If Jimmy cracked corn. Should you care?

Answer 1

"Jimmy Crack Corn" (originally "Jim Crack Corn") tells the story of a slave whose job is "to wait on Massa and hand him de plate / Pass down de bottle when he git dry / And bresh away de blue-tail fly." Among the things he's supposed to bresh away de blue-tail fly from is Massa's pony, using a hickory broom. One day when the flies are especially thick, one gets through and bites . . . well, either Massa or the pony, you can't quite tell. Anyway, the pony bolts, Massa pitches into the ditch and dies, and the coroner's jury blames the blue-tail fly. "Jim[my] crack corn, I don't care / Ole Massa gone away."

Scratch around and you'll find some interesting takes on this song. When we consulted Tom Miller, Straight Dope curator of music, he told us about an interpretation he'd picked up from Charlie Maddox, a musician in Shenandoah, Virginia. Maddox said "crack corn" came from the old English term "crack," meaning gossip, and that "cracking corn" was a traditional Shenandoah expression for "sitting around chitchatting." Maddox claimed "Jimmy Crack Corn" was an abolitionist song, and that "blue-tail fly" referred to federal troops in their blue uniforms overthrowing the slave owners.

A conspicuous defect of this theory is that "Jimmy Crack Corn," published in 1846, is attributed to an outfit called the Virginia Minstrels. The Virginia Minstrels helped originate the blackface minstrel show, not one of your prime vehicles for abolitionist sentiment. The author of the song, though not definitely known, was probably a Virginia Minstrel named Daniel Emmett, a popular songwriter and musician whose best-known composition was the southern anthem "Dixie" (1859). Like his contemporary Stephen Foster, Emmett was a northerner who wrote sentimental songs about the south in black dialect. So don't go looking for any deep social message.

Still, who is Jimmy and why did he crack corn? Maybe it's about gossip, like the man said. But an equally plausible theory I've heard is that "cracking corn" means cracking open a jug of corn liquor. Try it next time your Massa goes away, and after a half dozen verses you won't care either.

Answer 2

Rules for Jimmy cracking corn:

1. Jimmy only cracks his own corn, must leave mine alone
2. Jimmy must always clean up the mess he's made after cracking said corn.
3. Jimmy may not crack anything but corn, no cracking of jokes
4. Jimmy may not crack corn at night, but he may at the first crack of light.
5. Jimmy may not smoke crack while cracking corn.
6. Jimmy may only crack corn kernels, no byproducts, no cornflakes, cornpone, cornbread, etc.

If he follows my rules, then I don't care.

Answer 3

Jimmy cracked corn... And I don't care!

Answer 4

jimmy didnt care when i cracked corn, why should i care if he does

Answer 5

only if i were out of my cracked corn glue

Answer 6

Hell yes i should care it is a very important fact the world needs to be kept in the loop thanks for letting me know i will email everyone i know and spread the word when did this happen did anybody see has he done anything else yet keep us informed as we deserve to know

Answer 7

it depends whose corn it was. if it was mine I would be furious with him, but if it belonged to Amanda Curry then I would laugh and possibly crack some with him

Answer 8

How exactly do you crack corn any how?

Answer 9

jimmys cell mate wrote me this little ditty-

Jimmy's crack's torn and I don't care
Jimmy's crack's torn and I don't care
Jimmy's crack's torn and I don't care
The Wardens gone away

Answer 10

Well long as he don't steal my corn cob lol