"Sophisticated Lady" Foot Stomping Cheers (examples and their R&B, Blues, & Other Influences)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- April 24, 2026

This pancocojams post presents examples of the foot stomping cheer "Sophisticated Lady".

Addendum #1 of this post presents a YouTube video example of Natalie Cole's 1976 R&B song "Sophisticated Lady" and an excerpt of the lyrics for that song.

 Addendum #2 of this post focuses on the inclusion of "number verses" in some Sophisticated Lady" foot stomping cheers and traces the inspiration for those verses to the 1934 Blues song "Kokomo Blues" and the 1936 Blues song "Sweet Home Chicago".

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the creativity of all of those who are mentioned and/or quoted in this post. Thanks to the contributors of examples of these foot stomping cheers. Thanks also to the publishers of these YouTube video or audio files.

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EXAMPLES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRLS' "SOPHISTICATED LADY" FOOT STOMPING CHEERS

SOPHISTICATED LADY (Version #1)
All -Sophisticated lady,
who rocks?
Sophisticated lady,
who rocks?

[...]
-collected by Tazi Powell, 1980s from girls at Lillian Taylor camp, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.
-snip- 
Sometime in the early 1990s* my daughter Tazi shared the beginning words and verses (soloists' lines) to a cheer called "Sophisticated Lady" that she vaguely recalled hearing other Black girls chant in the mid or late 1980s. She said that the girls might have said the word "suffocated" instead of the word "sophisticated". My daughter also vaguely remembers the girls saying something about "I got hips on me" and "you better not kiss my man" but doesn't remember how the cheer went. 

These girls attended the summer camp that my daughter also attended in 1985 or 1986. Black children from various Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhoods attended that camp. My daughter said that she and her friends (in the Pittsburgh neighborhood where we live/d) never "did" this cheer. Unfortunately, I don't have any information about the rest of that cheer and how this cheer was performed. 

*The early 1990s was when I began to formally write down the cheers that my daughter and her friends chanted as well as the cheers my daughter or I observed or audiotaped or otherwise collected.

This is the only part of this cheer that my daughter remembers. Following the usual pattern for foot stomping cheers, one girl probably gave her name or nickname and chanted other lines.

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SUFFOCATED LADY (Version #2 of "Sophisticated Lady")
Suffocated lady, Suffocated la-dy(this is said twice), then the first girl would sing
I'm a bad bad girl from a bad bad town, it take a thousand n%$%@ just to hold me down, if you don't like my apples don't you pick em (not them) off my tree cause I'm after you're lover and he's after me. (this is repeated until every girl in the circle gets her turn)

-cbwells26; (African American female, FT. Worth, TX , Tarrant), http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123&page=4, remember when”, 01-02-2001
-snip-
"Suffocated" is a folk processed for of "sophisticated"

This example has "the n word" given as an n and randomly typed symbols.

This example is an adaptation of the floating verse "If you don't like my apples [or "peaches"} don't shake my tree" that is found in a number of Blues songs.

Versions of the lines "I'm a bad bad girl from a bad bad town, it take a thousand n%$%@ just to hold me down" lines that precede that "If you don't like my apples" verse are found a number of Black children's recreational rhymes and chants (and in different genres of Black secular music). Here's an excerpt of a children's rhyme that I included in
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/06/childrens-examples-of-ah-beep-beep.html "Children's example of rhymes that include the phrase "a beep beep":
"I''m sweet, I'm kind.

I'm soul sister number nine.

Don't like my apples,

Don't shake my tree.

I'm a Castle Square Black.

Don't miss with me."

-John Langstaff and Carol Langstaff, editors: Shimmy Shimmy Coke -Ca-Pop!: A Collection Of City Children's Street Games And Rhymes (New York, Doubleday & Company, 1973, p. 57)

For more information and examples about "if you don't like my apples" songs and rhymes, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/05/partial-chronology-of-songs-with-lyrics.html for the 2024 pancocojams post entitled "Partial Chronology Of Songs With The Lyrics "If You Don't Like My Peaches, Don't Shake My Tree" (Or Similar Lyrics) & The Meanings Of Those Lyrics".

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SOPHISTICATED LADY (Version #3)
Sophisticated Lady
Sophisticated Lady, that me
Sophisticated Mama, that's you
Well, my name is _________ and I'm foxy fine
If you tip me over I will blow your mind

and that's all I remember from that one
- IHEARTWRITING, http://nothingliketheninetys.blogspot.com/2008/08/etet.html, August 3, 2008 “I Heart The 90s”
-snip-
I reformatted this example to add a space between the last line of this "cheer" and the contributor's comment.
 
This example was categorized as a hand game, but the "Well my name is" line suggests that it's actually a foot stomping cheer.

Some cheers were later performed as hand clap games (i.e. "Hollywood Swinging" and "Gigalo" to name two examples). Therefore it's possible that this version of "Sophisticated Lady" started out as a foot stomping cheer but eventually was performed as a hand clap game.

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SOPHISTICATED LADY (Version #4)
All- Sophisticated lady

Oh, that's me.
Sophisticated lady

Oh, that's me. 

Sophisticated lady,
2 4 6 3
Soloist #1 (woman in video) -Well, my name is Essie 
And I'm five foot tall
[It appears that some words that were chanted here weren't said in this video.]
If you see my man
You betta not give him a call
I got hips to party 
And I love my man  (Crosses her arms over her chest in the American Sign Language sign for Love and the Wakanda Forever gesture) 
If ya try to hurt him
[This part is faster]
I would tip ya for your body [These words are recited while the woman leans forward in an aggressive stance and hits her hands on top of each other in imitation of hitting someone else. Her daughter (?) also imitates these motions. 
???
and don't forget I'll break your hiney ["Hiney" means =butt.]  
Heeey.

All -Sophisticated lady
Oh, that's me.
Sophisticated lady
Oh, that's me.
2 4 6 3
Soloist #2 [young girl in video] -Well, my name is KK
And I'm four feet tall
If you see my man
Don't you give him a call
I got hips to party (She swivels her hips while chanting this.)
And I love my man (Crosses her arms over her chest in the American Sign Language sign for Love and the Wakanda Forever gesture) 
If you try to hurt him 
[This part is chanted faster]
I would tip ya for your body
???
and don't forget I'll break your hiney [These words are recited while the girl leans forward in an aggressive stance and hits her hands on top of each other in imitation of hitting someone else. Her mother (?) also does these motions at the same time as her daughter.]  
Heeey
-Alexander approved, May 28, 2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdY3ekZxkOw&ab_channel=AlexanderApproved  

-snip-
This is my transcription of a YouTube video of  a cheer that a Black woman and a young girl (her daughter (?) chanted. Additions and corrections are welcome.

The woman and girl clap their hand and move back and forth while chanting. They also do a lot of imitative movements to match the words that they chant.

**
The original Black Panther movie was first released in the United States on February 16, 2018. Five months later this commenter included the iconic "Wakanda forever" words and gesture from that highly successful movie in this version of the Sophisticated Lady" foot stomping cheer. 

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ADDENDUM #1- THE MAIN SOURCE FOR "SOPHISTICATED LADY" FOOT STOMPING CHEERS

Natalie Cole's 1976 song "Sophisticated Lady" is undoubtedly the source of the "Sophisticated Lady" foot stomping cheers.

Here's a 1990 video of Natalie Cole performing "Sophisticated Lady"

Natalie Cole | Sophisticated Lady | Live 1990

Black Music Archive LIVE!, Jan 31, 2022

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Here's an excerpt of the lyrics for that songthat was written by Chuck Jackson
from https://genius.com/Natalie-cole-sophisticated-lady-shes-a-different-lady-lyrics

[Chorus]

(Sophisticated lady)

Sophisticated lady, yeah

(Sophisticated lady)

Oh

(Sophisticated lady)

That's her name

That's her name

(Sophisticated lady)

Whoa, whoa

Everybody knows how she got her name

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh" ...

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ADDENDUM #2-  INSPIRATION FOR "ONE AND ONE MAKES TWO" AND SIMILAR WORDING IN SOME "SOPHISTICATED" (AND CERTAIN OTHER)  FOOT STOMPING CHEERS

The 1934 African American Blues "Kokomo Blues" is inspiration for these words and the words "One and one and one make three/you better watch your man/cause your man is watching me"  (or similar words) 

Here's a YouTube sound file of Kokomo Arnold singing that Blues song:

Old Original Kokomo Blues - Kokomo Arnold

CharlesDavidPollock, Feb 13, 2012

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Click https://genius.com/Kokomo-arnold-old-original-kokomo-blues-lyrics for the lyrics for that song. Here's the first verse of that song

"One and one is two, mama

Two and two is four

You mess around here, pretty mama

You know you got to go

Cryin', oooh, baby don't you want to go

Back to the Eleven Light City

To sweet old Kokomo"...
-snip-
"Kokomo Blues" is the precursor for Robert Johnson's 1936 Blues song "Sweet Home Chicago". 
That seminal Blues song includes two number verses:

[Verse 3]

Now one and one is two, two and two is four

I'm heavy loaded baby, I'm booked, I gotta go

Cryin', baby, honey, don't you want to go

Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago

[Verse 4]

Now two and two is four, four and two is six

You goin' keep on monkeyin' 'round here friend-boy

You goin' get your business all in a trick"...

Click https://genius.com/Robert-johnson-sweet-home-chicago-lyrics for the complete lyrics for that song.

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Historically Black Greek letter organizations changed "Kokomo Blues" and "Sweet Home Chicago" "number" lyrics to similar words such as "one and one and one make three/ you better watch your lover cause your lover's watching me". 

I've come across these lines or similar to lines in various historically Black Greek letter sororities, historically Black Greek letter fraternities, or little sister groups* chants such as those entitled "One And One And One Make Three" . Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/03/examples-of-historically-black_53.html for a list of historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities chants that include those "number" examples and similar "number" examples.

Here's an example of a "One And One And One Makes Three" chant:

 

One and one and one makes three.
You better watch your man
cause your man is watchin me.

So if you came her with your man
you better hold him tight.
Cause you damn sure better believe
He’ll be leaving here with a Q Pearl tonight.
-a member of Q Pearl, 1990s {East Coast, USA}; posted by Azizi, 12/05;
also featured in Meharry College step show video, (with the name "AKA" substituted for "Q Pearl) late 1990s; transcribed and posted by Azizi, 12/2005.
-snip-
The source of the phrase "one and one and one makes three" is the song "Kokomo Blues". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/kokomo-blues-as-source-of-beatles-lyric.html for a pancocojams post about this song, the fraternity and sorority examples, and its use in a Beatles song.
-snip-

*Little sister groups" is an informal reference for college/university groups of women who were/are? unofficially (and some would say "illegally") affiliated with one of the five historically Black Greek letter fraternities that are members of the National Pan Hellenic Council (also known as "The Divine Nine").

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DO YOU REMEMBER THE "SOPHISTICATED LADY" [or "SUFFOCATED LADY"] CHEER? 
 If so, for the folkloric record, please add the words to and information about the version of this cheer in the comment section below. Thanks!

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams. 

Visitor comments are welcome. 

Blues Guitarist Etta Baker - "Railroad Bill" (with information about Etta Baker & Information About "Railraod Bill" outlaw/folk hero and folk songssongs)

 
Appalshop Archive, Nov 2, 2021

excerpt from a concert by Etta Baker and John Jackson at Seedtime on the Cumberland 1997. Full video here: https://www.appalshoparchive.org/Deta

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents some information about African American blues guitarist Ella Baker.

This post also presents information and comments about the "Railroad Bill" songs about the African American outlaw/ folk hero. This post also presents lyrics for some "Railroad Bill" songs. 

This post is a continuation of a five part pancocojams series about Railroad Bill songs that I published in 2012. 

Here are the links to the 2012 pancocojams posts about :

https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/riley-puckett-railroad-bill-information.html
 Part I provides general information about the man known as "Railroad Bill". That post provides a sound file and lyrics to the version of this song that was recorded in 1924 by Anglo-American vocalist/musician Riley Puckett. An addendum to this post also provides notes about other verses of that song or variants of that song that were collected in the early 20th century.

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/roba-stanley-railroad-bill-information.html 
Part II provides lyrics of a 1924 version of "Railroad Bill" by Roba Stanley. Part II also provides general information about the man that was known as "Railroad Bill". Click 

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/will-bennett-railroad-bill-information.html.
Part III provides lyrics of a 1929 song by Will Bennett. This is the first version of this song that was recorded by a Black person.

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/frank-hutchison-railroad-bill.html 
Part IV provides a sound file & lyrics of this song by Frank Hutchinson. 

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/lonnie-donegan-railroad-bill-with.html
Part V provides a sound file and lyrics of this song by Lonnie Donegan, who was a prominent British Skiffle vocalist. Information about Skiffle music is also provided in that post. 

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The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Etta Baker for her musical legacy and thanks to all those who composed "Railroad Bill" songs, performed "Railroad Bill" songs, and/or  collected and wrote about "Railroad Bill" songs. Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT ETTA BAKER
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etta_Baker
"Etta Baker (March 31, 1913 – September 23, 2006) was an [African American] Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina.

[...]

Baker was first recorded in the summer of 1956, after she and her father happened across the folksinger Paul Clayton while visiting the Cone mansion, in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, near their home in Morganton. Baker's father asked Clayton to listen to his daughter playing her signature "One Dime Blues". Clayton was impressed and arrived at the Baker house with his tape recorder the next day, recording several songs.[7] Clayton recorded five solo guitar pieces by Baker, which were released as part of the 1956 album Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians, one of the first commercially released recordings of African American banjo music.[1] Baker was not monetarily compensated for these early recordings. Only after working with the Music Maker label later in life was she able to get rights back for this music.

