Since 2006 I've collected a lot of online examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (with that title or with similar titles) and I've showcased many of those examples in various pancocojams posts.
In addition, a number of readers of those pancocojams posts have shared their examples of the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes in the comment sections of those posts. The links to two of those pancocojams posts are given in the Addendum to this post.
Most if not all of the examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that I've come across are from the early 2000s to around 2015.
For the folkloric record, I'm interested in answering the questions "Were "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes chanted in the United States & elsewhere after 2015 and are they still being chanted in 2026?
Please share examples of and information about "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that were chanted since 2015 in this pancocojams post's comment section.
I'm interested in documenting the words to those rhymes and I'm also interested in documenting demographic information about those rhymes.
By "demographic information" I mean - when (year that those rhymes were last chanted)
-where (city/state (or nation if outside of the USA
and
-who (race/ethnicity, ages, and genders of people chanting this example),
I'm also interested in documenting how these rhymes were performed (for instance, if that rhyme is/was chanted while doing a partner hand clap routine or a group elimination hand slap routine.
Please add to the folkloric record by sharing the example of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that you chanted between 2015 and/or in 2026 in the comment section of this pancocojams post.
Please remember to include your demographic information with the words for that rhyme.
Thanks!
**** ADDENDUM- TWO LINKS TO PANCOCOJAMS POSTS ABOUT "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY" RHYMES Part I of Some Examples Of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes With Geographic Locations:Mudcat (A - J)
Soul Train Line O'Jays Love Train.flv, jimmieskaggs, Nov 12, 2010
Soul Train Line to the O'Jays Love Train -snip- I don't know what year this was filmed. If you know, please share it in the comment section below. Thanks!
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents seven YouTube videos of 1970s episodes of the Soul Train television series.
I arbitrarily selected all of these videos and the ones whose filming dates have been identified are from 1971 to 1974.
I'm particularly interested in showcasing the types of afro hair styles and other hair styles that were worn by that show's producer/host Don Cornelius, its teenage dancers, and some of its guest artists.
These videos also focus on the dances that were performed by those teenagers and the clothes that they and some of Soul Train's guest artists wore.
The summary for Showcase video #2 presents some information about Soul Train.
The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Don Cornelius, and all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks to the artists whose music is featured in these showcase videos and thanks to all the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
**** ADDITIONAL SHOWCASE VIDEOS These videos and showcase video #1 aren't given in chronological order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Soul Train Line 1974 (Earth, Wind & Fire - Mighty Mighty)
MyRhythmNSoul TV, Jun 6, 2014
A "Soul Train Line," takes place when all the
dancers form two lines with a space in the middle for dancers to strut down and
dance in consecutive order. Originally, this consisted of a couple—with men on
one side and women on the other. In later years, men and women had their own
individual lineups. Sometimes, new dance styles or moves were featured or
introduced by particular dancers. In addition, there was an in-studio group of
dancers who danced along to the music as it was being performed. Rosie Perez,
Damita Jo Freeman, Darnell Williams, Carmen Electra, Nick Cannon, MC Hammer,
Jermaine Stewart, Fred "Rerun" Berry, Laurieann Gibson, Pebbles, and
NFL legend Walter Payton were among those who got noticed dancing on the
program over the years. Two former dancers, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel,
enjoyed years of success as members of the R&B group Shalamar after they
were chosen by Soul Train talent booker/record promoter Dick Griffey and
Cornelius to replace the group's original session singers in 1978.
Soul Train is an American musical variety television
program, which aired in syndication from 1971 until 2006. In its 35-year
history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop
artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared. The
series was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first host and
executive producer.
Production was suspended following the 2005--06 season, with
a rerun package (known as The Best of Soul Train) airing for two years
subsequently. As a nod to Soul Train's longevity, the show's opening sequence
(during later seasons) contained a claim that it was the "longest-running
first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history," with over
1,100 episodes produced from the show's debut through the 2005-06 season.
