"Cindy" ("Cindy, Cindy") is a popular American

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

. According to

John Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...

, the song originated in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. In the early and middle 20th century, "Cindy" was included in the songbooks used in many elementary school music programs as an example of folk music. One of the earliest versions of "Cindy" is found in Anne Virginia Culbertson's collection of Negro folktales (''At the Big House, where Aunt Nancy and Aunt 'Phrony Held Forth on the Animal Folks'', Bobbs-Merrill, 1904) where one of her characters, Tim, "sang a plantation song named 'Cindy Ann'," the first verse and refrain of which are: As with many folk songs, each singer was free to add verses, and many did. In addition, as Byron Arnold and Bob Halli noted in ''An Alabama Songbook'', performers could swap verses with those of other songs, including "

Old Joe Clark "Old Joe Clark" is a US folk song, a mountain ballad that was popular among soldiers from eastern Kentucky during World War I and afterwards. Its lyrics refer to a real person named Joseph Clark, a Kentucky mountaineer who was born in 1839 and murde ...

" and "

Boil Them Cabbage Down "Boil Them Cabbage Down" (also "Bile 'Em Cabbage Down") is an American folk song. Hoecakes are small cornmeal cakes that were baked over a fire on the blade of a hoe. A breakfast of hoecakes and cabbage soup testifies to the humble origins of th ...

". The tune is taken from the spiritual "

The Gospel Train "The Gospel Train (Get on Board)" is a traditional African-American spiritual first published in 1872 as one of the songs of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. A standard Gospel song, it is found in the hymnals of many Protestant denominations and has b ...

", also known as "Get on Board Little Children".

Recordings

Buddy Kaye, Benjamin Weisman, Dolores Fuller and Fred Wise wrote a version of "Cindy" called "Cindy, Cindy". This version is the familiar one recorded by such performers as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

, Nick Cave (in a duet with Johnny Cash), and others.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

included the song in a medley on his album '' 101 Gang Songs'' (1961).

Mack Wilberg Mack J. Wilberg (born February 20, 1955) is an American composer, arranger, conductor, and choral clinician who has been the music director of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (Choir) since 2008. Early life and education Wilberg was bo ...

's choral arrangement of the piece was written for four-hand piano, double eight-part choirs, a string bass, xylophone, and a score of quintessential

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

instruments to supplement the melody during the arrangement's hoedown section. This arrangement is available for any choir to learn and perform, although Wilberg also wrote a special arrangement to be performed by the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...

. The choral parts are the same, but the accompaniment has been rewritten for full orchestra (specifically the

Orchestra at Temple Square The Orchestra at Temple Square (Orchestra) is a 110-member orchestra located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Orchestra was created in 1999 under the direction of Gordon B. Hinckley, then the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sain ...

). Robert Plant featured an arrangement titled "Cindy, I'll Marry You Someday" on his 2010 album ''

Band of Joy Band of Joy (sometimes known as Robert Plant and the Band of Joy) was an English rock band. Various line-ups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983. Robert Plant revived the band's name in 2010 for a concert tour of No ...

''. Modern versions of the song include modified lyrics, such as the following: : You ought to see my Cindy : She lives way down South : And she's so sweet the honey bees : All swarm around her mouth : Get along home Cindy, Cindy : Get along home Cindy, Cindy : Get along home Cindy, Cindy : I'll marry you some day

In film and television

Van Johnson sings part of it in the 1956 movie ''Miracle in the Rain''. The song is performed in the 1957 episode of ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'', "Hostage" by

Don Durant Don Durant (born Donald Allison Durae; November 20, 1932 – March 15, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for his role as the gunslinger-turned-sheriff in the CBS Western series ''Johnny Ringo'', which ran on Thursdays from Octobe ...

. The song is performed in the 1959 John Wayne movie '' Rio Bravo'',Rio Bravo (1959) – IMDb
/ref> by Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Walter Brennan. Andy Griffith sings this song in season 3 episode 10 "Opie's Rival" of The Andy Griffith Show (1962). On the Lawrence Welk Show episode "My Blue Heaven" (1964), Dick Dale and the Lennon Sisters perform this song.

References

{{authority control Cindy Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown