoulders.
6. First couple chassez the center (slide step) to the foot
of the set and back to place, with both hands joined.
7. Right hand to your partner and reel. (Right to your
partner, left to the side.)*
8. Head couple comes back up the center and all follow down
the outside.
9. Join hands with partners, return to place and make an
arch.
10. Head couple goes under arch to the foot. Repeat from
beginning with new (second) couple at the head.
Too damn complicated for me...
3.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: John Minear
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 07:40 AM
Richie, I'm interested in your suggestion of a possible connection between "Jim Along Josie" and the "Limber Jim/Buckeye Jim" tradition. You can find a discussion of "Limber Jim/Buckeye Jim" here. There is obviously a connection between the lyrics about
Now way down south, not very far off,
A bullfrog died wid de hooping cough,
from "Jim Along, Josie" and,
Way down yonder in a wooden trough,
An old lady died with the whooping cough.
which is from "Limber Jim".
But I am more intrigued by the phrase "Jim along,
Josie". It reminds me of "go limber, Jim, you can't go". We were
never able to really pin down what "go limber, Jim" meant. I wonder
what "Jim along" means. And is there any significance to the use of
"Jim"? Is it more than a name? It would seem so in the "Jim
along, Josie" context.
Masato, I appreciate your thoroughness in laying out the minstrel background of this piece. I've never come across anything similar for "Limber Jim/Buckeye Jim" and would imagine that it is later than the minstrel tradition but draws floating verses/phrases from that tradition. - T.O.M.
4.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 07:51 AM
JIM ALONG JOSIE:
Now way down south, not very far off,
A bullfrog died wid de hooping cough,
And de other side of Mississippi as you must know,
Dare's where I was christen'd Jim Along Joe.
Hey get along, get along Josey,
Hey get along, Jim along Joe!
BUCK-EYED JIM:
Way up yonder above the moon,
A jay-bird lived in a silver spoon.
Way down yonder in a sycamore trough
An old lady died with the whoopin'-cough.
Go limber, Jim; you can't go.
Go weave and spin, you can't go, Buckeye Jim.
JAYBIRD DIED OF THE WHOOPIN' COUGH also BILE DEM CABBAGE:
Jaybird died of the whoopin' cough,
Sparrow died of the colic.
'Long come a frog with a fiddle on his back
Inquirin' his way to the frolic.
-Richie
****
5.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 08:06 AM
Turtle Old Man-
Here's more info. It's not clear if this was in the African- American tradition before 1838, which is the date I have for "Jim Along Josie," or the song became part of the tradition after becoming popular.
From Slave Dance Songs (on-line):
"Jim-Along-Josey" appears have been a popular
dance song among enslaved African American in the late 19th century. Adults
performed this partner dance almost the same way as square dancing is
performed. A man who didn't dance called out the moves that the people had to
do. A fiddle (violin) and other instruments would play the music for the
dancing. The dancing would go on for a long time because the caller would
remember as many verses as he could and also would make up (improvise) new
verses to chant. "Jim" is a still common nickname for the male name
"James". "Josey" was a common man's or woman's nickname
(from "Joseph" or "Josephine"). "Josey" was also
the name of an article of under clothing. "Josey" was also used as a
name of this dance step. "The phrase "all the go" is like the
current slang phrase "all that". They are both used to refer to
something that is considered the best, or the most favorite, or something that
is the done in the latest, most popular style. The sentence "the bullfrog
died with the whooping cough" appears in a number of African American
slavery and immediate post-slavery folk songs. The "whooping cough"
is probably a reference to a disease called tuberculosis. "Jim Along
Josie" is found in quite a few American folk songs books. Unfortunately,
these books rarely mention the song's African American origin.
-Richie"
****
6.
