There is, actually. The early versions of the song include the lyric
"Tuck my gal away fum me,
Carried her off to Tennessee."
So clearly Cotton-Eyed Joe is in Tennessee with your girl.
Where he came from, however, remains a mystery.
It's worth noting that the Cotton-Eyed Joe of the old version has a flat nose, no teeth, and crossed eyes, but gets the girl anyway because he's tall and slim. Compared to the Rednex Cotton Eye Joe who is described as "So handsome and strong", who used his eyes specifically in the wooing of ladies.
There may never have been a Cotton-Eye Joe. He is always-already absent, having ‘gone' (but where?). With no known origin, no presence, and no known fate, he is without the spatiotemporal features that constitute an existing person, or even object
All we can do is ask "where did Joe come from, and where did Joe go?"
Similarly, why does everyone gets worked up about "pop being in the oak"?
Maybe Old Pop in an Oak would have some knowledge of his whereabouts.
Why did I hear this in Robert Stacks voice?
There is, actually. The early versions of the song include the lyric
"Tuck my gal away fum me,
Carried her off to Tennessee."
So clearly Cotton-Eyed Joe is in Tennessee with your girl.
Where he came from, however, remains a mystery.
It's worth noting that the Cotton-Eyed Joe of the old version has a flat nose, no teeth, and crossed eyes, but gets the girl anyway because he's tall and slim. Compared to the Rednex Cotton Eye Joe who is described as "So handsome and strong", who used his eyes specifically in the wooing of ladies.
Probably a coal mine because the miners would come out completely covered in coal with you only being able to make out their eyes.
Nor have we discovered the perpetrator who let the canines out
"Okay! We don't know where he came from or where he went. What do we know?! Anyone?"
There may never have been a Cotton-Eye Joe. He is always-already absent, having ‘gone' (but where?). With no known origin, no presence, and no known fate, he is without the spatiotemporal features that constitute an existing person, or even object