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O zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day. The recognizable melody aside, we've all sung a variation of the lyrics.
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The lyrics of "Zip Coon" follow the namesake through encounters with possums, playing the banjo and courting a woman whose skin was so black that he calls her "ol Suky blue skin." A century later, it was still celebrated and inspiring America's music. These two characters would often interact onstage and were the inspiration for the hugely successful Amos 'n' Andy act decades later. Zip Coon was the city-slicker counterpart to the dimwitted, rural blackface character whose name became infamous in 20th century America: Jim Crow. Fifty years later in post-bellum America, the character became an archetype of the black urbanite and propelled minstrel shows to the height of their popularity.
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In the late 1820s, the music was given new lyrics, which dripped with racism, and titled " Zip Coon." The blackface character of the same name parodied a free black man attempting to conform to white high society by dressing in fine clothes and using big words. There is simply no divorcing the song from the dozens of decades it was almost exclusively used for coming up with new ways to ridicule, and profit from, black people. The first and natural inclination, of course, is to assume that the ice cream truck song is simply paying homage to "Turkey in the Straw," but the melody reached the nation only after it was appropriated by traveling blackface minstrel shows. The "Zip Coon" was a blackface character who parodied a free black man attempting to conform to white high society. As often happens with matters of race, something that is rather vanilla in origin is co-opted and sprinkled with malice along the way.įor his creation, Browne simply used the well-known melody of the early 19th century song " Turkey in the Straw," which dates to the even older and traditional British song " The (Old) Rose Tree." The tune was brought to America's colonies by Scots-Irish immigrants who settled along the Appalachian Trail and added lyrics that mirrored their new lifestyle. I learned that though Browne was fairly creative in his lyrics, the song's premise and its melody are nearly as old as America itself. I wondered how such a prejudiced song could have become the anthem of ice cream and childhood summers.
There's nothing like a watermelon for a hungry coon I soon realized that the ice cream truck song was forever ruined for me, especially once the chorus began:įor here, they're made with a half a pound of co'l The music immediately resumed and so did the racism. (For the record, not all ice cream trucks play this same song, but a great many of them do.)Īs quickly as it began, the music paused, and this call-and-response ensued:īrowne: "You niggers quit throwin' them bones and come down and get your ice cream!"īlack men (incredulously): "Ice Cream?!?"īrowne: "Yes, ice cream! Colored man's ice cream: WATERMELON!!" When I started the song, the music that tumbled from the speakers was that of the ever-recognizable jingle of the ice cream truck. Admittedly, though, beneath my righteous indignation, I was rather curious about how century-old, overt racism sounded and slightly amused by the farcical title. I was a bit conflicted over whether the song warranted a listen. I came across this gem while researching racial stereotypes.
Browne and played on the familiar depiction of black people as mindless beasts of burden greedily devouring slices of watermelon. Released in March 1916 by Columbia Records, it was written by actor Harry C. "Nigger Love A Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!" merits the distinction of the most racist song title in America. Read no farther if you wish to avoid racist imagery and slurs. Editor's note: This article is about a virulently racist song.
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