Racial No Nos

8. [outside of or along with educational study/discussion]
   showcasing songs or poems that lament being Black.

Such as this 'classic':

Cold empty bed...springs hurt my head
Feels like ole Ned...wished I was dead
What did I do...to be so black and blue

Even the mouse...ran from my house
They laugh at you...and all that you do
What did I do...to be so black and blue

I'm white...inside...but, that don't help my case
That's life...can't hide...what is in my face

How would it end...ain't got a friend
My only sin...is in my skin
What did I do...to be so black and blue

(instrumental break)

How would it end...I ain't got a friend
My only sin...is in my skin
What did I do...to be so black and blue

[Recorded by Louis Armstrong July 22, 1929 with his Orchestra.
He also recorded the song in 1955 with his All Stars.]

http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/riff/11/frame/b9.html

-snip-

What??? "I'm white...inside...but, that don't help my case"

"My only sin...is in my skin
What did I do...to be so black and blue"

I've been told that in African tradition, art should not be solely for art's sake. What does this song say to Black children, youth, and adults? And what does it say to non-Black children, youth, and adults about the virtues of not being Black?

I DESPISE this song.