Awards and honors

Baker received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award from the North Carolina Arts Council in 1989, a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1991,[8] and the North Carolina Award in 2003. She was nominated for several Blues Music Awards (formerly the W. C. Handy Blues Awards): in the Traditional Blues Female Artist category in 1987 and 1989, and her album Railroad Bill in the Acoustic Album category in 2000.[9] Along with her sister, Cora Phillips, she received the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society in 1982.[10]"...

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INFORMATION AND COMMENTS ABOUT "RAILROAD BILL"
These online sources are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

ONLINE SOURCE #1
From https://balladofamerica.org/railroad-bill/ "Railroad Bill: About the Song" by Matthew Sabatella [no publishing date given; retrieved February 8, 2026
" "Railroad Bill" is a blues ballad that dates to the 19th century and has been performed and recorded by many folk artists throughout the 20th century. People have conjectured that the subject of the song is an African American outlaw named Morris Slater who robbed freight trains in the 1890s. Slater's nickname was Railroad Bill. Only a few of the song's dozens of stanzas seem to refer specifically to Slater's activities. The majority of the stanzas are quite general. Was "Railroad Bill" written about Slater? Or did Slater get his nickname from what was a preexisting song, with the verses specific to him being added later?

Historical Background

Stories about Morris Slater began to surface in newspapers in 1895. Slater robbed freight trains, primarily in Alabama and western Florida along the Louisville & Nashville Railroad line. His method was to throw merchandise off moving railroad cars and pick it up later. Slater allegedly killed at least two sheriffs as they, and a succession of detectives and railroad officers, tried to apprehend him. He was shot to death in Tidmore and Ward's General Store in Atmore, Alabama, by Constable McGowan and storekeeper Bob Johns on March 7, 1897.

While most people condemned Slater's crimes, a minority of African Americans in Alabama admired him and turned him into a folk hero. Like the legend of Jesse James, they said he gave the food he stole to poor blacks. Also like the legend of Jesse James, no one has found evidence of this. Some people even attributed supernatural powers to Slater, claiming that he could change form into an animal to escape capture or that he could only be killed by a "solid silver missile."

That Slater could be viewed as a hero and a martyr is not surprising, considering the racial and economic divide in the post-Reconstruction Deep South.

Song History

The song "Railroad Bill" seems to be related to other 19th century songs of African American origin about characters named Bill, including "Roscoe Bill," "Shootin' Bill," and "Buffalo Bill." Some lyrics are shared among these songs. This type of common "floating" stanza is a characteristic of blues ballads and other types of folk songs."...

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ONLINE SOURCE #2 [This excerpt is included in Part I of the 2012 pancocojams "Railroad Bill" series whose link is given above] 
From From http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1258
"The legend of Railroad Bill arose in the winter of 1895, along the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad line in southern Alabama. Based loosely on the exploits of an African American outlaw known as "Railroad Bill," tales of his brief but action-filled career on the wrong side of the law have been preserved in song (see lyrics), fiction, and theater. He has been variously portrayed as a "Robin Hood" character, a murderous criminal, a shape shifter, and a nameless victim of the Jim Crow South. He was never conclusively identified, but L&N detectives claimed he was a man named Morris Slater, and some residents of Brewton believed him to be a man called Bill McCoy who was shot by local law enforcement.

Stories about Railroad Bill began to surface in early 1895, when an armed vagrant began riding the L&N boxcars between Flomaton and Mobile. He earned the nickname "Railroad Bill," or sometimes just "Railroad," from the trainmen who had trouble detaining the rifle-wielding hitchhiker...

Railroad Bill was a symbol of the racial and economic divide in the post-Reconstruction Deep South. During this period of increasing legal segregation in Alabama and the rest of the South, the hunt for Railroad Bill became a theatrical white supremacist saga in local newspapers. The outlaw's legacy has been passed down through generations in many cultural representations. Railroad Bill blues ballads began circulating in the early twentieth century; one was recorded by Riley Puckett and Gid Tanner in 1924. Musicologist Alan Lomax recorded a version of Railroad Bill by Payneville native Vera Ward Hall in 1939. Blues singers have used "Railroad Bill" as a stage name, and the popularity of the ballads exploded during the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s. In 1981, the Labor Theater in New York City produced the musical play Railroad Bill by C. R. Portz”."...

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ONLINE SOURCE #3
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=21456
[These comments were given in response to the question "Does anyone know the song "Railroad Bill?"...Numbers for these comments are added for referencing purposes only.
The comment that is given as #2 below is from a man who indicates that he is a great-grand child of the man who was called "Railroad Bill".

Also, I wrote the last two comments that I'm quoting from this discussion thread in 2005.]

