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And at an age before awareness, prejudice can slide into a receptive mind, finding a home for life before any critical resistance is developed. What's particularly nefarious about the "eeny, meeny" scenario is that, typically, it's a childhood thing. Multiple alternatives, all perfectly effective for selecting an "it". Today, it's a "tiddler" or a "tiger" you're catching and it might "holler" or "wiggle". Should he ignore what he heard or should he interrupt the game to gently bring his mother-in-law into the 21st century, to have her know that these days, for this particular rhyme, there's strong discouragement against the use of "nigger". Some adults, including me, still use a shorthand version, albeit sub voce, when they're ostensibly making a choice and can't decide: mud cake or pavlova? Being so traditional, the words of the ditty reflect its own zeitgeist, which, at least in this one regard, is stridently at odds with ours. This children's rhyme, of disputed origin, has been known for about 150 years and is typically used in games when a person is needed to be selected as "it". From a few metres away, where he was engaged in something else, he overheard her saying: "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a nigger by the toe, when he squeals let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, moe." He'd taken his young family with him and the children were playing with their doting grandmother. A friend was over at his mother-in-law's at the weekend. She is the creator and author of ABC remix.It was a lazy kind of day. Mommies, what has your experience been with these songs? Have you heard them played in children’s play spaces? Seen them performed in school programs? Watched them in animations? How do you feel about keeping these songs in rotation? Do new lyrics make it ok? Should they still be taught to children as fun songs or only to adults for historical purposes?Īngele is a wife to a wonderful creative husband, mother to two beautiful intelligent daughters and a lover of art, education and laughter. In more modern recordings, “Mammy” has been replaced with “Mama”, and the “N-word” and “darkies” has been replaced with “children.” Other verses that can be viewed in the book contain more racial slurs but are usually not present in modern recordings. Mammy’s little baby loves short’nin bread Mammy’s little baby loves short’nin short’nin
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Nevertheless, the original lyrics as recorded by American Ballads and Folk Songs By John Avery Lomax are printed as such: I’se gwine to Lou’siana my true lub for to see.Īnother song that has deep roots in American history is none other than “Shortnin Bread.” After viewing Donald Duck singing this tune while making pancakes, it would seem that the tune is innocent. I come from Alabama with my Banjo on my knee. Foster, a sample of the original lyrics goes like this: Known to many as a love song and to others as a children’s camp song, “Oh Susanna” has it’s origins in minstrel shows.
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Now the “Woggle Power” reference from 30 Rock makes sense. Harris gave a half hearted apology for these lyrics, then shamed Aboriginal people for their misfortune in Australia. However the original version of this song contains a racial slur against Aboriginal Australians. Like many songs that have racist origins, the most recent versions simply eliminate the racial epithets. There is actually a real children’s music band in Australia called the “Wiggles.” Among their many recordings is a song called “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” written by Rolf Harris. I didn’t really get this episode until now.
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There was a scene in which one of the band members says, “Woggle Power” and then it is explained that “woggle” means white. A couple of years ago my husband and I were watching an episode of 30 Rock called “Meet the Woggles.” In this episode there was an Australian Children’s Band called The Woggles.