MARTIN: Can you find it in other languages or is this exclusively something that lives in English? ". In this case, we say the kids had the right idea to go after those tigers toes. Whenever I hear the music now, the antique voice laughing about niggers and watermelon fills my head," Johnson wrote. There is a similarity between the words of the phrase and some of the numerals in pre-English Celtic and Cumbrian languages; for example, the oral tradition of the English coastal town of Yarmouth voices 'one, two, three, four' as 'ina, mina, tethera, methera'. Wash your hands afterwards. The rhyme is used by groups of children as a way of selecting someone to take a role that is different from the others. I could remeber working for Califonia Department of Forestry in 1985 at Ryan Air field Hemet Ca. And if you have a vested interest in perpetuating the myths, youll want to start corrupting your children young right from the cradle and thats how these rhymes were surely born. Added to that, as far back as the 19th century there have been variants of the rhyme which are so dissimilar to our current version as to be scarcely recognisable - 'Hana, mana, mona, mike' (from New York) and 'Eetern, feetern, peeny, pump' (from Scotland) and many of these now have local variants and words added from other languages. Oops. Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day." Prior to the popular variation used today that involves catching tigers, a common American variant of the rhyme used a racist slur against Black people instead of the word tiger. I had to sit there and hear their prejudice jokes. Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? In other online discussions, I found a theory that this line refers to a common way for slave traders to examine a prospect slave. Following by different variations of if he squeals/screams/hollers and then let him go/make him pay/send him hum. The stories we learn from them are painful, but also valuable. To make matters worse, that song became the basis for an offensive folk song in 1916 titled, "Nigger Love A Watermelon Ha! That being said, it's almost impossible to track down the true origin of "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo." There's a deliberate choice here to make the singer sound unsophisticated. Another is that it associates Asians with either poor hygiene or subservience. For example, you may have heard, "Eenie, meenie, miney, mo, catch a tiger by his toe," but the original version was undeniably racist: "Eenie, meenie, minie mo. According to Vox, the 19th century American version of the nursery rhyme was rooted in the slave trade. This can be due to what The Paris Review refers to as Hobson-Jobson, when words that have the same sound are translated to fit the linguistics of the native speaker's language. MARTIN: So how did it morph? Iona and Peter Opie (1951) quote the following version: This version was similar to that reported by Henry Carrington Bolton as the most common version among American schoolchildren in 1888. Hahaha.. Who does that Had to be a deep rooted odd fixation in the mind of the song writer'.. Atlanta Black Star is a narrative company. The meaning: The meaning of this rhyme is rooted in the slave trade. The words: "Ol' massa's gone and I'll let him rest/They say all things are for the best/ But I'll never forget 'til the day I die". "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"which can be spelled a number of waysis a children's counting-out rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag, or for selecting various other things. Weve co-opted and stolen so much of Black culture over the past 400 years that it can be hard to realize sometimes just how many aspects of American life are racist from everyday expressions, hair and clothing style, and even our food. When the reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it feels intensely personal again. I understand that one of the earlier versions of the rhyme included a racial slur. ", The black plaintiffs in that case sued the airline for discrimination because a flight attendant had used the rhyme while urging them to take their seats. Ancient Celtic counting system or Victorian nonsense verse? eenie meanie, miny, moe phrase. These were, Bolton adds, the most favorite versions with American children and found in almost every state. Shaftel explains that we usually attach a disclaimer to Bach and explain how his art was a product of his time. Joe Biden is pretty good at being president. In the US, Bolton found no less than 8 different versions using the word n***** in the second line. In other musical instances, this is not the case. It was actually a part of a 2004 lawsuit against Southwest. Lets take a look at some of them. Eeny meeny miny mo. [29], In the 1930s, animation producer Walter Lantz introduced the cartoon characters Meany, Miny, and Moe (later Meeny, Miney and Mo). Une, fine, fane, fo Dirty knees could indicate a need to wash, but they also suggest that the person kneels a lot.. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This offensive variation was widely used until around the 1950s when kid-friendly variations that instead use words like tiger, tinker, and piggy became commonplace. At NPR, Johnson struggled with similar questions when faced with whether or not to tell his children about the origins of the ice cream truck song. And then the words that recognized take on a life of their own. Warning: We are talking about racism in this article. What is known is that countless variations of the nursery rhyme exist. [Note: UK residents who voted in the May 2011 referendum might notice a parallel with the 'First Past the Post' and 'Alternative Vote' systems.]