1. Subject: Railroad Bill
From: Stewie
Date: 15 May 00- 10:17 PM

"I don't know much about it except that it was a favourite in both the black and white traditions. The Traditional Ballad Index gives its earliest date (printed or recorded) as 1927. The writer of the note for the Ballad Index rejects as 'unproven' the theory that it related to a notorious badman by the name of Morris Slater (also known as Railroad Bill) who terrorised Florida and Alabama in the 1890s. However, Stephen Calt, in his notes to 'The Late Bill Williams: Blues, Rags and Ballads' Blue Goose 2013, had no hesitation in saying that it was 'a salute to a once-notorious Alabama train robber and one of the most famous pieces in black folk tradition'. Bill Williams' recording of the song is splendid - he was first discovered and recorded in 1970 in Kentucky when he was in his 70s! In 'American Ballads and Folk Songs' the Lomaxes give a text and tune of the song from the black tradition. They assert that Railroad Bill was a completely legendary character. They point out that it is interesting that, in the song, he is captured by another black after eluding white law officers. The song has verses like: Railroad Bill mighty bad man Shoot dem light out o' de brakeman's han' It's dat bad Railroad Bill The entry in the DT refers to versions by white singers such as Cisco Houston and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. The earliest recording by a white artist was that by the great bluesman from West Virginia, Frank Hutchison. Frank recorded his version at his last recording session in 1929. It has been reissued on CD 'Old-Time Music from West Virginia' Document DOCD 8004." ** 2. Subject: RE: Help: Railroad Bill From: GUEST,C.B. Date: 22 Jan 05 - 04:34 AM "This may or may not be of interest to anyone who is wondering who Railroad Bill was. I have recently found out that I am a great grandchild of Railroad Bill. Morris Slater is Railroad Bill's real name. I do not know anything about his family origin, but I do know that he came from out West before he showed up in the Alabama/Florida area. He was bi-racial having one white parent, but I do not know which parent. He claimed to have traveled with a circus for seven years and was a performer. He was friend and traveling companion to Charlie Smith, an ex-slave from Texas. There is a book written and a movie about this Charlie Smith and his life, titled "Charlie Smith and the Fritter Tree". In this movie, Morgan Freeman portrays Railroad Bill. Morris Slater ended up living in West Florida near the Bama line. He worked in the woods as a turpentine worker. Slater met my grandmother as he roomed at her boarding house. Even though Slater was half white and light skinned, it was against the law for a "colored person" to marry a "white". Never the less, my grandfather was conceived. It is passed down to me that Morris Slater was a gentle, compassionate person with a lot of self pride. After my grandfather was born, Slater moved on in order to protect my great grandmother and her child because their relationship had been in secret. Slater was an educated man and I have learned that when he would write letters and mail them, he always painted a black bird on the envelope. Slater always carried his riffle in his pant leg where ever he went. A new sheriff came into town one day and told Slater he would have to pay money to register his gun or give it up. Slater was very poor at the time and did not have the money to pay and he also felt that he had as much right as the "white" man to carry his gun. He simply refused, saying that he had a right and did not have to register his gun. Because of this incident, the law started badgering him. Eventually, the law went after him along with a posse and the intention of taking his gun one way or another. Slater told them to just leave him alone, but they shot at him and he shot back. Afterwards, Slater had to go on the run after becoming a wanted man dead or alive. He was shot at many times and he returned fire in defense, killing a deputy. He then figured what the hey, he had nothing to lose. He began jumping freight cars, stealing the loot, food, money, whatever he could grab. He threw the food off to the poor people along the tracks and delivered food and money to poor people's doors during the night. He was known to the black and poor white communities as "Railroad Bill" and sometimes called "Wild Bill McCoy" or the "Black Robin Hood." He was a master at eluding the law. All sorts of legends grew about Railroad Bill. He was said to be able to jump a river and could jump from tree to tree. Legend has it that many times an unknown bloodhound would appear out of nowhere when the law was on track of Bill. It is said that Railroad Bill turned himself into a bloodhound and ran with the pack of hounds who were chasing himself. He could disappear at the blink of an eye. Even today local folk, especially in the African American communities, believe that the spirit of Railroad Bill still roams about and when good things happen to the poor people it is Railroad Bill still looking out for the less fortunate. I suppose after a few years of running with no hope in site, Railroad Bill became exhausted. It was about 1897 when Railroad Bill took his last walk into town one day to a local store. He purchased some cheese and crackers, ate, got up and walked out knowing what was about to happen. Several groups of men were stalking around waiting for their prey. He was shot in the back numerous times until he fell to the ground dead, gun along his side and peace at last. Sheriff McGowan of Atmore, Alabama stands tall in a photo taken of him with Railroad Bill laying dead on back of a wagon. Photo's were sold, pictures were taken along side the body for fifty cents and a person could view his remains for fifty cents. The body was on display for weeks, taken from town to town. I am sure these "Law men" and other "good citizens" were proud of their catch, not to mention a little richer to boot. I know that many legends, songs and tales were made up about Railroad Bill, most highly exaggerated. There is currently mention of a movie in progress about the legend of Railroad Bill." ** 3. Subject: RE: Help: Railroad Bill From: GUEST,Bob Coltman Date: 22 Jan 05 - 10:10 AM "Now for the best and completest version of Railroad Bill I've been able to put together from Olive Woolley Burt and from Dorothy Scarborough, both of whom were in time to catch the still existing late-1920s ballad of Railroad Bill before it became a catch-all for verse scraps like those still sung till today. For my own singing I have revised the verse order somewhat, attempting to set them up chronologically, as follows. Standin' on the corner, didn't mean no harm, Policeman grab me by my arm, Says I'm lookin' for Railroad Bill.   Talk about your bill, your ten-dollar bill, You never seen a bill like Railroad Bill,         He'll lay your poor body down.   Railroad Bill, mighty bad man, Shot them lights out the brakeman's hand,         They's lookin' for Railroad Bill.   Railroad Bill, mighty bad man, Shot all the lights off of the stand,         That bad Railroad Bill.   Railroad Bill, got no wife, Always lookin' for somebody's life, That bad…   Railroad Bill, he did not know That Jim MacMillan had a forty-fo',         Laid his poor body down.   Railroad Bill, comin' home soon, Killed MacMillan by the light of the moon, That…   Railroad Bill cut a mighty big dash, Killed MacMillan like a lightnin' flash, He'll lay your poor body down.   First on the table, next on the wall, Old corn liquor is the cause of it all, That bad…   Railroad Bill, ridin' on the train, Tryin' to act big like Cuba and Spain, That bad…   Get up, old woman, you sleepin' too late, Railroad Bill's come knockin' on your gate, That bad…   Railroad Bill, he's got sore eyes, Won't eat nothin' but apple pies, That bad…   Railroad Bill, eatin' crackers an' cheese, Long come the sheriff, chipper as you please,         Says, ain't you that Railroad Bill.   Railroad Bill, might big spo't, Shot all the buttons off the Sheriff's coat,         You bad Railroad Bill.   Sheriff he got him a special train, When he got there, was a drivin' rain, He's lookin'…   Ten policemen, all dressed in blue, Comin' down the avenue, two by two, They's lookin'…   Everybody told him, you better go back, Bill is a-comin' down the railroad track, That bad…   Ol' Culpepper went up on Number Five, Goin' bring him back, dead or alive, That bad…   Railroad Bill lyin' on the grocery floor, Got shot two times, they shot him two times more,         They shot down old Railroad Bill.   Railroad Bill said before he died, Fit all the trains so the rounders can ride,         Didn't it rain, rain, rain, rain, rain."   NOTES: For my own singing I've tended to vary the chorus as above, but the original versions stick rigidly to the refrain of "Lookin' for Railroad Bill." This makes me wonder if the song was first composed during, or immediately after, the manhunt...that would date it to c. 1897-98. Note borrowings from "Crawdad Song" and from "Natural-Born Eas'man" / "Jay Gould's Daughter" / "Casey Jones." ** 4.  Subject: RE: Help: Railroad Bill From: Azizi Date: 22 Jan 05 - 12:33 PM "Thomas W. Talley's 1922 collection "Negro Folk Rhymes" has a rhyme he calls "Wild Negro Bill" {p. 94 of Kennikat Press edition. The verses Talley presents contain the N word {represented in my post as "N---"} I'se wild N----- Bill From Redpepper Hill. I never did wo'k an' I never will   I's done killed de Boss. I'se knocked down de hoss. I'se eats up raw goose widout apple sauce!   I'se Run-a-way Bill, I knows dwy mought kill; But old Mosser hain't cotch me, an' he never will! --- Talley wrote that many of his songs were generations old..Since sneaking into railroad cars was often used by runaways, could 'Wild N--- Bill' be the source of "Railroad Bill? **** 5. Subject: RE: Help: Railroad Bill From: Azizi Date: 22 Jan 05 - 01:17 PM "In her 1925 collection 'On The Trail Of Negro Folk Songs" Dorothy Scarborough writes:  "There are various Negro versions of Railroad Bill, the best that I have found being given by Professor Odum in Journal of American Folklore. {Folklore Associates edition; page 251-252} I's Looking Fer Railroad Bill Railroad Bill mighty bad man, Shoot dem lights out o' de brakeman's hand- It's lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   Railroad Bill mighty bad man, Shoot the lamps all off the stan'- An it's lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   First on table, next on wall, Ole corn whiskey cause of it all- It's looking fer Railroad Bill.   Ole McMillan had a special train, When he got there wus a shower a rain- Wus lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   Ev'body tole him he better turn back, Railroad Bill wus goin' down the track- An it's lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   Well, the pilicemen all dressed in blue, Comin down sidewalk two by two, Wus lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   Railroad Bill he had no wife, Always lookin fer somebody's life- An it's lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   Railroad Bill was the worst ole coon Killed McMillan by the light o' the moon- It's lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   Ole Culpepper went up on Number Five, Goin' bring him back, dead or alive, Wus lookin' fer Railroad Bill.   Standin' on the corner, did n't mean no harm, Policeman grab me the arm- Wus lookin' fer Railroad Bill."   end of quote Scaborough {Odum} writes 'It's lookin' fer Railroad Bill.' but I wonder if this was a mis-hearing of "I'se lookin fer Railroad Bill".. Scaborough also includes this verse: Railroad Bill got so fine He shot a hole in a silver dime Railroad Bill, Railroad Bill Railroad Bll got sore eyes, An' won't eat nothin' apple pies.   (p. 253 Folklore Associates edition, 1963}  --- Needless to say, to African Americans of that time 'Railroad Bill' was an anti-hero, a man with attitude who didn't take no stuff, who challenged the system and won {at least for a while}.   "Coon" was used as an informal referent for African Americans by both Black Americans and others. Though it is now, then it was not necessarily a negative term. The only positive use of 'coon' that I have ever heard among African Americans {though it's very rarely used now} is the internal rhyme "ace boon coon" as in "You're my ace boon coon".  Though I don't view Wild N--- Bill/Railroad Bill as a role model for contemporary African Americans, I think it's a shame that so few of us know this folklore... Ms. Azizi" **** Thanks for visiting pancocojams. Visitor comments are welcome.

