Eenie Meenie Miney Moe and The Ice Cream Truck Song’s Origin

Written By: Samara Pearley

There are many songs used to engage children by parents and teachers. Some are nursery rhymes, and some are jingles for popular kids' products. We all know and love them. However, most have no idea the racist origins of these tunes that became a stamp in households, schools, and communities. This essay will discuss two of the most popular songs. 

"Eenie Meenie Miney Moe" is a song that the kids in my elementary school would sing. We sang the lyrics" Eenie Meenie Miney Moe, Catch a Tiger by the toe. If he hollers, let him go Eenie Meenie Miney Moe." The words make it sound kid-friendly song evolved many times. In my parents' generation, they sang "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe, catch a piggy by the toe." It was sung when kids played tag and other similar games and chose a participant's position in the game, or even when parents were putting babies to bed while playing with their toes. The lyrics and games I just described seem harmless, right? There is another meaning and different words used in the original song during the days of slavery. The original lyrics were "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe, Catch a (n-word) by the toe, if he hollers let him go Eenie Meenie Miney Moe." The alternate version is "Catch a negro by his toe/ If he hollers make him pay/Twenty dollars every day." The concept of the lyrics stems from the slave auction and trade. It is said that the song is based on slave selections and what white slave owners threatened when the enslaved attempted to escape.

Another popular tune in the black community is the ice cream truck song. Although it is not a nursery rhyme, its function is to target children, and it comes from a song called "(N-word) Love a Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!" The song was written by an actor named Harry C. Browne and released to the public in 1916. However, the song is much older than its release date. According to an article and podcast on NPR by Theodore R. Johnson, II, published in 2014, "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." 

Harry stole the melody from a song called "Turkey in the straw." He changed the lyrics to racist stereotypes. For example, some of the lyrics were, "There is nothing like a watermelon for a hungry coon." It was accompanied by images of big-lipped, black-faced African Americans. It was written for traveling Black Minstrel shows, which is what made the song famous. I do not go to the ice cream truck anymore. My family goes to the store to get ice cream now. However, whenever I think about where the song comes from, it makes me upset and uncomfortable. I AM SAD when I see other black kids running to get ice cream as that song is played. Maybe they were not taught the meaning of the song. Now, I listen to the lyrics of songs to know what it means and pay attention to melodies and instrumentals to learn their origin. I recommend you teach your kids the lyrics of what they listen to, whether it is "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe" or "The Ice Cream Truck" song, to understand the origins and meanings behind the lyrics they are singing.