Shoo Fly Don’t Bother Me

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Shoo Fly Don’t Bother Me! is a song from the 1860s minstrel show which remained popular since then. The song was sung during the Spanish-American War of 1898 by soldiers, when flies and yellow fever mosquito were rampant. Today, the song is well known as a children song and had been recorded on many children’s records, including Disney Children's Favorite Songs 3. [1]

Lyrics

Shew! fly, don’t bother me,

Shew! fly, don’t bother me,

Shew! fly, don’t bother me,

I belong to Comp’ny G.

I feel, I feel, I feel,

That’s what my mother said,

Whenever this nigger goes to sleep,

He must cover up his head.

If I sleep in the sun this nigger knows,

If I sleep in the sun this nigger knows,

If I sleep in the sun this nigger knows,

A fly come sting him on the nose.

Five Little Monkeys

“Five little monkeys jumping on the bed

“One fell off and bumped his head?” [2]

Controversy

Shoo Fly Don’t Bother me tells about an enslaved man who is trying to sleep, but gets bothered by a fly. The lyrics may seem normal, it is because of being whitewashed after integration.

The original lyrics used word niggers "five little niggers" in know-sing-as five little monkeys which did not make things any better. [3]

References

  1. Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me. wikipedia.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021
  2. Taylor Europa, Mildred. Nine nursery rhymes you probably didn’t realize were racist. January 8, 2020. face2faceafrica.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021
  3. Taylor, Mildred Europa. Nine nursery rhymes you probably didn’t realize were racist. January 18, 2020. face2faceafrica.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021