Birmingham Jubilee Singers - "Sweet Mama, Tree Top Tall" (an early 20th century "Blues" song)

CanadianFolkBlues, Published on Jun 6, 2012

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the song "Sweet Mama Tree Top Tall" by the Birmingham Jubilee Singers. Information about the Birmingham Jubilee Singers is included in this post.

This post also includes definitions of the word "jubilee" and information about the referent "Jubilee singers" as it applies to African American religious and secular singers.

Lyrics to the Birmingham Jubilee Singers' version of "Sweet Mama Tree Top Tall" are also included in this post along with my comments about the meanings of three African American Vernacular English expressions that are found in this song: "tree top tall", "turn your damper down" and "don't like my peaches, don't shake my tree".

This pancocojams post also includes an example of an African American children's rhyme that includes those lines from that song which have become a "floating verse" (i.e. words/lyrics that appear in other songs/rhymes regardless of their genre). 

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Birmingham Jubilee Singers for their musical legacy. Thanks also to those quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
-snip-
This post is largely a reprint of a pancocojams post that was published in 2013. . That 2013 post had been updated at least once in 2013.

There are no comments in the discussion thread for that YouTube sound file or for that 2013 pancocojams post.

Information about the word "Jubilee" is added to this 2025 post along with information about the Fisk Jubilee Singers, particularly regarding the fact that while Jubilee singing groups mostly performed religious music (African American Spirituals), they also performed non-religious music which can be classified as Blues.
-snip-
I'm reprinting this post (with additions) on Mother's Day 2025. Happy mother's Day to all those people regardless of their gender who have "mothered" or are "mothering" other people and/or "fur babies".

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WHAT THE WORD "JUBILEE" MEANS IN THE NAME OF THIS MUSIC GROUP AND OTHER BLACK AMERICAN MUSIC GROUPS 
The word "Jubilee" in the name of the music group "Birmingham Jubilee Singers" follows the naming custom of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Here's some information about that group from
" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisk_Jubilee_Singers
"The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spirituals, but included some songs by Stephen Foster. The original group toured along the Underground Railroad path in the United States, as well as performing in Europe. Later 19th-century groups also toured in Europe.

[…]

History
….[The music group’s name is] “in memory of the Jewish year of Jubilee."[2] This was a reference to Jubilee described in the book of Leviticus in the Bible. Each fiftieth Pentecost was followed by a "year of jubilee" in which all slaves would be set free.[3] Since most of the students at Fisk University and their families were newly freed slaves,[5] the name "Jubilee Singers" seemed fitting.

The Jubilee Singers' performances were a departure from the familiar "black minstrel" genre of white musicians performing in blackface. One early review of the group's performance was headlined "Negro Minstrelsy in Church--Novel Religious Exercise," while further reviews highlighted the fact that this group of Negro minstrels were, oddly enough, "genuine negroes."[6] "Those who have only heard the burnt cork caricatures of negro minstrelsy have not the slightest conception of what it really is," Doug Seroff quotes one review of a concert by the group as saying.[7] This was not a uniquely American response to the group's performance, but was typical in audience receptions in Europe as well: "From the first the Jubilee music was more or less of a puzzle to the critics; and even among those who sympathised with their mission there was no little difference of opinion as to the artistic merit of their entertainments. Some could not understand the reason for enjoying so thoroughly as almost everyone did these simple unpretending songs."[8]

…The original Jubilee Singers introduced slave songs to the world in 1871 and were instrumental in preserving this unique American musical tradition known today as Negro spirituals. They influenced many other troupes of jubilee singers who would go on to make their own contributions to the genre,"...
-snip-
"Negro" is an outdated referent for African Americans (Black Americans) since the 1960s. Although it was the custom for mainstream America to spelling the referent "Negro" with a lower case "n", that population protested that practice because it was offensive given the fact that the spelling for referents for all other races began with an upper case letter. That referent is sometimes informally used by African Americans (Black Americans) as a put down of a person from that population who is behaving in ways that are obsequious toward White people and/or in ways that ae against the well being of Black people (i.e. "acting like an Uncle Tom")
-snip-
Here's a sentence from AI (Google results May 11, 2025) that apparently refers to other African American Jubilee music groups such as the Birmingham singers" 
. .."While known for their spirituals, the group's [Fisk Jubilee Singers] performances and the spirituals themselves became a foundation for the development of blues, gospel, jazz, country, and rock music."

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE BIRMINGHAM JUBILEE SINGERS
From http://www.last.fm/music/Birmingham+Jubilee+Singers
"The Birmingham Jubilee Singers were an American gospel quartet from Birmingham, Alabama.

They were put together in 1926 by Charles Bridges, a native of Birmingham suburb Pratt City, who studied voice at his high school and sang with the Dolomite Jubilee Singers after graduating....

The group became Alabama’s first professional quartet when in 1926 they were discovered by a Columbia Records talent scout, and travelled from Jefferson County to record in Atlanta. They achieved nationwide popularity through their live radio broadcasts over WAPI, WVRC and WJLD.

Becoming one of Columbia’s most prolific black vocal groups, they played vaudeville stages in New York and Chicago with the likes of Ethel Waters. They played a mix of both gospel songs and secular material, performing on gospel and vaudeville stages alike.