Subject RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 10:46 AM
The 'B' part is a common strain which can be found in
collections from European countries (Germany), and in the chorus of the
American minstrel ditty "Jim Along Josey" (1840). A version of the
tune is found in Ford (1940, pg. 60) as "Cotton Eyed Joe." (From
Ceolas)
COTTON EYED JOE:
Verse: Way back yonder a long time ago
Daddy knew a man called Cotton-eyed Joe
Blew into town on a travelin' show
Nobody danced like the Cotton-eyed Joe.
CHORUS: Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe
Where did you come from? Where did you go?
Where did you come from? Where did you go?
Where did you come from Cotton-eyed Joe?
JIM ALONG JOSIE:
Now way down south, not very far off,
A bullfrog died wid de hooping cough,
And de other side of Mississippi as you must know,
Dare's where I was christen'd Jim Along Joe.
Hey get along, get along Josey,
Hey get along, Jim along Joe!
Hey get along, get along Josey,
Hey get along, Jim along Joe!
****
7.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 11:35 AM
From "The Journal of an African Cruiser," by An Officer of the U.S. Navy, in The United States Democratic review, Volume 16, Issue 83 (J.& H.G. Langley, etc., May 1845, p. 483) [N.B. the date]:
"August 2, 1843.--Liberia.--We were visited by Governor
Roberts, Dr. Day, and General Lewis, the latter being Colonel Secretary, and
military chief of the Settlement. They looked well, and welcomed me back to
Liberia with the cordiality of old friendship. The Governor was received by the
Commodore, Captain and officers, and saluted with eleven guns. He and his suite
dined in the cabin, and some of the officers of the Porpoise in the ward-room.
In the evening, we brought out all our forces for the amusement of our
distinguished guests. First, the negro band sang 'Old Dan Tucker,' 'Jim along
Josey,' and other ditties of the same class, accompanied by violin and
tambourine. Then Othello played monkey, and gave a series of recitations.
[...]" (p. 483)"
A parody of "Jim Along Josey," from The Living age ... (Volume 9, Issue 110) (New York etc.: The Living age co. inc. etc., June 20, 1846, p. 627).
~Masato"
****
8.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 12:01 PM
From S. Foster Damon, "Notes to 'Jim Along Josey' [Firth & Hall edition (1840)]", in Series of Old American Songs (Brown University Library, 1936, No. 24):
"Jim Along Josey" was another sweeping success in the burnt-cork tradition. It was written by Edward Harper, who sang it in his drama, The Free Nigger of New York, about 1838 (E.L. Rice: Monarchs of Minstrelsy, p 24). In February 1839, John Washington Smith was singing it at the Bowery Amphitheater (Odell: Annals IV, 324). Thereafter, everybody sang it. It was developed into a number of extravaganzas and afterpieces: Jim Along Josey (Chatham Theater, 1840); Jim Along Josey, or the Ticket Taker (Bowery, 1840); The Black Ghost, or the Nigger Turned Physician (1841); and The Masquerade (1843).
The stricter sects, which prohibited dancing, whether square
or round, admitted "Jim Along Josey" as a game and not a dance,
although to uncritical eyes the players seemed to be doing something easily
mistaken for a Virginia reel. For the game, see the Journal of American Folk
Lore (XXIV, 295 ff): "Play Parties and Games of the Middle West"."
****
9.
Subject: Lyr Add: JIM ALONG JOSIE
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 02:11 PM
"JIM ALONG JOSIE
From: Slavery Dance Song's (On-line)
Caller: Oh, I'm from Louisiana, as you all know
That's where
Jim-Along-Josey's all the go.
The *Black
folk's rise when the bell do ring
And this is the
song that they do sing:
Hey get along
Jim Along Jo!
The bullfrog
died with the whooping cough.
And on the
other side of Mississippi, as you know
Thats where I first called Jim Along Jo.
Hey get along
Jim Along Jo!
