Short'nin' Bread

Welcome! Today's song in Alpha Notes can be found here. It was written by James Whitcomb Riley in 1900 which was thought of a plantation song. The first version is below:

Fotch dat dough fum the kitchin-shed—

Rake de coals out hot an' red—

Putt on de oven an' putt on de led,—

Mammy's gwineter cook som short'nin' bread.

Verse

When corn plantin' done come roun' ;

Blackbird own de whole plowed groun';

Corn is de grain as I've hearn said ;

Dat's de blackbird's short'nin' bread;

E.C. Perrow published the first folk version of this song in 1915, which he collected from East Tennessee in 1912 with the chorus below: 

Mammy's little baby loves short'nin', short'nin',

Mammy's little baby loves short'nin' bread

For more information, please look here. Enjoy and keep making music! God Bless!