Despite the production hiatus, Soul Train will continue to hold this honor until
at least 2016, if and when its nearest competitor, Entertainment Tonight,
completes its 35th season. (If ET does not complete a 35th season, Wheel of
Fortune would pass in 2018 if it continues to air.) -snip- From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Train "Soul Train is an American musical variety television
show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, the
popular series then aired nationally in syndication from October 2, 1971, to
March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured
performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series was created by
Don Cornelius, who also served as its first and longest-serving host and
executive producer."...
This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series about the pre-American Civil War banjo tune and folk song that is known as "The Pateroller Song".This tune/song is also known as "Pateroller", "Run Ni-ger* Run", "Run Jimmy Run" and similar titles.
This post presents some historical information about slave patrols in the United States south pre-Civil War and after the Civil War. In addition to two other online sources, this post includes an excerpt from the Thom Hartmann show in which he discusses the history of slave patrols in rge pre-Civil War south and the concept of a "well regulated militia" in the United States.
The Addendum to this post presents two comments that I wrote in 2007 on a Mudcat folk music discussion thread about the "The Pateroller Song".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-pateroller-song-and-run-ni-ger-run.html for Part I of this two part pancocojams series. That post presents a YouTube sound file of "The Pateroller Song" along with brief information about the banjo player Hobet Smith who recoded that tune. This post also presents some comments about and lyric examples of "The Pateroller Song".
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE I'm an African American who despises the referent that is sometimes referred to now as "the n word". Because I despise that word, I don't use it and I always use an amended spelling for it in any writing that I do, including when I'm quoting other people.
I'm publishing this series for historical, folkloric, socio-cultural, and educational purposes and I definitely don't promote singing "The Pateroller Song" (also known as "Run Ni-ger" Run") for entertainment purposes.
**** SOME HISTORICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SLAVE PATROLS IN THE UNITED STATES Online Source #1 This write-up is the result of my February 4, 2026 question on Google search regarding the history of slave patrols in the United States.
"AI Overview
Slave patrols in the Antebellum South were armed, organized
groups of white citizens who monitored, captured, and disciplined enslaved
people, often using brutal violence. Operating as a "transition" type
of policing, they enforced slave codes, managed runaway attempts, and were
considered a civic duty or hired for pay. Originating in South Carolina (1704),
they became common across the South.
Key Details About Slave Patrols:
Purpose: They were designed to prevent slave uprisings,
manage the movement of enslaved people via pass systems, and capture those
attempting to escape.
Organization: Patrols were usually authorized by local
governments and often consisted of 3–5 men, sometimes including slave owners or
their agents.
Methods: Patrollers were frequently mounted and armed,
utilizing whips and guns to enforce their authority, often acting as a form of
racial control.
Legacy: Historians have linked the brutal practices of slave
patrols to post-Civil War vigilantism and the, according to Harvard University
Press, rise of the Ku Klux Klan.
Terminology: Also referred to as "patterrollers,"
"pattyrollers," or "paddy rollers," these groups were a
staple of the social control mechanism in slave-holding states.
**** Online Source #2 From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_patrol [retrieved February 4, 2026 ".Slave patrols—also known as patrollers, patterrollers,
pattyrollers, or paddy rollers[1]—were organized groups of armed men who
monitored and disciplined enslaved people in slave states in the U.S. during
the Antebellum South. The slave patrols' function was to police slaves,
especially those who escaped or were viewed as defiant. They also formed river
patrols to prevent escape by boat.
Slave patrols were first established in South Carolina in
1704 and the idea spread throughout the thirteen colonies before the abolition
of slavery following the Civil War.
Formation of Slave Patrols
Slave patrols first began in South Carolina in 1704 and
spread throughout the thirteen colonies, lasting well beyond the American
Revolution. As colonists enslaved more Africans and the population of enslaved
people in South Carolina grew, especially with the invention of the cotton gin,
so did the fear of slave uprisings. They developed slave patrols when other
means of slave control failed to quell enslaved people's resistance. Their
biggest concern was how to keep enslaved people on the plantations being held
against their will, since that is where enslaved populations were highest.
