"Zip Coon" which was popular in the 1830's was one of the earliest pieces of music used extensively by black-face singers before the advent of the minstrel shows. The Zip Coon character was an urban dandy, the complete opposite of the Jim Crow character who was depicted as rural. The unofficial garb for Zip Coon included a blue long-tailed jacket, a frilly lacey front shirt, watch fob and jewelry. At least 3 different performers claimed to have written the song. George Washington Dixon who is mentioned on the cover of sheet music published by J.L. Hewitt & Co. sometime between 1830 and 1835 ( a reprint of this sheet music can be found in: Popular Songs of Nineteenth-Century America by Richard Jackson, Dover Publications 1976). George Nichols who was an early blackface clown in circuses. Bob Farrell, who was actually known as "Zip Coon", and is known to have performed it in New York in 1834. Below are the lyrics as contained in the sheet music. Most of the odd spellings are in the original and I will try not to add too many new ones.

OLD ZIP COON

Oh, ole Zip Coon he is a larned skolar,
Oh ole Zip Coon he is a larned skolar,
Oh, ole Zip Coon he is a larned skolar,
Sings posum up a gum tree an' coony in a holler.
Posum up a gum tree, Coony on a stump,
Posum up a gum tree, Coony on a stump,
Posum up a gum tree, Coony on a stump,
Den over dubble trubble Zip Coon will jump.

CHORUS: (To the first part of the tune)
O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day.
O Zip a duden duden duden duden duden day.
O Zip a duden duden duden duden duden day.
O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day.

O it's old Suky blue skin, she is in lub wid me,
I went the udder arternoon to take a dish ob tea;
What do you tink now, Suky hab for supper,
Why chicken foot an posum heel, widout any butter.

Did you eber see the wild goose, sailing on de ocean,
O de wild goose motion is a bery pretty notion;
Ebry time de wild goose beckons to de swaller,
You hear him google google google google gollar.

I went down to Sandy Hollar tother arternoon
And the first man I chanced to meet war ole Zip Coon;
Ole Zip Coon he is a natty skolar,
For he plays upon de banjo "Cooney in de hollar."

My old Missus she's mad wid me,
Kase I wouldn't go wid her into Tennessee,
Mass build him barn and put in de fodder,
'Twas dis ting and dat ting, one ting or odder.

I pose you heard ob de battle New Orleans
Whar ole Gineral Jackson gib de British beans;
Dare de Yankee boys do de job so slick,
For dey cotch old Packenham and rowed him up de creek.

I hab many tings to tork about, but don't know wich come fust,
So here de toast to old Zip Coon before he gin to rust;
May he hab de pretty girls, like de King ob ole,
To sing dis song so many times, fore he turns to mole.

rich r