"Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" (sometimes written as "moe") has been chanted and beloved by children on playgrounds for centuries. We don't always do this with American folk songs. One white member would read jokes out loud in front of the whole team. In order to justify slavery, slavers propagated the libel that people of African descent were inherently more animal, less civilized, and thus less human.. You know, they're like these nonsense syllables that then sound like words that you recognize. The History And Traditions That Make Hanukkah Light Up, The Meaning Of Kwanzaa And Its Celebrations, Winter 2023 New Words: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Fall In Love With 14 Captivating Valentines Day Words, Rizz And 7 Other Slang Trends That Explain The Internet In 2023, Win With Qi And This List Of Our Best Scrabble Words, We Had ChatGPT Coin Nonsense PhrasesAnd Then We Defined Them, Surprise! MARTIN: Poet Adrienne Raphel. A new intersectional publication, geared towards voices, values, and identities! [3], Iona and Peter Opie pointed out in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) that the word "nigger" was common in American folklore, but unknown in any English traditional rhyme or proverb.[3]. The more you know. Eenie, meenie, miney, moe " In historical references of this song, the word "tiger" is replaced by the N-word. Ene, mene, ming, mang, The best known version of the rhyme is the one that is now widely derided as insulting, especially in the USA, where the middle two lines originated: Eena, meena, mina, mo, Catch a n*gger by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, Eena meena, mina, mo. The classic American version most are familiar with goes like this: "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a tiger by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, mo." This, however, is a recent revision. Good Luck! This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 16:19. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. The words: "Ol' massa's gone and I'll let him rest/They say all things are for the best/ But I'll never forget 'til the day I die". Catch an nigger by the toe. A version from Yorkshire is: Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"which can be spelled a number of waysis a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag. In 2004, two African-American sisters filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines after a flight attendant tried to rush them into choosing a seat saying, Eenie, meenie, minie, mo, pick a seat, we gotta go.. Did we miss any tunes that need to be nixed? Catch a tiger by the - it has rhythm built into it. Wo? Years later, in 1982, linguist Derek Bickerton proposed a theory that Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe was actually a distorted version of an African phrase. The song is made up from a number of syllables, (the counting out rhyme). Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. Catch . But studying these songs within the proper context suggests the songs represent more than may appear at first listen. Only in recent years, when n***** became a taboo, the term tiger somehow replaced it and became the common version of the rhyme. Wash your hands afterwards. [citation needed], In Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh (1995), the leading character and his three sisters are nicknamed Ina, Minnie, Mynah and Moor. You can replace catch a tiger with any word (catch a boy, catch girl, etc) or any animal, or when singing to baby you can say catch a baby. Vis, vos, vay. Please enter a valid email and try again. In other online discussions, I found a theory that this line refers to a common way for slave traders to examine a prospect slave. That being said, it's almost impossible to track down the true origin of "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo." Pastor, lone, bone, strei, Eeny, meeny, miny, moe also known as Eena, meena, mina, mo is a popular counting rhyme and singing game. I'm gay you're gay he's gay she's. Another is that it associates Asians with either poor hygiene or subservience. Catch a mouse by the toe; Prior to the popular variation used today that involves catching tigers, a common American variant of the rhyme used a racist slur against Black people instead of the word. The American version became so prominent that it spread all over the world, and was still sung years later. (Laughter). . [28], Rex Stout wrote a 1962 Nero Wolfe novella titled Eeny Meeny Murder Mo. Catch a racist by the toe. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. It wasnt until a discussion about the rhyme with my American wife that I discovered any tiger version existed, adds another. If they squeal make them squeal some more. This song was originally titled Mammys Little Baby Loves Shortnin Bread, and places Black women squarely in white womens kitchens. I had to sit there and hear their prejudice jokes. Eeny, meeny, mony, my, Was? The age of the phrase is uncertain. What does eenie meanie, miny, moe expression mean? Walk us through the journey of this rhyme. Many people conveniently forget parts of American history like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Japanese internment camps that dotted the American West during WWII, but the truth is, Asian Americans have never had it easy in the States. Eggs, butter, cheese, bread, Not only that, but its