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"Shortnin' Bread" (also spelled "Shortenin' Bread", "Short'nin' Bread", or "Sho'tnin' Bread") is an American folk song dating back at least to 1900, when
James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...
published it as a poem. While there is speculation that Riley may have based his poem on an earlier African-American plantation song, no definitive evidence of such an origin has yet been uncovered. A "collected" version of the song was published by E. C. Perrow in 1915. It is song number 4209 in the
Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...
. Shortening bread refers to a bread made of corn meal and/or flour and
lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.
shortening Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and is used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. The idea of shortening dates back to at least the 18th century, well before the invention of modern, shelf-stable vegetable ...
.


Origins

The origin of "Shortnin' Bread" is obscure. Despite speculation of African-American roots, it is possible that it may have originated with Riley as a parody of an African-American plantation song, in the
minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...
or coon song traditions popular at the time. Riley titled the song "A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out", and wrote the first verse as: The dialect rendered into common English would be: The verse includes: Another pair of verses may be later, and exist in several versions: In some versions there are two children instead of three - and the "other" either "bump'd his head" or "was dead". The first doesn't quite scan. The children (or "chillun") were once referred to by one of several racist terms. Other verses include: Reese DuPree composed a version recorded in 1927.


Folk version

Titled "Shortened Bread", E. C. Perrow published the first folk version of this song in 1915, which he collected from
East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...
in 1912. The folk version of the song—as with Riley's—does not have any distinct theme, but consists of various floating lyrics, some relating to "shortnin' bread", some not. The traditional chorus associated with the folk song is:


Other renditions

*
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* 1926 - Gid Tanner * 1933 –
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* 1938 -
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* 1961(?) - The Viscounts * 1952 -
Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occas ...
, ''Sonny Terry's New Sound: The Jawharp in Blues and Folk Music'' (1968) *
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*
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* 1959 -
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* 1961 -
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* Richard White * Clayton McMichen * 1937 –
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, '' Maytime'' * 1956 -
Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...
, ''Etta "Miss Peaches" James: Shortnin' Bread Rock / Tears of Joy'' * 1963 –
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, ''D.C. Blues: Library of Congress Recordings'' * 1966 – Lee Dorsey * 1977 -
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(parody) * 1979 -
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'' L.A. (Light Album)'' * 1982 –
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* 1981 – The Kelly Family, '' Wonderful World!'' * 1990 –
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, ''Farmers in a Changing World'' (reached No. 57 on the
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chart), Heaven's Sake Kids * 2002 – Laurie Berkner, '' Under a Shady Tree'' * 2014 and 2017 –
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* 2023 – Israel's Arcade


The Beach Boys version

"Shortenin' Bread" was recorded by the American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
numerous times. Only one version has seen official release, as the final track on their 1979 album '' L.A. (Light Album)''. The band's principal songwriter
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
was reportedly obsessed with the song, having recorded more than a dozen versions of the tune. Beach Boy
Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...
speculated that Wilson's obsession with the song may have begun after co-writing the song " Ding Dang" with
the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
'
Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...
in the early 1970s. Numerous anecdotes have been reported about Wilson's obsession with the song: *
Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...
, the former lead singer of
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, recalled receiving middle-of-the-night phone calls from Wilson asking him to sing on a recording of "Shortenin' Bread"' ("He was telling me I have the perfect voice for it"). *
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'
Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...
said that when he tripped on
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
with Wilson,
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
, and
Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...
, Wilson played "Shortenin' Bread" on piano "over and over again". * Biographer
Peter Ames Carlin Peter Ames Carlin (born March 14, 1963) is an American journalist, critic and biographer who has written for publications such as ''People'' magazine, ''The New York Times Magazine'', '' The Los Angeles Times Magazine'', and ''The Oregonian''. Sev ...
wrote that
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
and
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
were bemused by an extended Wilson-led singalong of "Shortenin' Bread", leading Pop to flee the room proclaiming, "I gotta get out of here, man. This guy is ''nuts''!" * Musician
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
recalled that Wilson considered "Shortenin' Bread" to be the greatest song ever written. According to Cooper, when he asked why, Wilson responded "I don't know, it's just the best song ever written." A number of Wilson-produced "Shortenin' Bread" and "Ding Dang" variations remain unreleased. Titles include "Clangin'" (recorded with Nilsson), "Brian's Jam", and "Rolling Up to Heaven". A version that was developed from a 1973 session, featuring American Spring as guest vocalists, was completed for the unreleased album ''
Adult/Child ''Adult/Child'' (sometimes typeset as ''Adult Child'') is an unreleased studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced in early 1977. Similar to the release it was meant to follow, ''The Beach Boys Love You'', the album ...
'' in 1977.


References


Bibliography

* * *Eitel, Edmund Henry (ed.) ''The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley'', Vol 5. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company (1913). * * *Perrow, E.C. "Songs and Rhymes from the South." ''The Journal of American Folklore'', 28:108 (April - Jun. 1915) 129–190. * Wade, Stephen. The Beautiful Music all Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012. *Waltz, Robert B; David G. Engle.
Shortenin' Bread
. ''The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World''. Hosted b
California State University, Fresno, Folklore
2007.


External links


The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley: In Ten Volumes, Including Poems and Prose Sketches, Many of which Have Not Heretofore Been Published; an Authentic Biography, an Elaborate Index and Numerous Illustrations in Color from Paintings by Howard Chandler Christy and Ethel Franklin Betts
– complete text of
James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...
's "A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out". *A traditional version of lyrics and an MP3 clip are her
Shortenin' Bread • Lyrics & Song Clip (free mp3)
{{Authority control American folk songs Poetry by James Whitcomb Riley The Tractors songs Mississippi John Hurt songs 1900 songs American children's songs The Beach Boys songs Brian Wilson The Beach Boys bootleg recordings Bread in culture