O Dem Golden Slippers
Encyclopedia
"Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is a popular song commonly sung by blackface
performers in the 19th century. The song, penned by African-American James A. Bland
in 1879, is considered an American standard today. It is particularly well-known as a bluegrass
instrumental
standard.
song set in the style of a spiritual
, the song is apparently a parody of the spiritual "Golden Slippers
", popularized after the American Civil War
by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
. Today "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is often referred to simply as "Golden Slippers", further obscuring the original spiritual.
The song's first stanza tells of the protagonist setting aside such fine clothes as golden slippers, a long-tailed coat and a white robe for a chariot ride in the morning (presumably to Heaven
).
This leads to the refrain: Oh, dem golden slippers! / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Golden slippers I'm gwine to wear, because dey look so neat; / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Golden slippers Ise gwine to wear, / To walk de golden street.
The second stanza describes the protagonist meeting up with other family members after his chariot ride. In the third, the protagonist tells children to prepare themselves for their own chariot ride.
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
performers in the 19th century. The song, penned by African-American James A. Bland
James A. Bland
James Alan Bland , also known as Jimmy Bland, was an African American musician and song writer.-Biography:...
in 1879, is considered an American standard today. It is particularly well-known as a bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
standard.
Overview
A minstrel showMinstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
song set in the style of a spiritual
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
, the song is apparently a parody of the spiritual "Golden Slippers
Golden Slippers
"Golden Slippers" is a spiritual popularized in the years following the American Civil War by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The song is also known by its opening line, "What Kind of Shoes You Gwine To Wear". The song became the basis for a minstrel show parody song, "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers", which...
", popularized after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
Fisk Jubilee Singers
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for their college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spirituals, but included some Stephen Foster songs...
. Today "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is often referred to simply as "Golden Slippers", further obscuring the original spiritual.
The song's first stanza tells of the protagonist setting aside such fine clothes as golden slippers, a long-tailed coat and a white robe for a chariot ride in the morning (presumably to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
).
This leads to the refrain: Oh, dem golden slippers! / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Golden slippers I'm gwine to wear, because dey look so neat; / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Golden slippers Ise gwine to wear, / To walk de golden street.
The second stanza describes the protagonist meeting up with other family members after his chariot ride. In the third, the protagonist tells children to prepare themselves for their own chariot ride.
Cultural references
- The song is well-known today as the unofficial theme song of the Philadelphia Mummers ParadeMummers ParadeThe Mummers Parade is held each New Year's Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Local clubs compete in one of four categories . They prepare elaborate costumes and moveable scenery, which take months to complete...
.
- Also well-known nowadays in the brass band movement as the classic cornet solo "Golden Slippers". Composed by Salvationist Norman Bearcroft, this solo has been made famous by virtuoso Salvation Army cornetist David Daws.
- The song is used in a key scene in the 1948 John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
film Fort ApacheFort Apache-Places:* Fort Apache, Arizona* Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the White Mountain Apache tribe's reservation and former US Army cavalry post near Whiteriver, Arizona* Fuerte Apache, a housing project outside Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Military:...
, in a dance at the fort shortly before the arrogant Colonel Thursday (Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
) leads his men into a senseless and tragic massacre. (Ironically, the song would likely not have been published at the time the movie's story takes place.)
- It is the opening song in the 20th Century-Fox film "Golden Girl" (1951), a musical about the early life and career of 19th century stage star Lotta Crabtree. Lotta (Mitzi Gaynor) and her Pa (James Barton, a former Vaudeville song-and-dance man) sing and tap dance the song to banjo accompaniment until interrupted by an annoyed Mary Ann Crabtree (Una Merkel).
- The song, by then long in public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, was used in early American television commercials for Golden GrahamsGolden GrahamsGolden Grahams is a brand of breakfast cereal owned by General Mills. It consists of small toasted square shaped cereal pieces made of whole wheat and corn. The taste is a mix of honey and brown sugar...
cereal in the 1970s, with the refrain reworked in various ways around the phrase "Oh, those Golden Grahams".
- The song is used in the 1980s film version of "Little Lord FauntleroyLittle Lord FauntleroyLittle Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886...
".
- In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode Deep Space HomerDeep Space Homer"Deep Space Homer" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons fifth season and first aired on February 24, 1994. The episode was directed by Carlos Baeza and was the only episode of The Simpsons written by David Mirkin, who was also the executive producer at the time...
, during a dangerous reentry, Homer SimpsonHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
sings the reworked "Golden Grahams" theme to calm himself, while his fellow astronauts hum "The Battle Hymn of the RepublicThe Battle Hymn of the Republic"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is a hymn by American writer Julia Ward Howe using the music from the song "John Brown's Body". Howe's more famous lyrics were written in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862. It became popular during the American Civil War...
". (This is itself a reference to the movie version of Tom WolfeTom WolfeThomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
's book The Right StuffThe Right Stuff (book)The Right Stuff is a 1979 book by Tom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program...
, and its John GlennJohn GlennJohn Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
reentry sequence.)
- In an episode of Wings entitled, "Wingless: Part I", which originally aired on November 13, 1996, Brian Hackett (Steven WeberSteven WeberSteven Weber is the name of:* Steven Weber , American actor* Steven Weber , professor at the University of California, Berkeley, studying open source...
) covers his ears and sings the song as a means of denial as his brother Joe (Tim Daly) tells him that their airline, Sandpiper Air, is experiencing a financial crisis. Joe then joins in as Faye Cochran (Rebecca SchullRebecca SchullRebecca Schull is an American film and television actress.Schull studied acting in the United States and in Dublin, Ireland...
) tells them that their airplane is being reposessed by the bank.
- In the Sports NightSports NightSports Night is an American television series about a fictional sports news show also called Sports Night. It focuses on the friendships, pitfalls, and ethical issues the creative talent of the program face while trying to produce a good show under constant network pressure...
episode Intellecutal Property, Dan gets the network fined for singing the song Happy Birthday To YouHappy Birthday to You"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
on a live television broadcast. In response, Dan vows to celebrate staff members' future birthdays on live broadcasts by only singing songs that are in the public domain. Throughout the rest of the episode, he asks his co-workers, individually, what song they would prefer he sings for them on their birthday. When Dan gets to Dana, he asks her, "I was wondering how you'd feel about 'Oh, Dem Golden Slippers?'
- The Prince Myshkins, a folk duo, included a version of the song with new lyrics on their 2000 album "Shiny Round Object".".