Lord Larehip

Exactly who was the first man to don blackface and perform minstrel songs is open to question. We know it was being done by 1829 when George Washington Dixon began performing “Coal Black Rose” in blackface at the Bowery Theatre in New York. Today, if one looks for “Coal Black Rose” online, be careful to find the right one. There is a song called “Mammy’s Little Coal Black Rose” by Raymond Egan and Richard Whiting which is a completely different song. This is compounded because it is frequently titled simply as “Coal Black Rose” which is actually in error. Another version is a sailor shanty which seems to be derived from the minstrel song but still quite different. The version Dixon sang had the following lyrics:

COAL BLACK ROSE

LUBLY Rosa, Sambo cu-m,
Don't you hear de banjo—tum, tum, tum;
Lubly Rosa, Sambo cu-m,
Don't you hear de banjo—tum, tum, tum;

Oh, Rose, de coal black Rose,
I wish I may be corch'd if I don't lub Rose,
Oh, Rose, de coal blacka Rose.

Dat you, Sambo—yes I cu-m,
Don't you hear de banjo—tum, tum, tum;
Dat you, Sambo—yes I cu-m,
Don't you hear de banjo—tum, tum, tum;

Oh, Rose, &c.

Tay a little, Sambo, I come soon
As I make a fire in de back room,
Tay a little, Sambo, I come soon
As I make a fire in de back room.
Oh, Rose, de coal black Rose,
I wish I may be burnt if I don't lub Rose.

Oh, Rose, &c.

Make haste, Rose, lubly dear,
I froze tiff as a poker tandin here,
Make haste, Rose, lubly dear,
I almost froze a waitin here,

Oh, Rose, &c.

C-um in Sambo, don't tand dare shakin,
De fire is a burnin, and de hoe cake a bakin,
C-um in Sambo, top dat shakin,
De peas in de pot, and de hoe cake a bakin.

Oh, Rose, &c.

Sit down, Sambo, an warm your shin,
Lord bress you, honey, for what make you grin;
Sit down, Sambo, and toast you shin,
Lord bress you, honey, for what make you grin;

Oh, Rose, &c.

I laff to tink if you was mine, lubly Rose,
I'd gib you a plenty, the Lord above knows,
Ob possum fat, and homminy, and sometime rice,
Cow heel, an sugar cane, an ebery ting nice,
Oh, Rose, bress dat Rose,
I wish I may be shute if I don't lub Rose.

Oh, Rose, &c.

What dat, Rose, in de corner, dat I pi?
I know dat ni-gger Cuffee, by de white ob he eye;
Dat not Cuffee, 'tis a tick ob wood, sure,
A tick ob wood wid tocking on, you tell me dat, pshaw;
Oh, Rose, take care, Rose,
I wish I may be burnt if I don't hate Rose.
Oh, Rose, you black snake, Rose.

Let go my arm, Rose, let me at him rush,
I swella his two lips like a blacka balla brush;
Let go my arm, Rose, let me top his win,
Let go my arm, Rose, while I kick him on de shin,

Oh, Rose, &c.

Wat you want ob Sambo, to come back agin,
I spose you know de ni-gger by de crook ob de shin,
Wat you want ob Sambo, to come back agin,
I spose you know de ni-gger by de crook of de shin,

Oh, Rose, &c.

You Rose in the gall'ry, why don't you quiet sit,
And stop that throwing peanuts in the pit,
You Rose in the gall'ry, why don't you quiet sit,
And stop that throwing peanuts in the pit;
Oh, Rose, you cruel Rose,
You better come to Cuffee, you black Rose.

Oh, Rose, &c.

I challenge niggar Cuffee, a duel for to fight,
To meet me in de Park, in de morning by de light,
I challenge niggar Cuffee, a duel for to fight,
To meet me in de Park, in de morning by de light,
About Rose, coal black Rose,
I wish I may be burnt, if I don't lub Rose.

About Rose, &c.

We meet in de Park, from the Hall a little ways,
Up c-um a man, who they call massa Hays,
He ask wat de matter, but I stood quite mute,
Ni-gger Cuffee say he c-um to settle a bit of spute,

About Rose, &c.

He catch old Cuffee by de wool, he kick him on de shin,
Which laid him breathless on the ground, and made de ni-gger grin,
He jump up for sartin, he cut dirt and run,
And Sambo follow arter, with his tum, tum, tum;
Oh, Rose, you cruel Rose,
I wish I may be burnt, if I don't hate Rose.

Oh, Rose, &c.

The two black men fighting for the hand of the same woman was a staple minstrel theme.



To understand how this blackface form of entertainment took root, we must understand the nature of theatre at this time. Ever since ancient times in Europe, public entertainments were always held, well, in public. This hasn’t changed much. We have all seen buskers and some of us are buskers ourselves. There are parks where plays are put on and so on. Mumming plays are often put on in public with someone passing the hat around. When people complained about loud entertainment in the streets, the city responded by passing ordinances to restrict or prohibit such performances. But the common people needed to have their outlets and so a theatre became necessary. Some towns had only one theatre while some had several. Regardless, the masses were not going to get more than one and even then not the entire theatre. So began the practice dividing the theatre into sections.

There was the pit for the commoners, workers, clerks, etcetera—a place in front of the stage where admission was general—and the boxes where the wealthier patrons sat. There was a middle section (service tier) for prostitutes because they often brought fairly wealthy clients—businessmen from out-of-town and the like—to the theatre. Way up in the balcony sat the poor and low class and even Blacks on occasion. This carried over well into the 20th century when Blacks in segregated areas had to sit up in the balcony when they were allowed in at all.

In the 1820s, some theatres did not take to minstrelsy at all, opera being preferred. Some theatres played opera on some nights and minstrelsy on others. Some theatres came to cater to lower class entertainments and dispensed with opera altogether. While other lighter forms of entertainment could share the same bill with opera, minstrelsy almost never did. On those rare occasions when minstrelsy did manage to get on the same bill with an opera, this was due to the performer having achieved a degree of fame that allowed it.