10.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 02:16 PM
"Collections of secular Negro folk rhymes (White, Talley, Odum, etc.) are full of material the Negroes obtained from blackface minstrels. Songs such as Jim Along Josie, Kemo Kimo and Jim Crow quickly entered Negro folk music from the minstrel source. The shipboard vignette provided by Masato is an important illustration of this fact.
Did some of the rhymes, which are used over and over in several different songs (Jaybird, animals with (w)hooping cough, way up yonder, etc.) originate with blacks? Possible, but almost impossible to document because they were not collected until late. When collectors became active, after the Civil War, attention focused on the spiritual songs. The large body of secular songs and dances were ignored until after 1900. By then, it was too late to be certain of origins.
The many sources checked by Dena Epstein for her work on
pre-Civil War Negro music ("Sinful Tunes and Spirituals") turned up
very little. Interviews for the Slave Narrative may contain some information on
the party songs, but too few of the interviewers were interested in music.
There are tantalizing remarks in the few I looked at. The former slave will say
something like "We used to sing a song about..." but the interviewer
will push on to another topic. One of the few was found by Katlaughing (Go tell
Aunt Rhoda variant).
One interesting verse in Epstein:
Hurra for good ole Massa,
He give me de pass to go to the city.
Hurra for good ole Missus,
She bile de pot and gie me de licker.
Hurra, I'm goin' to de city.
If there was a minstrel troupe in town, slaves on a pass
would pick up the songs and make them their own. As pre-Civil War references
show, the slaves were sometimes made to sing and entertain the master and his
guests. Unfortunately, there are very few references to song content.
Slaves from different plantations would meet briefly and
pass on all sorts of information while carrying out tasks for the master
(freighting supplies, taking produce and materials to the mills, etc.). Songs
and jokes would certainly be included in the gossip."
****
11.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 16 Oct 02 - 12:42 AM
"TWO MORE EXAMPLES:
1. Yaller Gal with a Josey on, The Baltimore: F. D. Benteen, 1849. As sung by Nightingale Ethiopian Serenaders
I see'd a dashing yaller gal,
One day upon the levee,
Her form was round her step was light
But wa'nt her bustle heavy!
She cast a tender glance on me,
And my heart was gone Oh!
She was the taring yaller gal,
That had a josey on,
Chorus: Oh yes, we all remember her
She used to hoe the corn,
She's the dashing yaller gal
That had a Josey on.
2. From Bert Mayfield was born in Garrard County, May 29, 1852, two miles south of Bryantsville on Smith Stones place.
Who's been here since I've been gone?
A pretty girl with a josey on.
-Richie"
****
12.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 16 Oct 02 - 07:46 AM
"Here are some of my notes from Warner's web-site on tom P.
Smith (Joe's last post):
HEY, GET ALONG JOSIE. (Git Along Josie) Tom Smith, b. Guyandotte, W. VA. NYC, 1952. Damon calls the song "Jim Along Josie", and says it was written by New York minstrel-performer Edward Harper in 1838. Frank Warner remembered the song from his childhood in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Tom Smith was a dignified gentleman and a neighbor in
Greenwich Village. Mr. Smith had grown up in the 1890's in Huntington, West
Virginia, which had been a stop on the road for those headed west in the
nineteenth century. His father had learned songs from a mountain woman hired to
sew for the family and his mother's family had brought many English songs to
Virginia. Mr. Smith learned songs from African-Americans in town and minstrel
era songs too. He was also a polished storyteller and a grand talker.
Peggy And Mike Seeger have a version on American Folk Songs
for Children, Rounder. Anyone have those lyrics?
-Richie"
****
13.
Subject: Lyr Add: JIM ALONG JOSIE (Oklahoma versin)
From: masato sakurai
Date: 16 Oct 02 - 08:53 AM
"Peggy and Mike's version is from Ruth Crawford Seeger's
American Folk Songs for Children (Doubleday, 1948, pp. 72-75; with music):
JIM ALONG JOSIE
(OKLAHOMA)
1. Hey jim along, jim along Josie,
Hey jim along, jim along Jo.