The group disbanded in the 1930s when Dave Ausbrooks died. Their complete recorded works were reissued on two compact discs in 1995 by the Document Records label."
-snip-
Italics added to highlight this sentence which refers to the types of music that this group sang. In the mid 20th century to date (2025) African American Gospel groups don't record Blues music or almost any other type of secular (non-religious) music 

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LYRICS - SWEET MAMA TREE TOP TALL
(As sung by the Birmingham Jubilee Singers on "Birmingham Jubilee Singers: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order: Volume 1: 1926 – 1927" (Document Records, DOCD-5345):

1. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I'm goin' away sweet mama just worry you off my mind,
'Cause you keep us both worried 'bout the baby all the time.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

2. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I just got a letter from a gal in Rome.
Says she got plenty money, gonna bring it home.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

3. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I've got a gal in Georgia, two in Tennessee.
Got three in Alabama good enough for me.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

4. Hey beauty, wake up honey, I know you heard the whistle blow.
You got a few more minutes to get your clothes on; then you have to go.
Your hands are already rough and your feet are long.
... can't see what'n the world you're waitin' on.
Hey beauty, wake up honey, I know you heard the whistle blow.

5. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I'm standing on the corner with my hat in my han',
... waitin' for the woman ain't got no man.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

6. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
If you don't like my peaches, don't you shake my tree.
... let my peaches be.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
(I said) Baby, turn your damper down.
-snip-
Hat tip to Jim Dixon and Arkansas Red for this transcription.
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=24332&messages=22 "Lyr Req: Sweet Mama Tree-Top Tall (Lasses White)"

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EXPLANATION OF THE TERM "TREE TOP TALL"
"Tree top tall" is a referent for a very tall person

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[Update 11/7/2013]

EXPLANATIONS OF THE TERM "TURN YOUR DAMPER DOWN"
"Turn your damper down"
Here's an explanation of "turn your damper down" from
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=24332&messages=22
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sweet Mama Tree-Top Tall (Lasses White)
From:GUEST,Arkansas Red-Ozark Troubadour
Date: 03 Jun 13 - 01:29 PM

"From what I understand "turning a damper down" in cooking with a wood stove means to reduce the heat. So the double entendre in this song probably refers to "sweet mama" having "the hots" for other men, and spreading it around, so she is advised to keep her damper turned down and "make it hot" for her man only. This I was told by an [sic] black blues singer who probably knew more double entendres in songs than anybody. Blues are filled with double entendres. That's what makes the blues so great."
-snip-
Here's another opinion about what "turn your damper down" from that same discussion thread:

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sweet Mama Tree-Top Tall
From:GUEST,Arkie
Date: 22 Jul 05 - 10:23 AM

Having grown up in a farm house heated by a woodstove with a damper in the stovepipe, I've always taken the phrase to mean "calm down" or "don't be so intense". The phrase was sometimes used in conversation when someone had become a little overheated or excited. While I suspect that some may have conjured up sexual imagery from the phrase, in my own experience it was related to a volatile temper.
-snip-
In my opinion, that non-sexual meaning is more accurate for this Blues song. Here's another non-sexual example of "turning your damper down" that I shared on that discussion thread in 21 Jul 05 -11:19 PM

from an article about Bessie Smith*:

"Her relationships with other female singers were often stormy. Bessie did agree to record with rival, Clara Smith (no relation) a few songs of which My Man Blues portrays the two in mock competition over the same man. The following dialogue comes from that 1925 recording.22

(Bessie:) It is my man, sweet papa Charlie Gray.
(Clara:) Your man? How do you git that way?
(Bessie:) Now look here, honey, I been had that man for umpteen year.
(Clara.) Child, didn't I turn your damper down?
(Bessie.) Yes, Clara, and I've cut you every way but loose!"

*A hyperlink was given to this article, but the link is no longer active.

Here's information about wood burning stove dampers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood-burning_stove
"Keeping the air flowing correctly through a wood-burning stove is essential for safe and efficient operation of the stove. Fresh air needs to enter the wood compartment to provide oxygen fuel for the fire; as the fire burns, the smoke must be allowed to rise through the stove pipes, and exit through the chimney. To regulate air flow, there are damper devices built into the stove, flue, and stove pipes...

By opening or closing the dampers, air flow can be increased or decreased, which can fan the fire in the wood compartment, or "dampen" it by restricting airflow and reducing the flames.”
-snip-
I think that "turn your lamp down low" (in Blues songs) is a closely related expression to "turn your damper down".

Here's information about turning the flame of a kerosene lamp down low from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene_lamp
"The kerosene lamp (widely known in Britain as a paraffin lamp) is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene (British "paraffin", as distinct from paraffin wax) as a fuel...

Lighting a flat-wick lamp requires filling the fuel tank (fount) with fuel and allowing time for the wick to absorb the fuel. The wick is trimmed straight across with a pair of sharp scissors before lighting. With the glass chimney lifted off the lamp, the wick is turned up and lighted with a match or other lighter. The wick is turned down if smoke develops, and the lamp chimney lowered. After a few minutes warm-up the lamp can be turned to full brightness. Extinguishing the lamp is done by turning down the wick and blowing out the flame, or by turning the wick down below the top of the wick tube."

So, to conclude, I believe that "turn your damper down" and "turn your lamp down low"] mean "to reduce the heat you are emitting" - to "cool out" and not be "heated", "hot", "hot and bothered" or "enflamed" by someone or about something. Another of saying this is "to cease being or refrain from being irritated or angry at someone or about something."

However, at the same time or separately, both of those expressions may also have the sexual meaning whose explanation s given above.

**
[Update 11/7/2013]

EXPLANATIONS OF THE TERM "IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY PEACHES, DON'T SHAKE MY TREE
If you don't like my peaches, don't you shake my tree.
... let my peaches be" is a floating verse that is found in a number of Blues songs & other songs. "Peaches" in those Blues songs had a sexual meaning" and that line means the same thing as "If you don't like me, don't come around me looking for just sex."

This verse is also found as a taunting line in a few contemporary American children's playground rhymes and children's cheer leader cheers where it's usually given as "if you don't like my apples, don't shake my tree".

I think that most of these taunting rhymes/cheers originated with African Americans although they were/are also recited by non-African Americans. Here's one example that I cited in this discussion thread on the "don't like my apples don't shake my tree" expression http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123813

I'll BE

I'll be. be
Walking down the street,
Ten times a week.
Un-gawa. Un-gawa {baby}
This is my power.
What is the story?
What is the strike?
I said it, I meant it.
I really represent it.
Take a cool cool Black to knock me down.
Take a cool cool Black to knock me out.
I'm sweet, I'm kind.
I'm soul sister number nine.
Don't like my apples,
Don't shake my tree.
I'm a Castle Square Black
Don't mess with me.

