Difference between revisions of "Pick a Bale of Cotton/Bowl of Cherries"
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'''Pick a Bale of Cotton''', a song which was first recorded by Texas inmates James Iron Head" Baker (1933) and Mose "Clear Rock" Platt (1939). The traditional American folk song, which later popularized by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Belly Lead Belly] (Huddie William Ledbetter). <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pick_a_Bale_of_Cotton Pick a Bale of Cotton]. ''wikipedia.com''. Retrieved January 22, 2021</ref> | '''Pick a Bale of Cotton''', a song which was first recorded by Texas inmates James Iron Head" Baker (1933) and Mose "Clear Rock" Platt (1939). The traditional American folk song, which later popularized by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Belly Lead Belly] (Huddie William Ledbetter). <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pick_a_Bale_of_Cotton Pick a Bale of Cotton]. ''wikipedia.com''. Retrieved January 22, 2021</ref> | ||
Revision as of 22:48, 30 January 2021
Pick a Bale of Cotton, a song which was first recorded by Texas inmates James Iron Head" Baker (1933) and Mose "Clear Rock" Platt (1939). The traditional American folk song, which later popularized by Lead Belly (Huddie William Ledbetter). [1]
Lyrics
“O massa told de [N-word]
Pick a bale of cotton
O massa told de [N-word]
Pick a bale a day”
I had a little wife could
Pick a bale of cotton
I had a little wife could
Pick a bale a day”
Gonna jump down, spin around,
Pick a bale of cotton
Gonna jump down, spin around,
Pick a bale a day
Oh lordy, pick a bale of cotton
Pick a bale a day [2]
Controversy
The song was about a slave who worked in a plantation field and is seen as making fun of the conditions. [3]
Pick a Bale of Cotton has been criticized as racist, reminiscent, and glorifying slavery in American history. The lyrics contain racial slur “nigger’ multiple times. According to John Lomax’s American Ballads and Folk Songs, the verses goes like: "Dat nigger from Shiloh / Kin pick a bale o' cotton / Dat nigger from Shiloh / Kin pick a bale a day." [4]
References
- ↑ Pick a Bale of Cotton. wikipedia.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021
- ↑ Did Not Know that the Following Nursery Rhymes had a Racial History. May 8, 2014. aspoonfulofsuga.wordpress.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021
- ↑ Taylor, Mildred Europa. Nine nursery rhymes you probably didn’t realize were racist. January 8, 2020. face2faceafrica.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021
- ↑ Pick a Bale of Cotton. wikipedia.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021