Oh, Dem Golden Slippers
Words & Music:
James A. Bland
Bland was an African-American composer who produced nearly
all of his output of now classic American songs (including, ironically, "Carry
Me Back To Old Virginny") between 1878 & 1881 when he was one of the most
famous and highest-paid minstrel men in America. This song was originally a parody of the Fisk Jubilee
Singers' spiritual "Golden Slippers".
Its minstrel show origins are reflected in the original spelling out of
the patois (i.e. "dem" for "them and "gwine" for "going"") I've found a version of the original,
but kept this one, because it is considered racist now and is hard for 21st
century readers to suss out.
A
E7
Oh, my
golden slippers are laid away, 'cause I don't 'spect to wear 'em Ôtil my
wedding day.
E7
A
And my
long-tailed coat that I love so well, I will wear up in the chariot in the morn.
And my long
white robe that I bought last June, I'm gonna get changed 'cause it fits too
soon,
And the old
grey horse that I used to drive, I will hitch him to the chariot in the morn.
CHORUS:
A
D
Oh, them
golden slippers! Oh, them golden
slippers!
E7
A
Golden
slippers I'm gonna wear, because they look so neat.
A
D
Oh, them
golden slippers! Oh, them golden
slippers!
E7
A
Golden
slippers I'm gonna wear to walk the golden street.
Oh, my ol'
banjo hangs on the wall,
'Cause it
ain't been tuned since' way last fall,
But the
folks all say we'll have a good time,
When we
ride up in the chariot in the morn.
There's old
Brother Ben an' his sister Luce,
They will
telegraph the news to Uncle BaccoJuice
What a
great camp meetin' there will be that day
When we
ride up in the chariot in the morn.
CHORUS:
So, it's
good-bye, children, I will have to go,
Where the
rain don't fall and the wind don't blow
And your
Ulster coats, why, you will not need,
When you
ride up in the chariot in the morn;
But your
golden slippers must be nice and clear
And your
age must be just sweet sixteen,
And your
white kid gloves you will have to wear
When you
ride up in the chariot in the morn.
CHORUS: