Music Together,
"Mr. Rabbit" is a trickster who doesn’t care if his ears are too long. He teaches everyone to love their differences---and to let their souls shine, shine, shine.
-snip-
This is one lesson this song teaches. Read the Information section in this pancocojams post.
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcase three YouTube examples of the African American originated song "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit (every little soul must shine)."
This post also includes some lyrics, information, and comments about this song.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, socio-cultural, and entertainment purposes. The showcase YouTube examples along with the information that is included in this post document a few versions of "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit (Every little soul must shine.)" A number of other versions of this song can be found online and offline.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composer/s of this song. Thanks to all those who are featured in these YouTube examples, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Hat tip to Kerri Lynn Nichols, Washington State music and movement teacher using the Orff approach, for requesting information about this song.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Burl Ives - Mr Rabbit
jonjamg, Mar 23, 2013
Burl Ives sings a favourite Mr Rabbit
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #3- Caspar Babypants - Mister Rabbit
Caspar Babypants, Feb 26, 2015
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MY COMMENTS ABOUT THE SONG "MR. RABBIT MR. RABBIT"(EVERY LITTLE SOUL MUST SHINE)
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
I believe that "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit (Every little soul must shine)" is an African American originated song. Notice the word "little" in that song's refrain. That word suggests to me that children were the main population that song was composed for.
I don't think that "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit" (Every little soul must shine)" is a children's singing game because there don't appear to be any references to a singing game for "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit (Every little soul must shine)" in any books that include examples of African American children's games from the early 20th century or before then. Instead, I think that "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit" (Every little soul must shine)" is a children's song like the African American song "Did You Feed My Cow" (Yes Ma'am)".
I believe that African American adults probably sung and danced to versions of "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit" (Every little soul must shine") in the late 19th and/or the early 20th century. Notice that the Entry in this pancocojams post that is given as Information #3 below refers to this song being sung during African American "buck dancing". I don't know if it's accurate that that particular type of dancing was done to that song. However, I believe that some type of dance movements could have been performed sometimes while that song was sung before it became more widely known as a result of White American Burl Ives's 1949 record.
**
Contrary to what I've read online, I don't believe that "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit (Every little soul must shine)" is a Spiritual. Some online websites might have categorized that song as a Spiritual because some versions include the religious words "soul" and/or the words "Yes, bless God", "Yes, God", "Yes, my Lord". However, people then and now have used religious references in secular songs.
**
The word "soul" in this song means "person" (or "spirit"). The refrain "Every little soul must shine" means something like "Every person must be the very best they can be". The more a person is their best (or is doing their best), the more their soul shines.
**
The words "Every little soul must shine" has the same meaning as the words "I'm going to let it shine" in the Spiritual "This Little Light Of Mine".
**
Read comment #1 and comment #3 from Entry #2 (the Mudcat Discussion Thread) that are given below for comments about what I think the song "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit (Every Little Soul Must Shine" means.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SONG
These entries are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Entry #1
From https://www.stephengriffith.com/folksongindex/mister-rabbit/
"TITLE: Mister Rabbit
AUTHOR: unknown
CATEGORY: traditional, public domain
KEYWORDS: animal, questions, dialog
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
Mister Rabbit
In the time of enslavement, African-Americans developed a whole cycle of animal
tales whose heroes symbolized for him his problems as enslaved. The principal
figure in these tales was “Br’er Rabbit” born and bred in a briar-patch, who
could always out-smart “Br’er Fox,” his white master—out-think or, at least,
out-run him. Many of the secular dance songs of the enslaved concerned “Old Mr.
Rabbit, whose ears was mighty long.” (Alan Lomax: Selected Writings, 1934-1997)
“…
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Entry #2
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=72476
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mr. Rabbit
From: MMario
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 02:23 PM
“Mister Rabbit” Game Song
Call: “Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your ears are mighty long!”
Response: “Yes, my
Lord, they put on wrong.”
Group: Every
little soul must shine, shine, shine
Every little soul must shine!
Call:
“Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, you’re in my cabbage patch!
Response: “Yes, my
Lord, I won’t come back”.
Group: Every
little soul must shine, shine, shine
Every little soul must shine!
Call: “Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your
tail’s mighty white.”
Response: “Yes, my
Lord, I’m goin’ out of sight.”
Group: Every
little soul must shine, shine, shine
Every little soul must shine!
Although “Mister Rabbit” is included in several older books
on American folk songs, its African American origin is rarely noted. The song is also rarely written in a call
& response style. Yet, I think that
this style fits it best. This story song
is about a rabbit who is caught by in a farmer’s vegetable garden. How does he explain what he is doing
there? How quickly can he think up
responses to the farmer’s comments? This
song is one of several rabbit songs that used to be very well known among
African American children. However, few
African American children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (or I would imagine any
other urban area) know this song now.
Most urban children may have never seen a rabbit besides the Easter
bunny or in the petting zoo. Few urban
children know what a cabbage patch is.
We might be more familiar with the term “small vegetable garden”, but
that doesn’t mean that we’ve ever seen one.
When a song’s references become outdated or foreign to a population,
people are less likely to sing the song, and may eventually forget it all
together.
But, on a deeper level, this song is still relevant. I believe that “Mister Rabbit” may have been
more than entertainment. Or, to put it
another way, the type of entertainment that enslaved Africans taught their
children also helped them develop the survival skill of being mentally alert
and knowing how to talk their way out of trouble. Given the oppressive nature of slavery and
post slavery societies, being able to talk your way out of trouble was
sometimes a matter of life and death.
“Thinking fast on your feet” was certainly a survival skill that
enslaved people needed and it is still needed today."
-snip-
Notice that that MMario's post mentions African American children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I'm African American and African American children were the population that I collected rhymes and singing games from. Also, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the city where I still live.
I didn't join Mudcat discussion thread until 2004. However, I distinctly remember writing that explanation about "Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit" which MMario quoted without any attribution. I published that song explanation (if not the lyrics) between January 2001 and 2004 in a post about this song that I wrote on my now deactivated cocojams website. I voluntarily cocojams.com deactivated October 2014 and don't have a copy of that post.
Furthermore, notice that I referred to that cocojams post in my August 18, 2004 Mudcat post given directly below.
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From: GUEST,KentuckyPat
Date: 15 Oct 03 - 09:35 PM
In the 1940s, Ruth Crawford Seeger worked on transcribing
many American folk songs. "Mister Rabbit" made an appearance in her
book "Animal Folk Songs for Children," but she credited it to earlier
sources: Harvard University Press: "Mister Rabbit" (st.5); Library of
Congress,Archive of American Folk Song (AAFS) 3044 B1, On the trail of Negro
Folk Songs, Dorothy Scarborough, copyright 1925."
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From: GUEST,Azizi
Date: 18 Aug 04 - 04:00 PM
The first example of "Every Little Soul
Must Shine" is from my Cocojams website and I stand by the comments that I
made two years ago"....
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Entry #3
From https://terrys-songs.net/mister-rabbit
"Mister Rabbit
Posted on 2013-03-10
Mister Rabbit is an African-American buck dance tune from
the American South. It was published in the Lomax's "Best Loved American
Folk Songs (Folk Song USA)" with this musical arrngement by Ruth Crawford
Seeger. The best known recording is, of course, by Burl Ives. I've included
some verses from other sources. The banjo arrangement is mine and is a mishmask
of old time three finger styles.
Lyrics
Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, you’re in my cabbage patch!
Yes, bless God, I won’t come back
Every little soul must shine and shine
Every little soul must shine and shine
Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your ears mighty long.
Yes, bless God, been put on wrong.
Every . . .
Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, You're looking mighty thin
Yes, bless God, been a-cuttin' through the wind
Every . . .
Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your coat's mighty grey.
Yes, bless God, it’s made that way.
Every . . .
Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your eyes are mighty red
Yes, bless God, I’m almost dead
Every . . .
Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your tail's mighty white.
Yes, bless God, been gittin' outa sight.
Every . . ."
-snip-
Here's some information about the African American originated non- religious (secular) "buck dancing" from https://www.ncpedia.org/buck-dancing
"Buck dancing is a folk dance that originated among African
Americans during the era of slavery. It was largely associated with the North
Carolina Piedmont and, later, with the blues. The original buck dance, or
"buck and wing," referred to a specific step performed by solo
dancers, usually men; today the term encompasses a broad variety of
improvisational dance steps."....
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