if jimmy cracks corn, and nobody cares, then why is there a song about him?

Question

kinda reminds me of that song they made from the plauge, ring a ring of something posies, all fall down (everyone died, and fell over) and london bridge is falling down, im suprised they havent done one of the WTC attacks yet.

Answer 1

Who is Jimmy, and why does he crack corn? --Nruggierbc, via AOL

Cecil replies:

I don't care. OK, so it's obvious. Sue me.

As you know from this column's previous attempts, song interpretation is not a science, and the passage of time hasn't made things any easier. A hundred years from now God knows what they'll make of "Stairway to Heaven." "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."

Answer 2

The song doesn't say "nobody cares." It says "I don't care." And the song isn't about him.