Hey jim along, jim along Josie,
Hey jim along, jim along Jo.
2. Walk jim along, jim along Josie,
Walk jim along, jim along Jo. (Repeat)
3. Hop jim along, jim along Josie,
Hop jim along, jim along Jo.
IMPROVISATION and RHYTHMIC PLAY: Josie may have thoughts or
motions other than those in the traditional yext given above.
4. Run, jim along, jim along Josie, etc.
5. Jump, jim along, jim along Josie, etc.
6. Tiptoe along, jim along Josie, etc.
7. Crawl along, jim along, jim along Josie, etc.
8. Swing along, sing along, jim along Josie, etc.
9. Roll, jim along, jim along Josie, etc.
An invitation is sometimes appreciated:
Let's go walking, jim along Josie, etc.
Let's go running, jim along Josie, etc.
Let's sit down now, jim along Josie, etc.
For rhythmic play the music should be repeated many times
without stopping. The words will probably be sung only once, or not at all.
ACCOMPANIMENT: Speed and type of accompaniment may be
adapted to the various rhythmic activities. The sample variations which follow
are suggestions only. Do not use them if you can make your own. In all of them
the chordal basis is the same.
The simple dance-song Jim Along Josie is said to be based on
an old minstrel song. It is widely known, especially as a game or play-party
song. In some versions Josie appears to be the dance itself:
Hold my mule while I dance Josie.
In a very old one, still sung, "Josie" is something to wear:
Who's been here since I been gone?
Pretty little girl with a josey on.
"Hey jim along" is also sung "Hey get along," "Hi come along," "Hey jam along," "Come-a-get along," "Come-a-high, jim along."
~Masato"
****
Subject: Lyr Add: JIM-ALONG JOSIE (from Vance Randolph)
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Oct 02 - 01:25 PM
"A few late-collected verses from Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, vol. 3 (revision) pp. 385-386.
Had an old horse, his name was Ball,
Hitched him up but he wouldn't pull at all.
Cho.
Hey jim-along, jim-along Josie,
Hey, jim-along, jim-along Jo.
Swung my hick'ry an' Ball he sprung
We bid fare-thee-well to the wagon tongue.
Fire in the mountain, fun, boys, fun,
Cat's in the cream jug, run, gals, run.
Hogs in the 'tater patch, that I know,
Cows in the cornfield told me so.
First to the white house, then to the jail,
Tore my pants on a rusty nail.
Old dog Towser standin' on the gate,
Smelled meat a-fryin' an' he said he couldn't wait.
1926, Mrs Elizabeth Typer, Arkansas.
Ducks in the mill pond, geese in the clover,
Tell them pretty gals I'm a-comin' over.
How you gittin' 'long, gittin' 'long, Josie?
How you gittin' 'long, gittin' 'long, Jo?
1928, Clyde Sharp, MO"
****
14.
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 16 Oct 02 - 11:15 PM
"Turtle Old Man-
Here are some thoughts about the meaning of the title, "Jim Along Josey."
In the title "Jim Along Josey" the word- Josey, is used as a name (could be a man's or woman's name) The word "Josey" is an African-American dance step and also a minstrel slang for a type of undergarment. The word, Jim, is not really used for a name. "Get Along Josey" could just as easily be substituted for "Jim Along Josey."
There is one version posted entitled, "Git Along Josie"
Just don't ask me what "King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O" means!
-Richie"
****
15.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 12:29 AM
Is Josey an undergarment? I believe that the word comes from
joseph, a riding cloak for a woman, and the sort of get-up that well might
appear in a minstrel show. Josephs were worn as late as the 1860s (reference to
one by George Elliot)."
****
16.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 05:55 PM
"Would still like to know what the authority is for josey being an undergarment. www.cocojams.com has that statement under Jim-along-josie, but cite no basis for that statement."
