Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo: Racist Nursery Rhymes You Didn’t Know You Were Learning
- By
Meg Butler
Shoo Fly Don’t Bother Me
Ever wonder why the lyrics to this nursery rhyme don’t make a lot of sense? Because teachers were forced to whitewash the lyrics after integration. This is a song about a lazy slave who’s trying to sleep on the “job” but a fly is keeping him awake:
Shew! fly, don’t bother me,
Shew! fly, don’t bother me,
Shew! fly, don’t bother me,
I belong to Comp’ny G.I feel, I feel, I feel,
That’s what my mother said,
Whenever this nigger goes to sleep,
He must cover up his head.If I sleep in the sun this nigger knows,
If I sleep in the sun this nigger knows,
If I sleep in the sun this nigger knows,
A fly come sting him on the nose.
And back in 2012, parents were still fighting to keep it out of schools.
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