. Compare Dutch iene miene mutte German ene mene mu. Folklorists, too, went on the playgrounds to study what these kids were singing. Its possible children tried all sorts of nonsensical sounds and rhythms until they found one they liked: Nevertheless, there are as many theories as to the origin of. Something went wrong. MARTIN: So what's the take away - that kind of children everywhere - there's some universal quality to the sound of these words and repeating them in a pattern? Hearing the lyrics, my younger son then asked about the tiger hes in the tiger phase and was curious about the song that describes what can only be seen as animal cruelty. Instead of Monkeys, Five Little Monkeys (also known as Ten Little Monkeys originally used the n word or darkies as a reference to Black people. British? The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly. Wer? Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. But that decision raises even more questions: what kind of music are we censoring? 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo' was rooted in racism Casimiro PT/Shutterstock NPR had an illuminating and poignant report, white slave owners would do if they caught a runaway slave, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the initial ruling. ine mina mana mu meaning my sisters children in Sa Tomenese sounds very similar to the first line in the childrens rhyme. which makes as little sense in Danish as it does in English but, despite it being entirely meaningless to them, the children in the area continued to sing it for centuries. This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 16:19. Nevertheless, there are as many theories as to the origin of Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moeas there are variations. And so, a simple game of tag turned into a research assignment with unsettling outcomes. In this theory, the words Eenie, meenie, miney, moeare thought come from the Celtic words for the numbers one, two, three, four.. These songs, many of which are still sung today, aren't just uncomfortable because of their lyrics; most were used in minstrel/blackface performances in the past. However, the original words used in the song have far less benign implications. The song can be seen as glorifying and poking fun at slave conditions. Now what? So I'm going to completely butcher the pronunciation, but there's versions of it that folklorists heard in Denmark, for example, like, (reciting poem with Danish dialect). The Racist History of Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe. Catch a racist by the toe. Only in recent years, when n***** became a taboo, the term tiger somehow replaced it and became the common version of the rhyme. In the early-mid 1800s, the rhyme could be found in Europe and the US. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. And no, subbing in monkeys and making the rhymes less deadly isnt innocent, says Kansas State University English professor Philip Nel. Or. I can see right through you. It was meant to propagate the sense of superiority white children felt even after they lost the Civil War. 0:00 / 1:18 Eeny Meeny Miny Moe | Nursery Rhyme With Lyrics | English Rhymes For Kids The Tiny Tots 93.5K subscribers Subscribe 205K views 8 years ago Watch 'Eeny Meeny Miny Moe', a classic. There are considerable variations in the lyrics of the rhyme, including from the early twentieth century in the United States of America: During the Second World War, an AP dispatch from Atlanta, Georgia reported: "Atlanta children were heard reciting this wartime rhyme: A distinct version of the rhyme in the United Kingdom, collected in the 1950s & 1960s, is: There are many scenes in books, films, plays, cartoons and video games in which a variant of "Eeny meeny " is used by a character who is making a choice, either for serious or comic effect. Did we miss any tunes that need to be nixed? Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. Eeny meeny miny moe Catch me If you can dodo, yeah Eeny meeny miny moe Watch out If you can dodo, yeah Eeny meeny miny moe Catch me If Eeny Meeny Miny Moe Steph Moody can't take back Eeny, meeny, miny, moe Eeny, meeny, miny, moe My mind says let you go My mind says let you go But my heart says I don't know My heart The meaning: The protagonist of the song is an African-American slave who is portrayed as dumb and naive. Some experts claim that catch a n****** by the toe refers to a method of punishment by white owners to slaves who tried to run away. Continue with Recommended Cookies. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. There isnt any evidence to back up this theory, which basically means that a term used by African slaves was used by white children in a racist song mocking them. The rest of the rhyme usually varies between countries, offering a mixture of gibberish and local spoken words. What lies behind this variability is that throughout the 19th century the rhyme spread from different parts of the UK to every playground in the English-speaking world, but by word of mouth rather than on paper. When it comes to these songs, Shaftel explains that children should be taught the modified versions because they can't grasp the nuances of race just yet and don't have multiple levels of understanding. The song was written by both Kingston and Bieb read more justin bieber pop eenie meenie Add tags View all tags Play album Replace video Featured On My World 2.0 Justin Bieber 710,941 listeners Although it seems weird that a similar rhyme would emerge all over the world, researchers believe that it could have simply resulted from different children learning which sounds go well together. Susanna", the slave is depicted as too dumb to realize his situation and or grasp the concept of geography that's more of the "slaves as property" portrayal. If he hollers, let him go. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Likewise, some believe the nursery rhyme is based on an ancient British counting system. The book was published in 1888 and thoroughly describes the authors research into various childrens counting-out rhymes that were popular at the time. Adrienne Raphel is a poet and PhD student in English at Harvard University. For Theodore Johnson III, who wrote the article, knowledge of that history ruined ice cream trucks for him. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe is a rhyme for choosing who's "It" in a game or to choose who goes first. Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day." 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