lesser-known second verse uses the N-word and laughs about the death of African Americans. Nonetheless, it's clear that "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" was adapted through the years and revised to fit the era and place it was sung in. Its possible children tried all sorts of nonsensical sounds and rhythms until they found one they liked: Nevertheless, there are as many theories as to the origin of. First appearing in Oswald Rabbit cartoons, then in their own series. The Racist History of Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe. Some versions use a racial epithet, which has made the rhyme controversial at times. For centuries, this has been a popular method to make a hard choice for both children and adults all over the world. Check it out: England: Eeny, meeny, mony, my, Barcelona, stony, sty, Eggs, butter, cheese, bread, Stick, stack, stone dead! Hundreds signed a petition demanding to put the item back on sale, claiming Primarks decision was an act of panic.If Eeny Meeny Miny Moe is so horribly racist maybe we should stop children singing it in playgrounds or I should get arrested for using it to choose which socks Im wearing, said the petition's organizer. As adults, we might be curious as to whether the words mean anything and what their origin might have been. In this theory, the words Eenie, meenie, miney, moeare thought come from the Celtic words for the numbers one, two, three, four.. The link to the names of numerals in ancient languages is also likely. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"which can be spelled a number of waysis a children's counting-out rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag, or for selecting various other things. Whenever I hear the music now, the antique voice laughing about niggers and watermelon fills my head," Johnson wrote. The rest of the rhyme usually varies between countries, offering a mixture of gibberish and local spoken words. Doo-dah!/ I come down dah wid my hat caved in Doo-dah! This bears more than a passing resemblance to the English version recorded by Fred Jago in The Glossary of the Cornish Dialect, 1882: Ena, mena, mona, mite,Bascalora, bora, bite,Hugga, bucca, bau,Eggs, butter, cheese, bread.Stick, stock, stone dead - OUT.". It goes something like this: Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, [3] Bolton also found a similar rhyme in German: Variations of this rhyme with the nonsense/counting first line have been collected since the 1820s. Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day." In more important choices - selecting who has to ask that grumpy man down the road for their ball back - the one pointed to last drops out and the formula is repeated several times until only one is left. "These songs are part of a racist history our nation's history. RAPHEL: I think the take away is these words sound really good together. Ene, tene, mone, mei, It first began to be written down in the 19th century - the scholarly journal Notes and Queries published this in the February 1855 edition: "The following are used in the United States for the selection of a taggerEeny, meeny, moany, mite,Butter, lather, boney, strike,Hair, bit, frost, neck,Harrico, barrico, we, wo, wack". Eenie Meenie (Radio Version) Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber Similar Songs TRACK ARTIST SHAZAMS Eenie Meenie (Remix) DocterS 41,737 Payphone x Please Don't Go (slowed + reverb) Tazty, slowed + reverb Tazty & slowed + reverb songs 2,255 We Found Love Melone 29,072 Down Jay Sean 4,369,372 Beauty and a Beat (feat. And there's versions in France(reciting poem with French dialect). Ha!" Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lover (Here we go!) [14] This may have helped popularise this version in the United Kingdom where it seems to have replaced all earlier versions until the late twentieth century. You're playing a game, and it's time to figure out who goes first. Furthermore, another theory describes how slave traders would pinch or pull a slave's toe before purchasing them (via An Injustice). This popular rhyme proves that, especially once you know children typically accompanied their singing by pressing the corners of their eyes up or down, then grabbing their knees. To pick the very best one In some Dutch versions Ene, mine, mike, maken.. MARTIN: Is it fair to call it a song? The traders would pinch or twist the slaves toe. Despite language differences, the first lines of each version are remarkably alike. Why Eli Lilly is voluntarily capping insulin costs at $35 a month, OpenAI wants to build systems smarter than us. Many farmers and fishermen on the fringes of Britain used such language for counting until quite recently and many natives of the north of England can still count from one to five in 'the old way' - 'yan, tan tehera, methera, pimp'. Shaftel explains that we usually attach a disclaimer to Bach and explain how his art was a product of his time. The song was written by both Kingston and Bieb read more justin bieber pop eenie meenie Add tags View all tags Play album Replace video Featured On My World 2.0 Justin Bieber 710,941 listeners To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Manage Settings You probably sang something about a tiger, but the original lyrics go like this: "Eenie, meenie, minie mo/. Hearing the lyrics, my younger son then asked about the tiger hes in the tiger phase and was curious about the song that describes what can only be seen as animal cruelty. Both songs depict slaves and black people in an offensive manner, but the slight difference between the two can show theincremental changes in cultural representations. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The original rhyme, though, was about 10 little n-words, not monkeys, and when they fell out of bed they died in one of the horrible ways only Black children perished at the time. You know? The last line is often topped off with a short emphasized 'You are It!' And no, subbing in monkeys and making the rhymes less deadly isnt innocent, says Kansas State University English professor Philip Nel. Its racist origin, however, still haunts the popular rhyme. The song can be seen as glorifying and poking fun at slave conditions. The meaning: The protagonist of the song is an African-American slave who is portrayed as dumb and naive. You seem like the type To love them and leave them And disappear right after the song. Right. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. However, the original words used in the song have far less benign implications. And it sounded a little like this. Thus, instead of tiger, it said the n-word to describe what would happen if a white slave owner caught a runaway. I contacted Matthew Shaftel, a professor of Music Theory and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Florida State for an expert opinion. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe is a rhyme for choosing who's "It" in a game or to choose who goes first. It was written by Stephen Foster (Camptown Races, Swanee River,) in the 19th century, and was originally sung in a slave dialect. In 2005, the song made the news when a school in suburban Detroit incorporated "Pick a Bale of Cotton" in a choir performance. Contribute to Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives. We change the songs and scrub them clean. I've opted for 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo' but there are many others - 'Eenie, meenie, miney, moe', 'Eany, meany, miney, mo' and so on. Versions of the Score include: Northern England, southern Scotland: yan, tan, tethera, methera, pimp. Its racist for many reasons, one of which is that its performance depends upon caricature the performers fingers make upward-slanting eyes forChinese and downward-slanting forJapanese. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. There's a point where the slave (who is singing the song) laments for his master,but some scholars argue that there is a subtext of the slave rejoicing. The sisters claimed the flight attendant was being racist. [Chorus: Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber] You can't make up your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind Please don't waste my time, time, time, time, time . eeny, meeny, miny, moe ( uncountable ) A method of choosing between two or more people or things, used by children. Wash your hands afterwards. They include: Some versions of this rhyme used the racial slur "nigger" instead of "tiger". An example comes from the Danish region near Kattegat, where the Jack and Jill rhyme, which arrived during the British occupation in the Napoleonic wars, was repeated as: Jeck og JillVent op de hillOg Jell kom tombling efter. Of all of the phrases and idioms in the English language 'eeny, meenie, miny, mo' must be the one with the widest variety of spellings. There are considerable variations in the lyrics of the rhyme, including from the early twentieth century in the United States of America: During the Second World War, an AP dispatch from Atlanta, Georgia reported: "Atlanta children were heard reciting this wartime rhyme: A distinct version of the rhyme in the United Kingdom, collected in the 1950s & 1960s, is: There are many scenes in books, films, plays, cartoons and video games in which a variant of "Eeny meeny " is used by a character who is making a choice, either for serious or comic effect. The song can be seen as glorifying and poking fun at slave conditions. Sign up for writing inspiration in your email, Harness Your Moxie To Take This Word Of The Day Quiz, Getting Braggadocious: Top Word Trends On Dictionary.com, (one version of several; they also chant the US variation above), There isnt a clearcut explanation as to how these global variations came about and to provide one would require knowing definitively where. I can see right through you. Eeny meeny miney mo, Catch a tiger by the toe, If he swears, let it go, Eeny meeny miney mo. Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism? It's safe to say that as classic as "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" is, the centuries-old nursery rhyme no doubt has a haunted past and not so kid-friendly origins. RAPHEL: Oh, it's all over the world. By submitting your email, you agree to our, Theracist children's songs you might not have known were racist. Children appear to have no such concerns. Speaking of counting, a less fatalistic theory is that Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moetraces back to an old British counting system known as the Anglo-Cymric Score. For instance, the songs may have provided information about the cruelty of slavery to Northerners in the 1800s. In other musical instances, this is not the case. There's no doubt that the rhyme is older than the 19th century recorded versions, possibly very much older. You can also contribute via. British? The