Ching-a-Ring Chaw (sometimes Ching-a-Ring, or Ching-a-Ring Shaw) is a song from the early days of the
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...
tradition. A rewritten version frequently performed in modern times comes from
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
's 1952
Old American Songs
''Old American Songs'' are two sets of songs arranged by Aaron Copland in 1950 and 1952 respectively, after research in the Sheet Music Collection of the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays, in the John Hay Library at Brown Universit ...
song set.
Lyrics
The precise lyrics vary, but they are generally approximately as follows:
History
Ching-a-Ring Chaw's origin was as a blackface minstrel song. While arranging the piece for the second set of his
Old American Songs
''Old American Songs'' are two sets of songs arranged by Aaron Copland in 1950 and 1952 respectively, after research in the Sheet Music Collection of the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays, in the John Hay Library at Brown Universit ...
, composer
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
made a point of rewriting the lyrics to efface any of the song's minstrel baggage: "I did not want to take any chance of it being construed as racist."
See also
*
List of blackface minstrel songs
This is a list of songs that either originated in blackface minstrelsy or are otherwise closely associated with that tradition. Songwriters and publication dates are given where known.
A
* " Alabama Joe" (a.k.a. "Shall Trelawney Die") (before ...
References
* Eileen Southern. The Music of Black Americans. Ed. 2. NY: W.W. Norton Co. 1983.
* Lynn Abbott, Doug Seroff. Out of Sight: The Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889-1895. pp. 93–96
* William A. Everett, Paul R. Laird. The Cambridge Companion to the Musical.
* Erroll G. Hill and James Hatch. A History of African-American Theater. Cambridge University Press 2003.
* -Hill, The American Stage: Social and Economic Issues from the Colonial Period to the Present, ed. Engle and Miller, Cambridge University Press. 1993
* Thomas L. Riis. "Musical Theater." The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. 614– 623.
* Riis. "Minstrelsy and Theatrical Miscegenation." The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical. ed. Raymond Knapp, et al. Oxford University Press 2011. 66, 67, 72, 76.
* -Riis. Interview by the author. August 2015, University of Colorado, Boulder.
* -Riis. More than Just Minstrel Shows: The Rise of Black Musical Theatre at the Turn of the Century. (I.S.A.M. Monographs: Number 33.) Brooklyn: Institute for Studies in American Music, 1992.
* See also Susheel Bibbs, Voices for Freedom—Booklet: A New Look at the Hyers Sisters' Dream, Change, and Legacy. Amazon.com
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Blackface minstrel songs
Year of song unknown
Songwriter unknown