All we can do is ask "where did Joe come from, and where did Joe go?"

by Anonymous 10 months ago

Similarly, why does everyone gets worked up about "pop being in the oak"?

by Anonymous 10 months ago

Maybe Old Pop in an Oak would have some knowledge of his whereabouts.

by Anonymous 10 months ago

Why did I hear this in Robert Stacks voice?

by Anonymous 10 months ago

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.

by Anonymous 10 months ago

Probably a coal mine because the miners would come out completely covered in coal with you only being able to make out their eyes.

by Anonymous 10 months ago

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

by Anonymous 10 months ago

"Okay! We don't know where he came from or where he went. What *do* we know?! Anyone?"

by Anonymous 10 months ago

Nor have we discovered the perpetrator who let the canines out

by Anonymous 10 months ago