Polly Wolly Doodle was written by Daniel Emmet in the 1800's. He founded the first troupe of blackface minstrels. He also wrote the song "Dixie" and is credited witht he song "Turkey in the Straw". Polly Wolly Doodle has its origins as a slave song in the south and is mostly likely a nonsense word without hidden meaning. Here's the entire lyric... Oh, I went down South for to see my Sal singing Polly wolly doodle all the day my Sal, she am a spunky gal sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Fare thee well, fare thee well, fare thee well my fairy Fay for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Oh, my Sal, she is a maiden fair sing Polly wolly doodle all the day with curly eyes and laughing hair sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Fare thee well, fare thee well, fare thee well my fairy Fay for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Oh I like watermelon and I have for years sing Polly wolly doodle all the day I eat watermelon because it gets upon my ears sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Fare thee well, fare thee well, fare thee well my fairy Fay for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Oh, a grasshopper sittin' on a railroad track sing Polly wolly doodle all the day a pickin' his teeth with a carpet tack sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Fare thee well, fare thee well, fare thee well my fairy Fay I'm going to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Behind the barn, down on my knees sing Polly wolly doodle all the day I thought I heard a chicken sneeze sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Oh he sneezed so hard with the whooping cough sing Polly wolly doodle all the day he sneezed his head and his tail right off sing Polly wolly doodle all the day Fare thee well, fare thee well, fare thee well my fairy Fay for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna sing Polly Wolly Doodle sing Polly Wolly Doodle sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day (Traditional / De Sylva)

Without doing excessive-compulsive deconstruction, I find it hard to believe that there is no meaning in the lyrics. If the singer is extolling the virues of his gal Sal whom he is going to see down South, who is the Susyanna that he is going to Lousiana to see?And who are Fay and Polly herself? Is this all a thinly veiled reference to the supposed philandering character of the stereotypical Negro slave in the minstrel canon? The grasshopper and chicken coop verses are standard nonsense lyrics but also hint at the ignorant black too dumb to get out of the way of the train, and the thieving black so scared that he fears even the sound of a chicken sneezing. Remember that this was performed in blackface for white audiences, even though it has come down to us as a simple children'sditty, with a catchy melody that still pops into my head every once and a while. Who remembers the radio soap opera in the '30s that used it as a theme song?

"It's all about getting off the gold standard("Fare thee well, fare thee well" refers to getting away from it and going to New Orleans where they had a mint that minted silver coins in the late 1800's), William Jennings Bryan (his nickname in childhood may have been Polly Wally), the then powerful Railroad industry (Oh, a grasshopper sittin' on a railroad track)and the possibility of a silver standard(again, the mention of Louisiana). Although the "man behind the curtian" (a verse that is unknown to-day)put the kibosh on the silver standard and anyone trying to reveal the true meaning of the song because the United States never went to a silver standard." ~ "Leftwell's Cyclopedic Compendium", 1895. pp. 35-36, Brumm Bros. Publishing, Teutopolis, IL

A simple nonsense song that one sings when walking a long! Hope that helps as have sung it often with kids!

4-25-2007 This question belongs in the sexual positions category.