Source: John Langstaff, Carol Langstaff, Shimmy Shimmy Coke-Ca-Pop!, A Collection of City Children's Street Games & Rhymes {Garden City, New York, Double Day & Co; p. 57; 1973)

That line's inclusion in children's cheerleader cheers is undoubtedly lifted from its use in Blues songs and/or songs from other genres, although few children reciting that line know or care about the source for that line.

The main non-sexual meaning of the "if you don't like my peaches [apples], don't shake my tree" expression is "If you don't like me, leave me alone."

The referent "Castle Square Black" probably refers to a Black person who lives in a certain neighborhood or in a certain housing project that is named "Castle Square". ("The projects" is a term that has been used in the United States since the 1950s to refer to government subsidized housing with low rents).  

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"She's My One Black, Two Black" Songs (Complete Reprint Of The 2012 Pancocojams Post About This Song)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a three part series on "She's My One Black, Two Black" songs/rhymes. These songs/rhymes have their source in the 1928 Blues song "Chocolate To The Bone".

This post is a complete reprint of the 2012 pancocojams post with the title "Examples of & Comments About The Song And Rhyme "She's My One Black, Two Black".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/11/shes-my-one-black-two-black-complete_20.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents #1-#26 of the comments that were published for that 2012 pancocojams post. Most of those comments include examples of the "She's My One Black Two Black" song.  

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/11/shes-my-one-black-two-black-songsrhymes.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post presents #27-#50 of the comments that were published for that 2012 pancocojams post. Most of those comments include examples of the "She's My One Black Two Black" song.  

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural purposes, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Barbecue Bob for the 1928 Blues song "Chocolate To The Bone". Thanks also to all of these commenters who are quoted in this post. 

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COMPLETE REPRINT OF THIS PANCOCOJAMS POST 
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/examples-of-rhymesong-shes-my-one-black.html

Examples of & Comments About The Song And Rhyme "She's My One Black, Two Black"

Edited by Azizi Powell

[Latest Revision: October 21, 2020]

This pancocojams post presents some examples of the old song and children's rhyme "She's My One Black, Two Black".

This pancocojams post also includes a YouTube sound file of the 1928  Blues song "Chocolate To The Bone" by Barbecue Bob. I believe that song is the primary source for the "chocolate to the bone" phrase that is found in versions of "She's One Black, Two Black" rhyme/song.

This post also includes references to the song "My Gals A Corker" (written in 1895).  I believe that song is a source for the rhyming descriptions that are found in the song "She's My One Black, Two Black".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/barbecue-bob-chocolate-to-bone-sound.html for the lyrics to "Chocolate To The Bone" as well as my comments about that Blues song.

My speculations about the meaning of the song "She's My One Black, Two Black" are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

FEATURED SOUND FILE
Barbecue Bob - Chocolate to the Bone



PreWarMusic, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2008

A song recorded by Barbecue Bob, the most successful musician who played in the Atlanta Blues style who's recording career was cut short by his premature death in 1931.

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EXAMPLES OF "SHE'S ONE BLACK TWO BLACK"
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
The only examples of "She's My One Black Two Black" that I have been able to find to date [2012] are those given below from two different Mudcat Cafe discussion threads (Mudcat is an online discussion forum for Folk & Blues music.)

These examples are presented in chronological order with the example that has the oldest posting date given first.

Example #1
"My father used to sing a variant of My Girl's a Corker.We think he learned it while at Georgia Military Academy (now Georgia Military College) in Milledgeville, Georgia in the 1940s.He may have learned it at Fort Benning, Georgia. He said they used it as a marching song. He has been gone now 8 years, and we occasionally think of that tune, but can't remember the rest of the words in his version. Anybody out there know?

I walk upon the track
She drives a Cadillac
I work both day and night
To keep her satisfied

......

Refrain

She's my one black, two black sure enough true black
Chocolate to the bone."
-Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57013 Origins: My Girl's a Corker, August 22, 2006
-snip-
This example includes made up verses that fit the pattern of the American song "My Girl's A Corker" with the "She's One Black Two Black" song/rhyme.

ADDED - October 21, 2020:
Here's an example of the song "My Girl's A Corker" followed by information about that song:

Subject: ADD Version: My Girl's a Corker

From: Abby Sale

Date: 20 Feb 03 - 09:29 PM

 

MY GIRL'S A CORKER

 My girl's a corker, she's a New Yorker

I buy her everything to keep her in style

She's got a pair of legs, just like two whiskey kegs

Hey boys, that's where my money goes-oes-oes

That's where my money goes, to buy my baby clothes

I buys her everything to keep her in style

She's worth her weight in gold, my coal black baby

Hey boys, that's where my money goes ...

When we go walkin', she does the talkin'

And when my arm's round her, how time does fly

She does the teasin', I do the sqeezin'

Hey boys,...

She's got a pair of eyes, just like two custard pies

And when she looks at me, I sure get a thrill

She's got a pair of lips, just like potato chips ...

She's got a pair of legs, just like two whiskey kegs

And when they knock together, oh what a sound

She's got a pair of hips, just like two battle ships

She's got a bulbous nose, just like a big red rose

And when the lights go out, it really does shine

She wears silk underwear, I wear my latest pair ...

 -end of quote-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: My Girl's a Corker

From: Joe Offer

Date: 07 May 03 - 02:15 AM

As I read Ewen's American Popular Songs, it appears that words and music were written by John Stromberg in 1895, and the original song title was "My Best Girls' a New Yorker (or, My Best Girl's a Corker)"

-snip-
Here's a response to Guest, August 22, 2006's post by Joe_F, (another commenter on that same discussion thread) wrote on 22 August 2006):
"Guest: That refrain is stolen from another song, which I could have sworn I had the text of, but now I can't find it. Anyway, it begins "She's got eyes like Jezebel, teeth like pearls". And "sure enough true black" used to be "honest-to-God shoe-black".

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Example #2
"My mom and I have been trying to remember the words to this song for months now. My uncle (her brother) taught it to me (us) when I was really young.
My mom thinks a section of the goes..."she's my one black, two black, honest to goodness shoe-black, chocolate to the bone...(then some more lyrics which we can't remember)then into "she wear's my bvd's, I stand outside and freeze, hey boys, that's where my money goes".
Has anyone ever heard of that version?
-Guest, deutschman3, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57013 Origins: My Girl's a Corker, July 1, 2009
-snip-
This example includes another variant form of the American song "My Girl's A Corker."

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Example #3
To deutschman3
My mother used to sing this version:
She's my one black, two black, honest to goodness shoeblack, chocolate to the bone
If you see my gal walking down the street, you better leave her alone
She's got hair like a jezebel, teeth like pearls
Oh my lawd, she's a gift to the world...
etc.
that's all I remember but funny that just last week my sister was asking me if i remembered the words. if you think of any more please post.
-Guest, pnedwards, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57013 Origins: My Girl's a CorkerSeptember 11, 2009
-snip-
In one last comment to date about "She's My One Black, Two Black" was made on that same Mudcat: My Girl's A Corker discussion thread, the commenter remembers that rhyme/song as "a kid's rhyme" that was heard without any "My Girl's A Corker" verses. [Q, July 16, 2009]

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Example #4
The song comes to me from somewhere in my past, I have no recollection but after the fe fi stuff I remember this.

