"Cotton Eye Joe" is a song by the Swedish

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

group

Rednex Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American country music and modern eurodance, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American redneck stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead s ...

, released in August 1994 by Jive and Zomba as the lead single from their debut studio album, '' Sex & Violins'' (1995). Based on the traditional American

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

Cotton-Eyed Joe "Cotton-Eyed Joe" (also known as "Cotton-Eye Joe") ( Roud 942) is a traditional American country folk song popular at various times throughout the United States and Canada. It has historical associations with slavery in the American South. The ...

", it blends the group's Eurodance style with traditional American instruments like the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

and

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

. The song was written by Janne Ericsson, Örjan "Öban" Öberg, and Pat Reiniz, and produced by Reiniz. The vocal verses are performed by Annika Ljungberg, while the "Cotton Eye Joe" chorus is sung by Göran Danielsson, who does not appear in the music video, which was directed by Stefan Berg. "Cotton Eye Joe" became a number-one hit in at least 11 countries and reached numbers 25 and 23 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100 charts, respectively. In Sweden, it was the most successful single of 1994. In 2002, "Cotton Eye Joe" was remixed into a new dance version and included on Rednex's first greatest hits album, '' The Best of the West'' (2002).

Composition

"Cotton Eye Joe" is based on the traditional country folk song "

" and begins with the chorus sung by the male vocalist. Nearly a minute into the track, the female vocalist delivers the first of two verses. The song has a runtime of 3 minutes and 14 seconds, a tempo of 132 BPM, and a

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of 4/4. It is written in the key of A minor. In the 2002 book, ''Move Your Body (2 The 90s): Unlimited Eurodance'', writer Juha Soininen wrote that the song "broke the euro mould by letting a man sing the refrain while a woman sang the middle part." In 2013, there was a song called “Sno Kone Joe”, which is an ice cream place in New York State, that had the same tune as the song.

Critical reception

Johnny Loftus from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

named "Cotton Eye Joe" a "backwater Euro-dance novelty".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described it as "

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

hoedown fiddling sewn into a raucous

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

dance beat", noting that the song has "cheeky rap poking stereotypical fun at Southerners". J.D. Considine from ''

The Daily Gazette ''The Daily Gazette,'' from 1902 to 1989 ''Schenectady Gazette,'' is an independent, family-owned daily newspaper published in Schenectady, New York. ''The Daily Gazette'' also owns and operates ''The Amsterdam Recorder'', ''The Gloversville L ...

'' called it "the piece de resistance, a track so infernally catchy that you almost don't notice how screamingly funny it is." Jim Farber from '' Daily News'' complimented the band for managing "to crack the pop singles chart at a time when even country stars who sell millions of albums can't make hay on the pop song list." David Browne from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' commented, "For sheer audaciousness, it's not surprising that the record is garnering such attention. Where else can you hear a barn-dance staple gone techno, complete with dance-diva wailing and manic

s and

s?" Tom Ewing of

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2 ...

said that "Cotton Eye Joe” work "on that basic, energetic, ass-moving level", adding that "the hollering diva interludes actually change things up a little, though that decades-old

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

is solid enough to stand on its own." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' noted that "this group from Sweden puts a techno spin on a square dance staple", stating that its "fresh, unique approach makes 'Cotton Eye Joe' so hot." A reviewer from ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', also known as ''Knox News'', is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: '' ...

'' described it as "techno-hoedown". In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

deemed it "a massive party smash no matter where you are". Howard Cohen from ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

'' wrote that "every decade has its novelty song", adding that "it deserves credit for its gumption, at least." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' said "it takes three to set a trend:

the Grid The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal C ...

's "

Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...

", the Two Cowboys' " Everybody Gonfi-Gon" and Bravado's 'Harmonica Man'. Rednex are the next modern barn dance act." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it five out of five, describing it as "

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

meets country in an irritatingly catchy tune", that is "guaranteed to pack the dance floors at party time and a cast iron cert of a hit." John Kilgo from ''The Network Forty'' complimented "Cotton Eye Joe" as a "outright winner", stating that "this novelty track is not only catchy and fun, but uptempo as well." Stuart Bailie from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "A fantastic western dance (and if you haven't thrown shapes to this at The Broken Spoke in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, well, you've missed out, mate) is given the full-on techno treatment, like that cowboy outfit The Grid have done already this year. Maybe another novelty turn, but fun with it."

Neil Spencer Neil Spencer is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and astrologer who lives in north London. He edited the ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') from 1978 to 1985 and was a founding editor of the men's magazine ''Arena'' and of the jazz/art ma ...

from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' viewed it as "an initially amusing joke".

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update declared it a "happily galloping Swedish disco hoedown with square dance caller, fiddle and banjo". Chuck Campbell from ''

Scripps Howard News Service The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by E. W. Scripps, Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a ...