Initially, slave owners offered incentives to the non slave owning whites, such
as tobacco and money, to urge them to be more vigilant in the capture of
runaway slaves. When this approach failed, slave patrols were formally
established.[2] Legislators introduced laws that enlisted white people in the
regulation of enslaved people's activities and movement. Black people were
subjected to questioning, searches, and other harassment. Slaves who were
encountered without passes from their white "master" were expected to
be returned to their owners, as stated in the slave code. If caught by patrols
and returned to their masters, punishments included whippings and other physical
violence, and the threat of being placed on the auction block and sold away
from their families, an option for masters who no longer wanted to deal with
"non-compliant" slaves.[3]
State militias as patrollers
Slave owners feared gatherings held by enslaved people would
allow them to trade or steal goods, and had the potential for organizing a
revolt or rebellion. South Carolina and Virginia selected patrols from state
militias. State militia groups were also organized from among the cadets of the
Southern military academies, of The Citadel and the Virginia Military
Institute, which were founded to provide a military command structure and
discipline within the slave patrols and to detect, encounter, and crush any
organized slave meetings that might lead to revolt or rebellion.[4]
Slave codes and fugitive slave laws
[...]
The use and physical formation of slave patrols came to an
end in 1865 when the Civil War ended. This end, however, is linked to
post-Civil War groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, which continued to terrorize
and threaten the black community.[6] In South Carolina, colonists began to
write laws that constricted slaves long before slave patrols were alive and
well. Laws implemented set in motion curfews for slaves, strengthening their
militia, preventing slaves from bartering goods, and establishing the Charleston
town watch....
[...]
Patrollers' duties
Patrols enforced what were called slave codes, laws which
controlled almost every aspect of the lives of enslaved people. Slave patrols
were explicit in their design to empower the entire white population, not just
with police power but with the duty to police the comings and goings and
movements of Black people.-—"American Police", NPR.[7]
Slave patrollers had their own characteristics, duties, and
benefits, apart from slave owners and overseers. Patrollers were often equipped
with guns and whips and would exert force in order to bring slaves back to
their owners.
At times, black people developed many methods of challenging
slave patrolling, occasionally fighting back violently. The American Civil War
developed more opportunities for resistance against slave patrols and made it
easier for enslaved people to escape. Slave patrol duties started as breaking
up slave meetings.
Slave meetings included religious ones. Laws were passed,
particularly around the 1820s and 1830s, that made religious gatherings of
slaves and free blacks "unlawful assemblies." For example, Virginia
passed a law in 1819 that banned any nighttime meetings of free blacks and
slaves. South Carolina's law, by 1840, banned meetings at night for
"mental instruction or religious worship," whether whites were
present or not. In 1831, Mississippi made it unlawful for free blacks or slaves
to "preach the gospel."[8]
These slave meetings occurred on holidays, in which they
would plan revolts and uprisings. Eventually, slave patrols expanded to be
year-round, not just on holidays. Slowly, new duties and rights of patrollers
became permitted, including: "apprehending runaways, monitoring the rigid
pass requirements for Blacks traversing the countryside, breaking up large
gatherings and assemblies of blacks, visiting and searching slave quarters
randomly, inflicting impromptu punishments, and as occasion arose, suppressing
insurrections."[6]
Slave patrols consisted mostly of white citizens. Most
people in slave patrols came from working and middle-class conditions[citation
needed]. In some southern states, the militia and army served as slave patrols.
In other southern states, slave patrols came about from colonial or state
government legislation. Slave patrols typically rode on horseback in groups of
four or five, sometimes even in family groups. They often worked sun-up to
sun-down and varied their times and locations of patrol, to lower the chances
of slaves escaping. They used no special equipment. Their chief tools, instead,
were whips and intimidation.[citation needed].
Some states required every white man to arrest and chastise
any slave found away from his home without proper authorization. In colonial
South Carolina, failure to do so incurred a fine of forty shillings. Recaptured
slaves were returned to their masters. In some instances, white men encouraged
slaves to escape in order to collect rewards for catching them.[citation
needed] In some areas, killing a slave was not considered a crime by the courts
or community.[citation needed]
Slave patrollers were compensated in several ways, including
exemption from public, county, and parish taxes and fees during their terms of
service. In addition, some patrollers were paid additional sums with surplus
money.
