Dinah has a modern meaning for my family. We grew up singing the song at various family situations, but after we got a whistling teapot, we refer to Dinah as our teapot. "Go put Dinah on." means to put the teakettle on the stove to heat up. We sing the "someone's in the kitchen with Dinah...." as a reference to company. So........add this to your history lesson.

Things become fungible over enough time. Our early American History will soon become myth as in Robin Hood and Camelot levels if we don't educate and continue without being always so politically correct.

Here's something to banter about and speculate upon.....Origins of songs should not be bastardized. If only the early song masters and minstrels could have copyrights to what we carelessly toss about. Eenie, Meenie, Mynie, Moe, a phrase that was traded to "tiger by his toe" was switched to be politically correct. If the period it existed for is extinct, then maybe the song should be too or used only as in depth education for the history lessons on the developemet of the world. Clementine seems to have survived with better results. Go figure. Good luck. Is anyone researching this with the music departments of any university or corporate history libraries for journals by people like the Gershwin's or Copelands?

Think about it. Think about it. I would love to have the ORIGINAL words, unbastardized and notated as to meaning, too. So-where do we go for the truth???