****
17.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 17 Oct 02 - 10:47 PM
That was excellent and it sure makes more sense to me.
Who is George Elliot? Do you have any other info about this?
-Richie"
18.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 02 - 03:28 PM
"Thomas Talley's Negro Folk Songs" is where
"Jim Along Josey" is found. Here, "Josie" is a girl's name
(nickname for Josephine?). This predates blackface minstrels. I also recall
songs that mentioned a girl with a "josey" on or taking off her
josey. Your definition is probably the correct one. Mine was a guess. I
appreciate the information and I'll write you back with the sources for these
songs and will do other research because I saw josey as clothing mentioned in
some book about word origins.
I'll check it out, and thanks for contacting. It was my hope
that this kind of exchange would occur as a result of the site. Sorry that I
haven't had the funding to continue putting new examples on. I don't know HTML
and haven't been able to recruit someone to assist me with this project."
I will email back and point out the many threads here at
Mudcat, and a little on how to access them. The email address she(?) provided
is azizip17@hotmail.com.
I couldn't find "Jim Along Josey" in Talley's
Negro Folk Rhymes (1990 ed.). There may be another book called Negro Folk
Songs.
Ian, obviously I don't know much about female British
authors (except for 20th century crime writers). I pulled my remarks off
Google. She came up because she made the latest reference to a joseph that I
could find. I was interested in how long that name was used for that kind of
cloak and found her quote in the OED."
****
19.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 19 Oct 02 - 11:44 PM
Oh! When I get dat new coat I expects to hab soon,
Likewise new pair tight-kneed trousaloon,
Den I walk up and down Broadway wid my Suzanna,
And the white folks will take me to be Santa Anna.
Thanks to all who have contributed."
****
20.
From: GUEST,Azizi
Date: 25 Jul 04 - 12:35 AM
Firstly, I wrote that Jim Along Josey is included in Thomas Talley's 1922 Negro Folk Rhymes. I was mistaken. The versions I was speaking of are found in Dorothy Scarborough's 1925 book on the Trail Of Negro Folk Songs. That Folklore Associates' edition of Scarborough's book, published in 1963 has three different versions of Jim Along Josie {pps 104-106), one called Jim Along, Josey, one called Hold My Mule, and one that Scarborough notes is "a variant of the Josey song".
I also said that a josey was a woman's undergarment. I was wrong. As someone wrote in this thread or another, "Josey" is a woman's coat. See John Russell Bartlett, The Dictionary of Americanisms: New York Crescent Books, originally published 1849. "Joseph, a very old riding coat for women, scarcely now to be seen or heard of-Forby's Vocabulary. A garment made of Scotch plaid, for an outside coat or habit, was wornin New England about the year 1830, called a Joseph by some a Josey.
Olivia was drawn
as an Amazon, sitting upon a bank of
flowers, dressed
in a green Joseph.-Godsmith, Vicar of Wakefield .
I still believe that is "Josey" was
{sometimes}used as dance name. See the lines "Hold my mule while I dance
Josey
Hold my mule
while I dance Josey
Hold my mule
while I dance Josey
Oh, Miss Susan
Brown."
The other two verses given are: "Wouldn't give a nickel
if I couldn't dance Josey". and "Had a glass of buttermilk and I
danced Josey".
However it may be possible that an earlier name for the
"Josey" dance was "Jim Along, Josey." In that case
"Jim Along" probably was the equivalent of the phrase "Get
a-long", which Scarborough uses in the chorus of this song "Hey, get
a-long, get a-long, Josey
Hey, get a-long, Jim a-long, Jo!
Hey, get a-long, get a-long Josey,
Hey, get a-long, Jim a-long Jo!