Also, regardless of the power patrollers held, they had
limitations. For example, although whippings and beatings were permitted, a
deterrent also existed. This was that, if whipped or beaten too severely, the
slave was then of no use to their masters as laborers the next day. As a
consequence, overly-brutal patrollers could expect retaliation from slave
owners.[2]"
**** AN EXCERPT ABOUT SLAVE PATROLS AND "A WELL REGULATED MILITIA" FROM A THOM HARTMANN VLOG From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljB8im9TdHU "Trump BETRAYS MAGA In BRUTAL Reversal", "Really American And Thom Hartman Show, Feb. 3, 2026
[This excerpt is from that video's auto-generated transcript from 2:33- to 4:04]
..."The Second Amendment does not say what modern gun culture claims it says. It does not describe an unlimited individual right to own weapons. It does not authorize citizens to arm themselves against their own government. And there's no evidence, none, that the founders intended that interpretation. I wrote a whole book about this, "The Hidden History Of Guns" and the second amendment. What the second amendment actually refers to is well- regulated militias.
And that phrase mattered a lot in the late 18th century. In the north, militias were about local defense in a young nation with no standing army. But in the south, militias served a very different and very dark purpose. They enforced slavery. They hunted escaped human beings. They intimidated abolitionists. They were quite literally slave patrols.
This is not speculation. This is documented history. And it's one of the primary reasons southern states insisted on the Second Amendment in the first place. to preserve state controlled armed forces capable of maintaining racial and economic order. The idea was that the second amendment was written so individuals could overthrow a tyrannical government. That's a much later invention. It doesn't appear in the federalist papers. It doesn't appear in constitutional debates and it was not recognized by courts for most of American history. That narrative was constructed in the 20th century, promoted by the gun lobby and the huge gun manufacturers and embraced by politicians who benefit from fear, grievance and division.”…
**** ADDENDUM - MY COMMENTS FROM A 2007 MUDCAT FOLK MUSIC DISCUSSION THREAD ON "THE PATEROLLER SONG" (ALSO KNOWN AS "RUN NI-GER RUN")
Pancocojams Editor's Note February 4, 2026 I wrote these two comments in 2007 early on in the period of seven years when I was a very active member of Mudcat, the online international folk music forum. These comments refers to the title of that discussion thread and refers to all of the posts [comments] in that discussion thread that use the fully spelled out "n word".
In my comments I also referred to the original poster in that discussion thread, Sule Greg Wilson. Readers of that post- and this pancocojams post-may be interested in knowing that Sule Greg Wilson is an African American man who used to sometimes perform banjo and old time percussive instruments with the well known music group The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
In my 2007 comment I mentioned that I had no other contact with Sule since we communicated with each other after "meeting" as a result of his posting that one time on that Mudcat discussion thread. To update that comment, Sule and I have been in sporadic online contact since 2007, but we've never met in person.
1. Origins: Run, Ni-ger, Run Subject: Lyrics: Run, Ni-ger; Run From: GUEST,Sule Greg Wilson Date: 03 Jan 01 - 10:40 PM
"Hey; I picked out the melody on my 'jo from a book. When I
asked John Jackson about the words...he just laughed; wouldn't repeat 'em. Can
anybody help? Answer @ suleness@aol.com
Originally, After the Nat Turner War, the song was by blacks
for blacks, signaling that "pattyroller'll get you" (an alternate
name, I think). The song was taken up by Euro minstrels, and made derogatory.
Thanks!"
Read the four comments from this Mudcat post in Part I of this pancocojams series. -snip- *This word is fully spelled out in that title and in most of the comments in that discussion thread. -snip- As of February 4, 2026 at 8:15 AM that "Run Ni-ger* Run" Mudcat thread has a total of 80 comments with the last comment dated 2012. This discussion thread is still open.
The first comment in that discussion thread that was published after Sule Greg Wilson's comment was written by Abby Sale, the same member of Mudcat who published the first comment on the other Mudcat thread about that song that is showcased in Part I of this pancocojams series. Here's that comment: :
Subject: RE: Lyrics: Run, Ni-ger; Run From: Abby Sale
Date: 03 Jan 01 - 11:53 PM
"Good tune & interesting song. Many titles - "Run,
Ni-ger Run," "Run, Jimmie, Run," "The Pateroller
Song," "Fire on the Mountain" (esp for the tune), "Run,
Slave, Run." Refers to escaping the patrols after Nat Turner's Revolt of
1832. See Lomax Amer. Ballads & F S, p228. Per Rinzler, also as
"Pateroller Song." Randolph published references back to 1852. Per
Lomax: from 1832 "Negroes were put under special restriction to home
quarters and patrolmen appointed to keep them in."
"Run, Jimmie, Run" and also "Fire on the
Mountain" are on the CD of Original Folkways Recordings of Doc Watson
& Clarence Ashley, Smith/Folkways & also see minstrel show skit
http://memory.loc.gov "America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song
Sheets."
**** Here are my two comments from that discussion thread:
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Run, Ni-ger, Run From: Azizi Date: 28 Apr 07 - 11:56 AM
"I admit to flinching when I saw this thread title. Upon opening this thread, the first thing that I noted was the thread starter's name.
Fwiw, Sule Greg Wilson and I grew up in the same city. Though I don't believe that I have ever met him, in 2006 Sule contacted me through my website and we exchanged emails. In one of those emails, I invited him to visit & join Mudcat. It may mean nothing at all, but after that email, I never heard from Sule again.
It's possible that Sule still reads and posts to this forum. As a result of a private message that I received, I know there is at least one other African American besides myself who post on Mudcat. That person wrote me that he or she chooses not to identify himself or herself by race. Maybe that person is Sule. Maybe not. I find it interesting that when he started this thread, Sule didn't mention his race. Also, I consider it regrettable that Sule didn't continue to respond to subsequent posts in this thread that addressed concern about the thread's title.
I believe in "different strokes for different folks", but I very much wish that other African Americans, and other Black people, and any other people of color would post on Mudcat and would consider it appropriate & worhwhile to identify themselves by race/ethnicity on threads about race as the perspectives and opinions of African Americans, Black people, people of color may be of particular interest when discussions of race & ethnicity are held.
Though there is no need for me to do so for those who know me here, for those who don't, I'll reiterate my deep seated dislike of the referent "n****r", regardless of who writes and says it. I personally refuse to say it or to spell it out.
That said, I would have been much more disconcerted if this thread just contained variant examples of that song & historical source material data about that song-as interesting reading as I found them-if there had been no discussion of whether & how historical songs with language that are considered offensive by contemporary and/or historical standards. Without that discussion, how would people reading this thread know that some people here consider that term to be-as Big Mick described it-ugly and hateful?
It's my hope that other people of color wouldn't be so turned off by that highly offensive "n word" that they would refuse to read this entire thread. I hope that other African Americans, other Black people, other people of color would not only read this thread-and other Mudcat threads on race and non-racial topics- but that they would join the discussion and start new threads on racial topics and on non-racial topics which would expand the definition of what some folks here consider to be folk music.
In my opinion, Mudcat could greatly benefit from that."
"I cut out a pertinent ending to a sentence in my previous comment. I'm posting it without attempting to make any changes to this admittedly convoluted sentence:
"That said, I would have been much more disconcerted if this thread just contained variant examples of that song & historical source material data about that song-as interesting reading as I found them-if there had been no discussion of whether & how historical songs with language that are considered offensive by contemporary and/or historical standards should be presented on Mudcat. "
****
This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.
℗ 2001 Rounder Records Manufactured and distributed by
Concord Music Group
Released on: 2001-01-01
Auto-generated by YouTube.
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about the pre-American Civil War banjo tune and folk song that is known as "The Pateroller Song". This tune/song is also known as "Pateroller", "Run Ni-ger* Run", "Run Jimmy Run" and similar titles.
This post presents a YouTube sound file of "The Pateroller Song" along with brief information about the banjo player Hobart Smith who was one of the earliest people to record that tune. This post also presents some comments about and lyric examples of "The Pateroller Song".
The Addendum to that post presents two comments that I wrote in 2007 on a Mudcat folk music discussion thread about the "The Pateroller Song".
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, socio-cultural, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composers of "The Pateroller Song". Thanks to Hobart Smith and other early musicians and singers who recorded this song. Thanks also to all the collectors of this song and all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.
**** PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE I'm an African American who despises the referent that is sometimes referred to now as "the n word". Because I despise that word, I don't use it and I always use an amended spelling for it in any writing that I do, including when I'm quoting other people.
I'm publishing this series for historical, folkloric, socio-cultural, and educational purposes and I definitely don't promote singing "The Pateroller Song" (also known as "Run Ni-ger" Run") for entertainment purposes.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT HOBART SMITH, THE BANJO PLAYER WHO IS SHOWCASED IN THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THIS PANCOCOJAMS POST From Ai Overview (This write-up is the result of my Feb. 3, 2026 question "What race was banjo player Hobart Smith?")
"Hobart Smith (1897–1965) was an American folk musician and
virtuoso from Saltville, Virginia, identified as White and Anglo-American.
While part of the white Appalachian tradition, he was heavily influenced by
African-American musicians, learning techniques from them and incorporating
their styles into his banjo, fiddle, and piano playing.
Key details about Hobart Smith:
Background: Born to Louvine and Alexander King Smith, he was
part of a musical family with roots in England.
Musical Influence: Though white, he learned techniques from
Black musicians, including Jim Spencer, and frequented segregated areas to hear
Black music.
Legacy: He is considered a key figure in Southern folk
music, recorded by Alan Lomax." -snip- Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobart_Smith for more information about this old time American musician (born May 10, 1897—died January 11, 1965).
**** INFORMATION ABOUT AND LYRICS FOR THE BANJO TUNE AND FOLK SONG "PATEROLLER" (ALSO KNOWN AS "RUN NI_GER RUN", "RUN JIMMY RUN" AND SIMILAR TITLES Online Source #1 Fromhttps://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Pateroller_Song_(The) "PATEROLLER (SONG) [2], THE. AKA and see "Pateroller'll
Catch You," "Run Boy Run," "Run Johnny Run," "Run
Ni-ger* Run," "Run Smoke Run." American, Reel and Song
Tune. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The song is reported to be about
pre-Civil War times when plantation owners hired men to patrol for runaway
slaves or slaves out after curfew without a pass. The tune was in the
repertiore of the John Lusk Band, an African-American string band from
Cumberland Plateau region of Ky./Tenn under the title "Pateroller'll Catch
You." Hobart Smith's version is similar to "Salt River (2),"
"Salt Creek," and, a bit more distantly, to "Lonesome
John." See also related tune "Rattlesnake Bit the Baby." -snip- *This word (that is now commonly referred to as "the n word") is fully spelled out in this song's title and lyrics.
**** Online Source #2 [Pancocojams Editor's Note: Iadded numbers for these comments for referencing purposes only. The "n word" is given in amended spelling in these quotes but is fully spelled out in these comments and lyrics.]
1. Subject: Lyr Add: RUN, NI-GER, RUN From: Abby Sale Date: 18 Dec 99 - 08:38 PM
"So I believe I mentioned I got the CD of Original Folkways
Recordings of Doc Watson & Clarence Ashley, from Smith/Folkways? There's an exciting song on it called
"Run, Jimmie, Run." Like many
of the well-known mountain tunes it's both familiar & hard to place. The words are difficult to make out but seem
to be one of those last remnants of a legit ballad. So I had a lookaround.
It turns out to be a travesty of a travesty of "Run,
Ni-ger, Run." That one comes in
many forms (See Jane Keefer's Index) mostly as a children's play song,
"Run, Child, Run," etc. Most
innocuous. Then we find a minstrel show
travesty when we Search http://memory.loc.gov "America Singing:
Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets" under "Run, Ni-ger, Run" with Mr
Bones singing what was probably well-known to a comic monolog. Rinzler, in the CD's notes doesn't help much
but pushes reported versions back to Ozark 1852 reports as
""Patteroller's Song." (It comes with both single or double
t's.)
Finally (for me) Lomax in Amer. Ballads & F S, p228
refers to escaping the patrols after Nat Turner's Revolt. The song & persisting base tune
"Fire on the Mountain" processed into many instrumental & comic
versions.
