Jump Jim Joe

Originating from the United States of America

We have taken the decision to remove this song from the Song Bank since information about its problematic history has come to light.

Jump Jim Joe originated in the stage routine of a racist blackface minstrel character called Jim Crow in the 1830s and is an example of a song where the lyrics have changed through use. The song's association with the Jim Crow laws in the USA makes it inappropriate to include in our resources. You can read a little more about this song on Decolonizing the music room, here.