Shortnin' Bread

"Shortnin' Bread" (also spelled "Shortenin' Bread" or "Short'nin' Bread") (Roud 4209) is often thought of as a traditional Negro plantation song. However the first version was written by James Whitcomb Riley in 1900. His song was titled "A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out", the chorus of which is::"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." [Eitel, "The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley", p. 119.]

Titled "Shortened Bread", E.C. Perrow published the first folk version of this song in 1915, which he collected from East Tennessee in 1912. [Perrow, "Songs and Rhymes from the South," p. 142: "from Tennessee mountain whites, 1912".] The folk version of the song—as with Riley's— has no distict theme, but consists of various floating lyrics, some relating to "shortnin' bread", some not. The traditional chorus associated with the folk song goes::"Mammy's little baby loves short'nin', short'nin',":"Mammy's little baby loves short'nin' bread"

Shortening bread is a fried batter bread, the ingredients of which include corn meal, flour, hot water, eggs, baking powder, milk and shortening.

Gid Tanner and the singer Lawrence Tibbett recorded popular versions of the song. Another version was featured in the 1937 film "Maytime".

More recent versions

On 14 October 1960, Paul Chaplain and his Emeralds' version became the first #1 record on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey.

In 1964, Minneapolis rock 'n roll band The Readymen recorded the song at Kay Bank Studios.

The Banana Splits borrowed the tune for its February 1969 "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)" hit.

The song was recorded by the American pop band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1979 album "L.A. (Light Album)".

A later version was recorded by the country rock band The Tractors, on their 1998 album "Farmers in a Changing World". Their version reached #57 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The Cramps have also made a cover of this song, featured on the "Stay Sick" album.

Cultural references

* Donald Duck sings the song while making pancakes in the 1948 animated short "Three for Breakfast".
* In the Ren & Stimpy episode, "I Love Chicken", Ren Hoek sings the song whilst preparing a meal.
* In the film "Police Academy 4", the character Captain Harris is seen singing the song into his cane.
* In the Season 4 "I Love Lucy" episode "Ethel's Home Town", Ethel Mertz performs the song onstage.
* At the end of a "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" episode, Will is seen singing the song while scrubbing the floor with his cousin as the end credits roll.
* At the end of a trailer titled "Bad World" for the game "" two characters sing the song.
* In the Elvis Presley song "Clambake", "Shortnin' Bread" is paraphrased as "Mama's little baby loves clambake clambake, mama's little baby loves clambake too".
* In a "Drawn together" episode, "Terms of Endearment," Foxxy Love sings the song while cooking, after a tumor has put pressure on "the part of her brain that controls negative stereotypical behavior."
* The chorus to the song is used as a medley in the song "Pachuco Cadaver" on "Trout Mask Replica" by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
* At the end of the credits in the movie "Secret Window", Johnny Depp is heard singing the song.
* In the 1985 "Kidsongs" video "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm", "Shortenin Bread" is sang in a different way pertaining to eating breakfast.
* In the movie "Trainspotting," Renton's friends and family sing the song in a celebration after he avoids being jailed.
* A version of this song referring to rhubarb pie is used as the jingle of a fake bakery in A Prairie Home Companion.

References

Bibliography

*Eitel, Edmund Henry (ed.) "The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley", Vol 5. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrell Company (1913).
*Perrow, E.C. "Songs and Rhymes from the South." "The Journal of American Folklore", 28:108 (Apr. - Jun., 1915) 129-190.
*Waltz, Robert B; David G. Engle. " [http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/ballads/R255.html Shortenin' Bread] ". "The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World". Hosted by [http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/ California State University, Fresno, Folklore] , 2007.