lyrics of the song include one about the ole massa gone away, and have been terrorizing Black children for centuries. And we want to be aware of our racist roots," Shaftel said. A more acceptable version has now established itself: Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, There's also another version that goes. A child is arrested every 37 seconds in America2,363 children every dayand just as these paintings show, Black boys are at disproportionate risk. There isnt any evidence to back up this theory, which basically means that a term used by African slaves was used by white children in a racist song mocking them. Alternate Versions and Related Songs Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Song Variations Tweet Notes *Potty ***** Other Versions: Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo. Weve co-opted and stolen so much of Black culture over the past 400 years that it can be hard to realize sometimes just how many aspects of American life are racist from everyday expressions, hair and clothing style, and even our food. All The Pasta Shape Names Explained: How Many Do You Know? The vinyl release of Radiohead's album OK Computer (1997) uses the words "eeny meeny miny moe" (rather than letter or numbers) on the labels of Sides A, B, C and D respectively.[27]. And if you have a vested interest in perpetuating the myths, youll want to start corrupting your children young right from the cradle and thats how these rhymes were surely born. You . It is one of a large group of similar rhymes in which the child who is pointed to by the chanter on the last syllable is either "chosen" or "counted out". It is one of a large group of similar rhymes in which the child who is pointed to by the chanter on the last syllable is chosen. It is one of a large group of similar 'counting-out rhymes' where the child who is pointed to by the chanter on the last syllable is 'counted out'. The second line in the American rhyme, Catch a tiger by the toe, has a clearer and more dismal ancestry that traces right back to the United States. The stories we learn from them are painful, but also valuable. You know? The original lyrics: "It raind all night de day I left, De wedder it was dry, The sun so hot I froze to def.". $MMT = window.$MMT || {}; $MMT.cmd = $MMT.cmd || [];$MMT.cmd.push(function(){ $MMT.display.slots.push(["6e36601e-44cf-4f78-b804-bfbdde6ee2e3"]); }). The meaning: The meaning of this rhyme is rooted in the slave trade. In Johnson's article, he writes that he ultimately decided against telling his kids about the origins of the ice cream truck song, but they will likely learn it one day. [31] The uncensored word was restored for the Criterion Collection edition of the film. Catch an nigger by the toe. T he American version became so prominent that it spread all over the world, and was still sung years later. Added to that, as far back as the 19th century there have been variants of the rhyme which are so dissimilar to our current version as to be scarcely recognisable - 'Hana, mana, mona, mike' (from New York) and 'Eetern, feetern, peeny, pump' (from Scotland) and many of these now have local variants and words added from other languages. The rhyme appears towards the end of 1949 British black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lover "Eenie Meenie" is a song by American singer Sean Kingston and Canadian singer Justin Bieber. Director Jokes Yanes Writers J. Bishop Jokes Yanes Stars Andres Dominguez Belkys Galvez David Scott Lago Me being the only black guy on the Helitack team was rough. My goal to explain to my kids how a popular childrens rhyme came to have such unusual lyrics of a tiger being abused ended up with the knowledge of the rhymes much sinister past. Catch an [N-word] by the toe In the song, the singer can't grasp the ideas of temperature and geography. Instead of Monkeys, Five Little Monkeys (also known as Ten Little Monkeys originally used the n word or darkies as a reference to Black people. Bolton identifies the first line as plain gibberish. Whenever I hear the music now, the antique voice laughing about niggers and watermelon fills my head," Johnson wrote. Catch an nigger by the toe. Now what? Give the gift of knowledge with our official 'did you know' book. Later, they can learn where the songs came from, and that lesson will be an important one. Here are some versions from English-speaking countries Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Eeeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo England, English Language Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe USA, English Language Eenie Meenie Sicileeny USA, English Language "Jimmy Crack Corn", one ofAbraham Lincoln's favorite songs, is one example Shaftel points out. The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly. The classic American version most are familiar with goes like this: "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a tiger by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, mo." Its not hard to see why children would use a playful variation of (essentially) one, two, three to count down their options. Were not born racist; its something thats taught. I grew up in Australia and during my childhood years in the mid-late 70s, the only version I was aware of was the n***** version. ". When it comes to these songs, Shaftel explains that children should be taught the modified versions because they can't grasp the nuances of race just yet and don't have multiple levels of understanding. An alternate version: "Catch a negro by his toe/ If he hollers make him pay/Twenty dollars every day.". If he hollers, let him go Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day." In 2017, fashion giant Primark removed a shirt that captured a famous scene from the hit TV show The Walking dead. The first line of a popular children's counting rhyme. Since many similar counting-out rhymes existed earlier, it is difficult to know its exact origin. Counting-out rhymes, like this one, were popular decision-making tools for children years ago and are still used today. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. each word or pair of syllables). It was used in the chorus of Bert Fitzgibbon's 1906 song "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo": Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo, Catch a nigger by his toe, If he won't work then let him go; Skidum, skidee, skidoo. [12] It was used in the chorus of Bert Fitzgibbon's 1906 song "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo": It was also used by Rudyard Kipling in his "A Counting-Out Song", from Land and Sea Tales for Scouts and Guides, published in 1935. [11] The best known version of the rhyme is the one that is now widely derided as insulting, especially in the USA, where the middle two lines originated: Eena, meena, mina, mo,Catch a n*gger by the toe,If he hollers, let him go,Eena meena, mina, mo. Bellow are the lyrics of one of the accepted modern versions of the Eeny, meeny, miny, moe rhyme and also an older version. This one, which includes the 'toe' and 'olla' from Kipling's version, is one of many variants of "counting out rhymes" collected by Bolton in 1888:[7]. Accuracy and availability may vary. In other musical instances, this is not the case. Hide and Seek Chasey; Site-wide utilities There isnt a clearcut explanation as to how these global variations came about and to provide one would require knowing definitively where Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moecomes from (which is, alas, impossible). Again, this is in no way a defense of those songs, a defense for keeping their original lyrics or absolving the audience members from their consumption of racist material. American in origin or English? The officials at, But I'll never forget 'til the day I die", It raind all night de day I left, De wedder it was dry, The sun so hot I froze to def. [29], In the 1930s, animation producer Walter Lantz introduced the cartoon characters Meany, Miny, and Moe (later Meeny, Miney and Mo). You know them by heart, but you can do these little, like, switches and flips and variations in them. But that decision raises even more questions: what kind of music are we censoring? Every kid waits in suspense, hoping the last moe doesnt land on them. [30], The 1933 Looney Tunes cartoon Bosko's Picture Show parodies MGM as "TNT pictures", whose logo is a roaring and burping lion with the motto "Eenie Meanie Minie Moe" in the place of MGM's "Ars Gratia Artis". There is some offensive language below. Nicki Minaj) Justin Bieber 4,179,003 The meaning: The song is about a slave and the death of his master. The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly. MARTIN: Can you find it in other languages or is this exclusively something that lives in English? Warning: We are talking about racism in this article. Then there's choosing a completely alternative rhyme to choose which kid sits in the front/ gets to play first on the xbox etc. The first line in the version sung in Cornwall, England was Eeha, meena, mona, mite. And so, a simple game of tag turned into a research assignment with unsettling outcomes. And in some cases that becomes extremely problematic. incremental changes in cultural representations. For Theodore Johnson III, who wrote the article, knowledge of that history ruined ice cream trucks for him. A more acceptable version has now established itself: Eeny, meeny, miny, mo,Catch the tiger/monkey/baby by the toe.If it hollers[USA]/screams[UK] let him go,Eeny, meeny, miny, mo. Eeny meeny miny mo. or 'O, U, T spells out! Definition of eenie meanie, miny, moe in the Idioms Dictionary. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Historians and anti-racists argue that songs like these belong in museums, not in our kids virtual libraries. Bolton says that it is impossible to trace the exact origin of the rhyme. Its possible children tried all sorts of nonsensical sounds and rhythms until they found one they liked: Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moeand its variants just happened to win out most of the time because it was pleasant to hear and say, like most nursery rhymes. Eenie, meenie, minie mo. Likewise, some believe the nursery rhyme is based on an ancient British counting system. Should be left unchanged version existed, adds another State for an expert opinion not born racist ; its thats! Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives furthermore, another theory describes how traders... So prominent that it is difficult to know its exact origin of `` tiger '' history of eenie,! Down, turn around, Oh, it said the n-word to describe what would If... Tiger by the toe in the Idioms Dictionary, mite these words sound really together... About a slave and the death of his time known were racist Eeeny, meeny,,... 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