I find it interesting that Scarborough consistently uses a
comma in the title and "Jim Along" lines. This may reinforce the
notion that "Jim Along" means the same thing as "Get
along". But sometimes a word may have multiple meanings in the same song
perhaps because the lines are mixed and matched by different people, and often
the song changes over time and space. So the 3rd verse of Scarborough's first
version of "Jim Along, Josey" reads
Away down south, a long
ways off
A
bullfrog died wid de whooping-cough
And t'other side of Mississippi, as you know
Was whar I was called fust Jim A-long Jo.
In that context, anyway, a person {one can assume a man} was
given the nickname Jim Along,Jo. Probably then his name was Joe and he got
along?? Who?? Where? How? Oh well,I'm not going to continue this speculation...
I met a Tarrepin an' a Toad.
Every time the Toad would jump,
The Tarrepin dodge behind a stump.
O! rall, rall Miss Dinah gal,
O! do come along, my darling!
O! rall, rall, Miss Dinah gal,
O! do come along, my darling!
My ole Missis promise me
When she died she'd set me free'
Now ole Missis dead an' gone,
She lef' olde Sambo hillin' up corn.
Hey, Jim a-long, Jam a-long a-Josie,
Hey, Jim a-long, Jam a-long, Joe!
Hey, Jim a-long, Jam a-long, from Baltimo'!
You go round an' I go through
.......................
You get there befo' i do,
Tell 'em all I'm comin' too.
Hey, Jim a-long, Jam a-long, Josie
Hey, Jim a-long, Jam a-long, Joe!
Hey, Jim a-long, Jam a-long, from Baltimo'
--
It should be noted that "You get there before I do,
tell my friends I'm coming to" is a floating verse found in a number of
African American spirituals.
Also, let me take this opportunity to thank you for the interesting information and often insightful comments found on this website!
Ms. Azizi Powell"
21.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: Joybell
Date: 13 Sep 06 - 07:56 AM
"Sam Cowell - the great Sam Cowell said he wrote Jim Along Josie. He claimed to have written lots of songs that he didn't though. He did, however grow up singing with Black Americans. He was born in 1820 and left America in 1840. Nothing conclusive there but a piece of the puzzle.
Cheers, Joy"
22.
Subject: RE: Jim Along Josie: lyrics and origin
From: Billy Weeks
Date: 13 Sep 06 - 11:53 AM
A collection of minstrel songs published by Turner & Fisher (NY and Philadelphia) about 1840, entitled 'Jim Along Josey Roarer, an entire new collection of negro songs' (running title 'Nigga Songs') testifies to the popularity of JAJ at that time. The title page decoration is of a dancing, barefoot figure in what may be sailor attire. It has all the characteristics of contemporary caricatures of African Americans.
Publishers and performers of early minstrel songs seemed to be happy to blur the origins of their material until such time as primacy and profit became serious issues. Harper, like Cowell claimed JAJ, and no doubt they and other minstrels did invent songs in the genre. I can't myself believe that that genre itself sprang into existence in the 1830s without drawing heavily from African American sources and pre-existing songs. But..."
23.
Subject: RE: Origin: Jim Along Josey / Jim Along Josie
From: GUEST,Gibb
Date: 02 Mar 09 - 11:05 PM
"I've recently come across a reference to another possible relative of "Jim Along Josey"; thought I'd plug it into this old thread if that's OK.
Well, "Haul Away Joe"/"Haul Away for Rosie" is one of the best known chanteys. I'd never felt that much one way or the other what its source might be. Anyway, JG Jewell, in AMONG OUR SAILORS (1974), wrote about sailor "songs"--apparently, although we do have references back to the 1850s (about events of 1840s), the term "chantey" was not in so wide a use yet. He writes:
"When hauling taut the weather main-brace they sing a perversion of the old negro melody, "Hey Jim along, Jim along, Josey!" but the sailors put it—
"Way, haul away—haul away, Josey—
Way, haul away—haul away, Joe!"
Gibb"
****
24.
