[WARNING: This song contains antiquated racial stereotypes. It is presented here for historical and educational purposes only.]
A lullaby song from 1899.
Words and music by Ellis G. Berg.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
1. Far away down South
Right near the Swanee river you can find
A happy colored couple and their boy;
The baby ain’t so handsome
And his hair is kind o’ red
But still he is his parents’ pride and joy;
His mammy thinks of how some day
He’ll be a grown-up man,
Half wishing that a babe he could remain;
And, as she rocks his cradle,
To get that chile to sleep,
She softly sings this lullaby refrain
Chorus
Close your eyes in sleep
You laughing little, red-head coon,
May your baby dreams be ever bright;
Till you fall asleep yo’ mammy will not go away
And Angels fair will guard you
Thro’ the night, my darling;
Close your eyes in sleep
And don’t you wake until the morn,
Daylight will be here now very soon,
And you have no need to fear
For yo’ mammy is right here,
You laughing little red-head coon
2. In the early morning
When that little pickaninny wakes,
His dad gets up and with him loves to play;
Of course he has to leave
And go to work, but just the same
He’s thinking of his baby boy all day;
He’s happy when the ev’ning comes
And always hurries home,
He’s longin’ for to kiss that little coon,
And, when it comes to bedtime,
He sits beside the cot,
And listens while his mammy sings this tune