Virginia: Nat Turner (b1800, executed 11/11/1831) began the
only effective, sustained slave revolt in U.S. history on 8/21/1831. The rebellion created panic throughout the
white South but put an end to their myth that slaves were either contented with
their lot or too servile to mount an armed revolt. [EB] From 1832 "Negroes were put under
special restriction to home quarters and patrolmen ("patter-rollers")
appointed to keep them in." [Lomax]
Now the more political & story type (not quite balladic)
& still likely somewhat corrupt, words are clear: (they're essetially the
same as the L of C text as above.)
"'The day is done, night comes down
Ye are long ways from home--
Oh, run, ni-ger, run, patter-roller git you.
"'Yaller gal look and trine keep you overtime,
De bell done rung, overseer hallowing loud--
Oh, rull, ni-ger, run--'
"Like everything of merit it has been plagiarized and
burdened with outside inventions until it is hardly recognizable, but the
'Fire in the Mountains' still sticks."
Do, please, marster, don't ketch me,
Ketch dat ni-ger behin' dat tree;
He stole money en I stole none,
Put him in the calaboose des for fun!
Chorus: Run, ni-ger, run, de patter-roller ketch you.
Run,
ni-ger, run! it's almos' day.
De
ni-ger run, de ni-ger flew,
De
ni-ger los' his Sunday shoe.
Run,
ni-ger, run, de patter-roller ketch you.
Run,
ni-ger, run! it's almos' day.
and/or:
Chorus: Oh, run, ni-ger, run! de patter-roller ketch you.
Run,
ni-ger, run! it's almos' day.
Oh,
run, ni-ger, run! de patter-roller ketch you.
Run,
ni-ger, run! it's almos' day.
Some folks say dat a ni-ger won't steal,
But I kotch one in my corn-fiel';
He run ter de eas', he run ter de wes',
He run he head in a hornet nes'!
De sun am set, dis ni-ger am free;
De yaller gals he goes to see;
I heard a man cry, "Run, doggone you,"
Run, ni-ger, run, patter-roller ketch you.
Wid eyes wide open and head hangin' down,
Like de rabbit before de houn',
Dis ni-ger streak it for de pasture;
Ni-ger run fast, white man run faster.
And ober de fence as slick as a eel
Dis ni-ger jumped all but his heel;
De white man ketch dat fast, you see,
And tied it tight aroun' de tree.
Dis ni-ger heard dat old whip crack,
But nebber stopped fur to look back;
I started home as straight as a bee
And left my heel tied aroun' de tree.
My ol' Miss, she prommus me
Dat when she die, she set me free;
But she done dead dis many year ago,
En yer I'm hoein' de same ol' row!
I'm a-hoein' across, I'm a-hoein' aroun'
I'm a-cleanin' up some mo' new groun'.
Whar I lif' so hard, I lif' so free,
Dat my sins rise up in front er me!
But some er dese days my time will come,
I'll year dat bugle, I'll year dat drum,
I'll see dem armies a-marchin' along,
I'll lif' my head en jine der song--
I'II dine no mo' behin' dat tree,
W'en de angels flock fer to wait on me!
Polk Miller, Richmond, Virginia, who interpreted Negro songs
sucessfully on the platform, contributed these stanzas:
I run down to de ribber, but I couldn't get across,
I jumped 'pon a hog and thought he was a hoss!
As I was goin' through the fiel'
A black snake bit me 'pon my heel,
Dat serpent he did 'ceive a shock,
For de ni-ger's heel's as hard as a rock.
As I was passin' Wright's old mill,
My team got balked at de foot o' de hill.
I hollered to de driver, "Dat won't do;
I must shove an' so mus' you."
I don't know any way to post the sheet music here but as I
said, "Fire on the Mountain" is pretty rousing & surely accounts
for the persistance of the song.
I just thought you'd like to know."
Click for related song -snip- These words were added by a Mudcat moderator as a hyperlink to this Mudcat post that was begun in 2001: https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=29237 Origins: Run, N-gger*, Run" -snip- *This word is fully spelled out in that title and in most of the comments in that discussion thread.
