"Where Did You Come From, Where Did You Go?"

(Image courtesy traditionalmusic.co.uk)

by James Molito

For almost 25 years, "Cotton-Eye Joe" has joyously rung out at various PCC dances, but its history goes much further back. Although the exact conception date has yet to be found, the oldest recorded iteration was dated to pre-Civil War America. The earliest known version-named "Simply Fiddlin'"-tells the tragic tale of a lost love at the hands of an infamous suave Tennessee medicine- or "Hoodoo"-man named Cotton Eye Joe. The "Cotton Eye" part of the name stemmed from partial or complete blindness that arose from over-consumption of wood alcohol. This John Carson tale of heartbreak, loss, and the man behind it all has stayed the common through line throughout the song's varied history of 150-plus years and over 29 iterations.

Interest in the song fell into a lull most likely due to either lack of evolution or interest in the song, but come the 1920s excitement in the song came roaring back. Throughout the decade six separate recordings of the song came out from various bands and solo acts. This resurgence did not go unnoticed by scholars as the song was mentioned in an academic study that came out at this time. Thomas W. Talley decided to look into the nebulous nature of the song's namesake in his book of African-American folk songs while including his own slightly altered rendition of the song. The tune had grown to symbolize an idyllic, simpler time of the olden days among southerners, and they created an accompanying square dance for the iconic song. But eventually the public interest in this Tennessee man faded away.

This all changes thanks to a rather obscure and wild combination that is quintessentially 90s: the little known band Rednex--yes, that really is what they were called--had recently formed as a newfound member of the Swedish EDM scene and wished to compose in a wild style. In an attempt to redefine the mainstream EDM scene, they decided on the admittedly crazy idea of combining American folk songs and the defining aspects of 90s energetic dance pop.

This weird marriage of completely disparate styles ultimately culminated in their magnum opus: "Cotton Eye Joe." The song swept through Europe during 1994, reaching the charts in Norway, Germany, and Switzerland for weeks as the monarch of music. This meteoric rise prompted a dance-focused remix to appear as the star of the band's "Best of the West" album in 2002. The song's newfound success prompted a new wave of adaptations and variations to steadily trickle out through the rest of the century.

The "new wave" of renditions brought about new takes on the song including a return of the song's somber roots in the 2017 movie "Swiss Army Man." Despite this, the 1994 classic still remains memorialized in the minds and hearts of people worldwide. Among that group are PCC students, as the song has become a staple of summer events. First appearing at PCC in the summer of 1995 or 1996, for these students the song doesn't represent heartbreak or separation, but reunion. The song has faithfully served as a symbol of unity; despite the differences among PCC students, they join together for one dance, the Cotton-Eye Joe.