I vaguely remember the song, but I do not remember lyrics having to do with any particular race or color or slavery, but I'm sure there are lots of different versions of most songs. I do know that my mother & every member of her family-which included her 9 siblings-picked cotton in Eastern Oklahoma. My mother's family happens to be of mainly Irish ancestry, not African-American. I asked my mother about the song, & she said she remembered hearing it being while picking cotton when she was young. She said there were many songs sung about cotton, especially while picking out in the fields. She said she always thought the song was supposed to be satirical as picking cotton is such back breaking work.
   The song about picking cotton which was often requested of me in nursing homes (in Oklahoma) was Them Old Cotton Fields Back Home. Once when singing it (in Tulsa), I saw the look on the faces of a couple of young Black nurse aids, I asked the residents (mostly white) how many of them had picked cotton when they were young. Almost all raised their hands, and I asked them to share their memories of those days. The black employees were talking about it all day, as they had assumed that only slaves picked cotton, and were shocked that so many of the residents there had picked cotton for very small amounts of money. I believe all of the nursing home employees learned much that day.