Antedating of "cotton-eyed" (Joe) 1875
Sam Clements
SClements at NEO.RR.COM
Sat Aug 28 23:54:09 UTC 2004
For "cotton-eyed" we only have HDAS 1905(DN). "Having the whites of the
eyes prominent."
Using Proquest APS online, we can find 8 May 1875 Saturday Evening Post,
p.3
I found a story(fiction) in the Saturday Evening Post from 1875. The
heroine, a young(18-22), white Southern? female named Dolly is singing
the song while she helps her Black nursemaid cook. Dolly sings the words
"Don't you remember a long time ago, I dreamed that I ran away w/
Cotton-eyed Joe?" The nursemaid chides Dolly for singing the song,
knowing that Dolly's mother wouldn't approve of it. Dolly asks "why did
you teach it to me then?" Later in the story Dolly sings "Oh, I'd have
been married twelve months ago, if it had not have been for Cotton-eyed
Joe."
So, who comes to the door but her blue-eyed cousin, Joe. (distant cousin
)=20
Later in the story, a character describes Joe as a person with "great
white eyes."
But, still later in the story, Joe is described again as having BLUE
eyes.
The story ends as all good Bodice-rippers should. The
flirtatious/coquettish Dolly finally overcomes her need to play coy and
says she loves him(when she thinks he's dying). They get married
Sam Clements
If my post seems strange, I'm posting it here first, and now I'm gonna
post it to Straightdope, where the question was asked. That's what
started me looking.
P. S. I have no doubt that
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