Subject: RE: Origin: Jim Along Josey / Jim Along Josie
From: Azizi
Date: 03 Mar 09 - 09:07 AM
"
**
With that said for the record, I'll add another post to this
thread with my thoughts about the name "Josie" and other comments
about some phrases found in a previously posted example of this dance song."
****
25.
Subject: RE: Origin: Jim Along Josey / Jim Along Josie
From: Azizi
Date: 03 Mar 09 - 09:35 AM
" "Way, haul away—haul away, Josey—
Way, haul away—haul away, Joe!"
It occured to me when I read Guest Gibs post that I know a woman whose name is "Josie". "Josie" used to be a far more common nickname for Josephine than it is now, probably because the name "Josephine" is rarely given now). As it happens, this African American woman's given name is "Josie" and not "Josephine".
But this thought made me wonder about the name
"Josey" as a personal name for a man as found in that old dance song.
In particular, I thought of how a non-Spanish speaking person might pronouce
tghe name "Jose" as "Joe-see". Given that some crews came
from the Caribbean, has the Spanish language influence on chantey songs-and on
other African American/Black Caribbean dance songs been identified?"...
****
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=52464&messages=60&page=2
26.
Subject: RE: Origin: Jim Along Josey / Jim Along Josie
From: GUEST,Gibb
Date: 03 Mar 09 - 10:39 PM
You wrote:
"But this thought made me wonder about the name "Josey" as a personal name for a man as found in that old dance song. In particular, I thought of how a non-Spanish speaking person might pronouce tghe name "Jose" as "Joe-see". Given that some crews came from the Caribbean, has the Spanish language influence on chantey songs-and on other African American/Black Caribbean dance songs been identified?"
The thing about chanteys if that, more often than not, their
lyrics have nothing to do with the sea! In this case, I see no reason to search
for a sea origin of "Josie" since we already have the (hypothesized)
pre-chantey origin: "Jim Along Josey." Trying not to exaggerate too
much, it seems like half the chanteys were made this way, taking stock, catchy,
rhythmic phrases from pop tunes of the day, play songs, older work songs, folk
rhymes, and jusr adapting them. To respond to your question though, I don't
know of any significant influence of Spanish language on chanteys. As far as a
Spanish influence on Black Caribbean dance songs, that is a pretty huge topic,
but I think the answer is yes...with qualification. One would have to say where
they are drawing lines at "Spanish." Much of the Caribbean dance
music shares a common rhythmic sensibility. Stuff you might associate as
"Cuban" (and therefore Spanish?) is shared with Jamaican music, for
example. The burning question is, why are they similar? Is it because they
share a common sensibility back from African music, or is it more recent
cross-pollination? Anyways...
Back on topic...kinda....if Jim Along Josie and Haul Away
Joe are relatives, that adds some pretty strong irony to our present conundrum.
In this light, the use of "Haul Away Joe" on the slave ship in
"Roots" is pretty absurd. And due to the Clancy Brothers' schtick,
people strongly associate the chantey with the Irish (that's not to say
chanteys can't have multiple associations/resonances, and Irish sailors did
sing it) -- when I was searching for a thread for "Haul Away Joe," I
came across one post where the person said he couldn't stand to hear that
chantey sung with an American accent!
Gibb"
****
27.
Subject: RE: Origin: Jim Along Josey / Jim Along Josie
From: Azizi
Date: 04 Mar 09 - 12:59 AM
I appreciate learning that information about shanteys.
I often wondered why "Haul Away, Joe" was used in
Roots as opposed to some other song. I suppose it was used because it was
already relatively well known, though I wonder how many people knew that it was
a shanty. When I watched Roots, I didn't know that term-actually I knew it in
the context of huts but didn't know it in the context of songs. :o)
It's good to learn something new.
Best wishes,
Azizi"
****
28.
Subject: RE: Origin: Jim Along Josey / Jim Along Josie
From: GUEST,Gibb
Date: 04 Mar 09 - 10:15 AM
Visitor comments are welcome.