She's my
one black
two black
shoe shine
shoe black
chocolate to the bone
if you see that gal
comin'
down the street
better leave that gal alone
she's got eyes like diamonds
teeth like pearls
guys don't cha mess
with that girl
she's my
one black
two black
shoe shine
shoe black
chocolate to the bone
-posted by Guest, rusty on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=65298&messages=79 Origins: Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah, November 15, 2009 [Be aware that this Mudcat comment thread contains songs with lyrics that have the "n word" completely spelled out as do a number of other Mudcat folk music threads.]
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from https://newfangleddad.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-dark-history-of-ive-been-working-on.html "The dark history of "I've Been Working On The Railroad" February 20, 2014 by Newfangled Dad
..."In case you're super curious, there is also a missing verse [to “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”] popular in FL and GA where the "fee fi fiddley-i-o" section substitutes for this:

She’s a one black, two black
Honest goodness shoe black
Chocolate to the bone
And if you see my gal
Walking down the street
You’d better leave my gal alone!
She’s got eyes like a jezebel
And teeth like a pearl
Goodness God gracious,
She’s a gift to the world."

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UPDATE: October 21, 2020- Another Example Of This Song

Here’s a version of the “She’s My One Black Two Black” song from http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/two-camp-songs--jane-bagby-1948.aspx

Two Camp Songs

by Jane Bagby

Hoosier Folklore, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Dec., 1948), pp. 126-127

TWO CAMP SONGS

By Jane Bagby

[...]

She's a One-Black, Two-Black

 

She's a one-black, two-black,

Honest to goodness shoe-black,

Chocolate to the bone.

 

And when you see my gal

Walkin' down the street,

You better leave my gal alone.

 

She's got eyes like Jezebel,

Teeth like a pearl,

Good Gosh a'mighty,

She's a gift to this world!

 

She's a one-black, two-black,

Honest to goodness shoe-black,

Chocolate to the bone.

(You'd better leave her alone !)

 

This is another song I heard at the same time and place,  summer of 1947 and Wyoming. The same two Virginian boys* [who shared another song on that page “ I Don't Want Your Greenback Dollar”] sang it and prompted us until we had learned the words. I have no idea of the origin of the song. The rhythm is syncopated and delayed, giving the effect of clapping the hands or tapping the feet.

 Hammond, Indiana

*Here’s information that was given about the contributor and the “Virginian boys” who taught her these two songs:

“Miss Bagby, a high school junior, sent the following two songs in foridentification. Asked to provide some description of the songs to aid in the identification, she supplied the accompanying notes. Hoosier Folklore's expert in songs and ballads could do no more with the songs than go along with the guess that the first sounds somewhat calypso and the second somewhat like a minstrel or game song.)

I heard this song on a ranch forty miles south of Rawlins,Wyoming. At first I thought it was from Virginia ; for it was sung by two Virginia boys with their guitar.”…

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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE LYRICS OF "SHE'S MY ONE BLACK, TWO BLACK"

As is the case with the source song "Chocolate To The Bone", the essence of "She's My One Black, Two Black" is a song whose lyrics in which the singer is proud of having Black skin or being Black (or at least, in the case of "She's My One Black, Two Black", is proud of knowing someone who has dark skin color.)

The phrase "shoe shine shoe black" means the color black that is as dark as black [color] shoe shine polish.

Another way of saying "chocolate to the bone" is "brown [or "black"] through and through". Technically, the opposite of "chocolate to the bone" is a person who is of mixed Black/non-Black racial heritage. However, in the United States- because any person with any degree of African racial ancestry is considered to be Black regardless how she or he looks- a person of mixed Black racial heritage could use and probably has used "chocolate to the bone" as a synonym for being part of the Black race.

Yet, it should be noted that still today in the United States, frequently Black children get "on a set" (get angry) if someone -including another Black person who may or may not be their same skin color- calls them "blackie".

The term "brown skin" is no longer used in Black songs or other cultural offerings. Indeed, people generally don't mention their race or another person's race in general conversation, which absolutely doesn't mean that that person's race isn't noted or guessed at if it doesn't appear to be clearly determined.

**
I wonder if the earliest words for "She's My One Black, Two Black" were these:

"She's my one and only Black [girl]."

The remaining words "Two Black, shoe shine shoe black" were probably created to serve as as a counting & rhyming sequence for jumping rope.*

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POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY FOR "SHE'S MY ONE BLACK, TWO BLACK" RHYME
I imagine that one girl or several girls jumped in the center of the rope while those turning the rope and other girls waiting their turn to jump recited the lyrics to this rhyme. One the words "One Black" the girl/s jumping would jump with one foot. On the words "two Black" the girl/s would jump with two feet. And on the words "sure enough true Black shoe shine shoe Black" the girls would show off some fancy jump movement.

This is only a guess. For the record (no pun intended), I should indicate that I've never heard about this rhyme before reading about it on Mudcat Cafe.

I suggest "jump rope" as the performance activity for this playground rhyme/song as, until about the end of the 1960s, groups jumping single and/or double Dutch rope were a very popular pastimes among African American girls under 13 years old. But after the 1950s and almost entirely by the end of the 1970s, the performance activity for jump rope rhymes [that were still sung] had changed to hand clap rhymes. Of course, new handclap rhymes (and, for a time in the 1980s and the early 1990s anyway) new foot stomping cheers- were created.

Also, in an attempt to revive the art of Double Dutch jump rope, that performance activity was organized by adults into a competitive sport, a sport that didn't include the recitation of rhymes. One unforeseen consequence of this is that in the United States few children play non-competitive jumping Double Dutch or single jump rope.

Click http://www.nationaldoubledutchleague.com/History.htm for information about the history of the Double Dutch sport.

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A POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL SOURCE FOR A LINE IN VERSIONS OF THIS RHYME/SONG
I wonder if this verse from "Barbecue Blues", another Barbecue Bob song, influenced the "she's got eyes like diamonds/teeth like pearls" line in that "She's My One Black Two Black" rhyme:

"I know I ain't good looking : teeth don't shine like pearls
So glad : good looks don't take you through this world"

The entire lyrics for that song are found at http://www.maxilyrics.com/barbecue-bob-barbecue-blues-lyrics-26a4.html

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ADDENDUM
I should clarify that I don't mean to imply that children who recited "She's My One Black, Two Black" knew what those words meant.* Nor do I mean to imply that all of the people or most of the people those who recited or sung this rhyme/song were Black. That said, given the words to this song and given the Blues song which I believe is its primary source, it's my strongly held opinion that "She's My One Black, Two Black" is of African American origin.

*Notice that I've used the past tense. I don't get the sense that this rhyme is still recited."

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the legacy of Bluesmen Barbecue Bob. Thanks also to the uploader of this sound file. Also, my thanks to those commenters from Mudcat Cafe who I quoted in this post.

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

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