** 2. Subject: Lyr Add: RUN, NI-GER, RUN From: Stewie Date: 19 Dec 99 - 09:19 PM
"In his note to the song in the Watson/Ashley, Rinzler
referred to the Tanner/ McMichen duo fiddling. The Skillet Lickers recorded
'Run Ni-ger Run' in 1927. This was reissued on an very early Rounder LP. In his
note to the song, Mark Wilson also points out that it was sometimes called 'The
Pateroller Song' and that it is widely known across the South as a fiddle tune,
but is most often titled 'Run Boy Run'. Snuffy Jenkins and Pappy Sherrill, for
example, recorded it under the latter title. As pointed out above, the song
dates to the slave rebellions of the 1830s when the plantation owners forbade
free association among slaves and organised patrols to catch slaves off their
plantations after curfew. Wilson agrees that 'pateroller' presumably derives
from 'patroller'. The song was quickly taken up by the earliest minstrel shows.
The Rounder note quotes a skit from 'White's Serenaders Song-Book of 1857'
which can be accessed through the link to 19th song sheets posted above by
Abby: 'De sun am set – dis ni-ger is free' etc. Supposedly the skit was
composed and sung by C.White of White's Band of Serenaders at the Melodeon
Concert Saloon, 53 Bowery, NY.
There was an earlier commerial recording than that of the
Skillet Lickers: Fiddlin' John Carson recorded it as solo piece, accompanying
himself on the fiddle, in 1924. It has different lyrics, but is along the same
lines. It has been reissued on Fiddlin' John Carson 'Complete Recorded Works
Vol II' Document DOCD – 8015.
Here is the song as sung by the Skillet Lickers – it shares
only 2 verses (the 'hornet' verse and the 'snake' verse) with the version sung
by Clint Howard on the Watson/Ashley set. Wilson points out that, for Tanner,
the song had lost its meaning because when asked what a 'pateroller' was, he
could only reply: 'A bad man, I reckon'. As Tony Russell has commented
elsewhere, like numerous post-Civil War numbers, the song is basically a
pastiche:
RUN NI_GER RUN
Chorus:
Oh run ni-ger run the pateroller will catch you
Oh run ni-ger run you better get away (x2)
Ni-ger run, ni-ger flew
Ni-ger tore himself in two
Ni-ger run, he run so fast
He stove his head in a hornet's nest
Ni-ger run, he run through the field
Black snake caught him by the heel
Some folks say a ni-ger won't steal
I caught three in my cornfield
One had a bushel, one had a peck
One had a roasted ear tied round his neck
Oh ni-ger run, ni-ger flew
What in the devil can a white man do
Hey Mr pateroller, don't catch me
Catch that ni-ger behind that tree
Verse 2 repeated
Ni-ger run, was so fast
Ni-ger he got away at last
Source: Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers 'Run
Nigger Run' Co 1518-D Recorded 28 March 1927. Reissued on Gid Tanner and His
Skillet Lickers 'Hear These New Southern Fiddle and Guitar Records!' Rounder LP
1005 "
**** 3. Subject: RE: Lyr Add: 'Run, Jimmie, Run' From: GUEST,Bud Savoie Date: 04 Feb 00 - 08:43 AM
"When I was a boy and reading Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle
Remus tales, I recall Bre'r Rabbit strutting around in one of the tales as if
he was "king ob de patterollers." A footnote gave some of the words
to the song, although no music. I have since heard versions of it from many
sources, all changing the operative word to Johnny, Jimmie, slave, chillen,
Smoke, Boy, and others. Hedy West sings "Run, Slave Run" in Vanguard
II, and the liner notes state that the existtence of this song in the lWest
family suggests a long-held sylmpathy for the slaves." -snip- [Ironically, I just noticed that the date for comment #3 is the same month and day and almost the same time as when I'm quoting that comment in this pancocojams post. I didn't plan that.]
** Here's the only other comment that is given in that Mudcat discussion thread:.
"Subject: RE: Lyr Add: 'Run, Jimmie, Run' From: Dale Rose Date: 18 Dec 99 - 09:49 PM
"Yes, I enjoyed it. I am always pleased to learn more about
the old songs. Thank You." -snip- It's likely that this commenter was referring to the instrumental version of "The Pateroller song" and not the version with the lyrics. But if he enjoyed hearing the lyrics being sung, all I can say is "different strokes for different folks".
**** This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.
