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