Coon, Coon, Coon
Coon, Coon, Coon is a "coon song" from 1900. The words were written by Gene Jefferson and the music by Leo Friedman. The lyrics are about an African American concerned with his appearance including his skin color and hair type while not being accepted by a woman. He makes efforts to acquire Caucasian characteristics but fails and is called out. Songsheet cover for the music include caricatured African American faces and a photograph of minstrel performers of the song inset.

The song was performed by Lew Dockstader. Arthur Collins and Joe Natus recorded a rendition of the song on Edison Records in 1901. The University of California Santa Barbara has a brown wax phonograph cylinder recording of the song. A version of the songsheet has a photograph of Irving Jones inset. In 1902, "Coon! Coon! Coon!" was published in the "Song-book of the Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania", A. Groux, printer.
The Library of Congress has a photograph of two Caucasian children pointing at an African American described as illustrating a line from the song.

A version of the song was recorded in the Max Hunter Folk Song Collection.
Coon songs such as this one ridicule African Americans. The derisive term coon, a shortened form of raccoon alluding to cunning, was used to refer to Native Americans, Whigs, and "sly rustic" types before being used to describe African Americans.

Gid Tanner and Fate Norris recorded the song in 1928 as did Will Gilmer and R.O. Mosley. The Taylor Trio recorded it in 1930.

In 1945, William Howland Kenney gave a partial defense of Arthur Collins singing the lyrics of the song and described it as bathetic.

Charles Kenyon incorporated a Caucasian woman struggling to perform the song in 
the 1929 movie "Show Boat".
Q2265295
coon song
Concept
None
Gene Jefferson
UNK
Q6523747
Leo Friedman
PER
Q841192
minstrel
Concept
Q6535967
Lew Dockstader
PER
Q1563772
Arthur Collins
PER
Q89875172
Joe Natus
MEDIA
Q5338419
Edison Records
MEDIA
Q691783
phonograph cylinder
Concept
None
Irving Jones
UNK
Q131454
Library of Congress
LOC
Q42183
Whigs
Concept
Q810799
bathetic
Concept
Q5079766
Charles Kenyon
PER
Q2066803
Show Boat
MEDIA
Q96375458
Coon, Coon, Coon
UNK
1900-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1900
DATE
1901-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1901
DATE
1902-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1902
DATE
1928-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1928
DATE
1930-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1930
DATE
1945-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1945
DATE
1929-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1929
DATE
publication date