Hence a song current among the negroes, the chorus of which was: ‘Run, nigger, run patter-roller ketch you – Run, nigger, run hit’s almos’ day.’ ”Īnother white gent, Abraham Hoss Yeager, wrote in his autobiography about a folk song which “grew out of the custom of appointing patrols to see that the Negroes stayed in their quarters at night.” “In the country districts,” Harris wrote, “order was kept on the plantations at night by the knowledge that they were liable to be visited at any moment by the patrols. Joel Chandler Harris, that famous white expert on Southern Negroes – (he wrote the “Uncle Remus” stories) – mentions the song by way of defining the black term “patter-rollers” (“patrols”). There is much documentary evidence that this was a popular song amongst colored folk. The only black version I can find is a half-minute fragment by prison inmate Mose “Clear Rock” Platt, recorded by folklorists John and Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress. “Run, nigger, run” isn’t supposed to be a threat it’s a cheer. More precisely, a song sung by slaves.Īnd that, of course, gives a whole different meaning to the lyric. Now here’s the real surprise: “Run, Nigger, Run” was originally a black folk song. Click here to listen to a verse recited by a white woman in Tennessee, as documented by folklorist John Quincy Wolf. “Run, Nigger, Run” was already a part of Southern folklore. They were a popular and influential group that recorded this song (and more than 100 others) for Columbia Records!Īlso, they didn’t write it. Just so you know, the Skillet Lickers were NOT the house band for the Ku Klux Klan. Run nigger run, well you better get away. Run nigger run, the pateroller catch you, In case you couldn’t make out the words, he’s saying: Oh, I wish I could see your face right now. Now, ready for a version with lyrics? Click here for “Run, Nigger, Run” as recorded in 1927 by the Skillet Lickers (pictured).

You can click here and sample Fiddlin’ Eck Robertson’s rendition from the 1920s, streaming on my Vox audio stash. It has been recorded by famous fiddlers such as Eck Robertson and Earl Collins, and by banjo-pluckers like Uncle Dave Macon and Jim Smoak.īut those were instrumental versions.

This tune – under the variant title “Run, Boy, Run” – is an old-time country music standard. I stumbled upon a classic American folk song earlier this year.

Lyrics to run boy run