What does "Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care, the master's gone away" mean?? I don't get it!! :(

Answer 1

As most people here have said it is from the 1800's before slavery was abolished. During that time period it was illegal for slaves to drink alcohol. However many slaves would drink whiskey made from corn. So Jimmy Cracked Corn and I don't care is a song about 2 black men getting drunk on corn whiskey.

Answer 2

It has links to slavery, cracked like shucking corn, so he could eat it (Jimmy cracked corn), and the person singing isnt concerned about it (but I dont care) because he wont get in trouble for eating the crops, because the master isn't here (because the master's gone away).

The whole song is

When I was young A us'd to wait
On Massa and hand him de plate;
Pass down the bottle when he git dry,
And bresh away de blue tail fly.
refrain (repeated each verse):
Jim crack corn — I don't care,
Jim crack corn — I don't care,
Jim crack corn — I don't care,
Old Massa gone away.

Two further verses show the singer being told to protect his master's horse from the bite of the blue-tail fly:

An' when he ride in de arternoon,
I foiler wid a hickory broom;
De poney being berry shy,
When bitten by de blue tail fly.
One day he rode aroun' de farm,
De flies so numerous dey did swarm;
One chance to bite 'im on the thigh,
De debble take dat blu tail fly.

The horse bucks and the master is killed. The slave then escapes culpability:

De poney run, he jump an' pitch,
An' tumble massa in de ditch;
He died, an' de jury wonder'd why
De verdic was de blue tail fly.

The reference to a "jury" and a "verdic[t]" does not indicate that the slave was charged with any crime. It refers instead to a coroners inquest into the death
Hope this helped!

Answer 3

It's a song from the days of slavery. The first verse is:

When I was young, I used to wait
On Master, and give him his plate,
And pass the bottle when he got dry,
And brush away the blue-tail fly.

The song goes on to relate how the Master died when he was thrown from his horse ('my Master's gone away').

The phrase 'Jimmy-crack-corn' is just nonsense words to fill in the line of music, as far as I can tell, much like the nonsense syllables used in Irish songs.

Answer 4

All of those old songs make no sense now. I think they all must have some interesting origin and the young people of the day turned it into a song. For example, listen to the song:

Ring-around-a-rosie,
Pocketful of posies,
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down!

That came up during the Black Plague. I think the posies were the flowers used for the funeral grounds or something, and the ashes were of burned bodies and animal carcasses that died of the disease. Yeah, pretty creepy! And kids sing it all the time!

Look around online and see if you can find a site that gives the history of them. They may just be nonsense. ;)

Answer 5

Probably the same as While the Cats away the mice will play.

Answer 6

uhh its a little kids song isnt it?

Answer 7

No idea

Answer 8

me ither.