'' felt it "has the same novelty appeal" as "

I'm Too Sexy "I'm Too Sexy" is a song by British pop band Right Said Fred, released in July 1991 by Tug Records as their debut single from their first album, '' Up'' (1992). The song was written by band members and brothers Fred Fairbrass and Richard Fa ...

", "but in addition to the aggressive dance rhythm and offbeat vocals, the Rednex song also features an impossibly high-voiced woman and manic fiddle and banjo."

Chart performance

"Cotton Eye Joe" held the number-one position for 15 weeks in Norway, 13 weeks in Switzerland, 10 weeks in Germany, eight weeks in Sweden, seven weeks in Austria, and three weeks in the United Kingdom. In the UK, the single reached the top spot during its fifth week on the UK Singles Chart, on 8 January 1995. It also peaked at number one in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands, as well as on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

. In Ireland, it peaked at number two in January 1995. In New Zealand, the song topped the

RIANZ Singles Chart Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

for six consecutive weeks. In neighbouring Australia, it peaked at number eight in April 1995. In the United States, it peaked at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 23 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. "Cotton Eye Joe" was awarded a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in Australia, the Netherlands, and the US. It also received a platinum record in Austria, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK, as well as a double-platinum record in Germany and Norway.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Cotton Eye Joe" was directed by Swedish director Stefan Berg. It won the prize for the best Swedish dance video at the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Swedish Dance Music Awards. The video features the band performing in a barn during a hoedown where the guests did activities such as dancing, playing and splashing in old wild west baths, and riding a mechanical bull. Several signs can be seen in the barn, with inscriptions like "Horses outside", "No bath!" and "No sex allowed". The video ends with a short fast-motion clip of a girl riding the mechanical bull. Göran Danielsson, who sings the "Cotton Eye Joe" chorus, never appears in the video. It received heavy rotation on

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initia ...

and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA. In the US, the video generated massive reaction on its first week on The Box. "Cotton Eye Joe" was later made available on Rednex's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel in 2013.

Impact and legacy

MTV Dance Club MTV, formerly MTV Dance, is a European pay television music channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA that which replaced the British MTV Base on 7 March 2008. The network mainly broadcasts music videos from the electronica and techno genres, a ...

ranked "Cotton Eye Joe" number 51 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011. ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

'' ranked it number 97 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" in 2017. '' Paste'' magazine ranked the song number 17 in "The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics" list in 2017. ''

ThoughtCo Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

'' ranked it number 92 in their list of "The Top 100 Best Party Songs of All Time" in 2018, adding, "What happens when you combine

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

, and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

? It goes something like this hit". ''

'' magazine ranked "Cotton Eye Joe" number 49 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time" in February 2024, writing, "A dangerously stomping Eurocountry reinvention of a 150-plus-year-old folk song, and one of the most demented crossover hits of the ’90s." 2001 BDO World Champion John Walton uses this as his walk-on music. "Cotton Eye Joe" was frequently played for a segment called "Coin Quest" in the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

television series '' FishCenter Live''.

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

sang a

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

-style version of this song on his eponymous late-night talk show as part of the ''Musical Genre Challenge''. In 2021, the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

team the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

stopped using the song during games after consultation with local groups alleging the song has racist origins. On August 12, 2023, "Cotton Eye Joe" interrupted a tiebreaker during a Canadian Open match between Iga Świątek and Jessica Pegula. The point was replayed. The song could later be heard playing over the loudspeakers after Pegula went on to defeat Świątek in three sets. In August 2024, fans of the Disney Channel cartoon ''

Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twi ...

'' discovered that inputting the name of the character Fiddleford Hadron McGucket into a website created by series creator Alex Hirsch as a tie in for a recent book related to the series, it would redirect to the "Cotton Eye Joe" video on YouTube. Rednex themselves later congratulated fans who had discovered it and shared a video related to it.

Track listings

* Original CD #"Cotton Eye Joe" (original single version) – 3:14 #"Cotton Eye Joe" (Madcow Mix) – 4:46 #"Cotton Eye Joe" (Madcow Instrumental) – 4:46 #"Cotton Eye Joe" (Overworked Mix) – 6:20 #"Cotton Eye Joe" (Original Instrumental) – 3:08 * 2002 CD #"Cotton Eye Joe 2002" – 3:33 #"Cotton Eye Joe 2002" (Dance Nation Remix) – 7:32 #"Cotton Eye Joe 2002" ( Aquagen Remix) – 7:45 #"Ride the Hurricane's Eye" (Winnetoons version) – 3:02 #"Cotton Eye Joe 2002" (extended version) – 5:56

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Sales and certifications

Release history

References