"Shortnin' Bread" (also spelled "Shortenin' Bread", "Short'nin' Bread", or "Sho'tnin' Bread") is an American folk song dating back at least to 1900, when James Whitcomb Riley published it as a poem. While there is speculation that Riley may have based his poem on an earlier African-American plantation song,Wade, Stephen. The Beautiful Music all Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012. p. 93. no definitive evidence of such an origin has yet been uncovered. A "collected" version of the song was published by E. C. Perrow in 1915. It is song number 4209 in the Roud Folk Song Index.
'Shortening bread' refers to a bread made of corn meal and lard shortening, with or without flour.
Origins The origin of "Shortnin' Bread" is obscure. Despite speculation of African-American roots, it is possible that it may have originated with Riley as a parody of an African-American plantation song, in the minstrel or coon song traditions popular at the time.
Riley titled the song "A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out", and wrote the first verse as:
The dialect rendered into common American English would be:
The verse includes:
Another pair of verses may be later, and exist in several versions:
In some versions there are two children instead of three – and the "other" either "bump'd his head" or "was dead". The first does not quite scan. The children (or "chillun") were once referred to by one of several racist terms.
Other verses include:
Reese DuPree composed a version recorded in 1927.
Folk version Titled "Shortened Bread", E. C. Perrow published the first folk version of this song in 1915, which he collected from East Tennessee in 1912.Perrow, "Songs and Rhymes from the South", p. 142: "from Tennessee mountain whites, 1912". Archive.org The folk version of the song—as with Riley's—does not have any distinct theme, but consists of various floating lyrics, some relating to "shortnin' bread", some not. The traditional chorus associated with the folk song is:
Other renditions
Al Jolson 1926 - Gid Tanner 1933 – Paul Robeson 1938 - The Andrews Sisters 1961(?) - The Viscounts 1952 - Sonny Terry, Sonny Terry's New Sound: The Jawharp in Blues and Folk Music (1968) Lawrence Tibbett Fats Waller 1959 - Dave Brubeck 1961 - Frances Faye Richard White Clayton McMichen 1937 – Nelson Eddy, Maytime 1956 - Etta James, Etta "Miss Peaches" James: Shortnin' Bread Rock / Tears of Joy 1963 – Mississippi John Hurt, D.C. Blues: Library of Congress Recordings 1966 – Lee Dorsey 1977 - Charles Mingus (parody) 1979 and 2026 - The Beach Boys, L.A. (Light Album), We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years 1982 – Klaus Flouride 1981 – The Kelly Family, Wonderful World! 1990 – The Cramps, Stay Sick 1997 - Taj Mahal 1998 – The Tractors, Farmers in a Changing World (reached No. 57 on the Hot Country Songs chart), Heaven's Sake Kids 2002 – Laurie Berkner, Under a Shady Tree 2014 and 2017 – The Wiggles 2023 – Israel's Arcade
The Beach Boys versions
"Shortenin' Bread" was recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys numerous times. One version was released as the final track on their 1979 album L.A. (Light Album). An earlier version from the Adult/Child project was released on We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years in 2026. The band's principal songwriter Brian Wilson was reportedly obsessed with the song, having recorded more than a dozen versions of the tune. Beach Boy Al Jardine speculated that Wilson's obsession with the song may have begun after co-writing the song "Ding Dang" with the Byrds' Roger McGuinn in the early 1970s.
Personnel Adult/Child Version
Credits sourced from John Brode, Will Crerar, Joshilyn Hoisington, and Craig Slowinski.
The Beach Boys Carl Wilson - lead vocals Brian Wilson - co-lead and backing vocals, grand piano, grand piano with taped strings, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Baldwin organ, Minimoog, tambourine Dennis Wilson - drums
Additional musicians Jim Horn - baritone saxophone Diane Rovell - backing vocals
L.A. (Light Album) Version
Credits sourced from Craig Slowinski.
The Beach Boys Al Jardine – backing vocals Bruce Johnston – backing vocals, Fender Rhodes electric piano Mike Love – backing vocals Brian Wilson – piano, Moog synthesizer Carl Wilson – lead and backing vocals, guitars? Dennis Wilson – lead vocals, drums
Additional musicians Michael Andreas – saxophone Joe Chemay – additional bass guitar Bernard Fleischer – saxophone James William Guercio – bass guitar Billy Hinsche – guitars Chuck Kirkpatrick – guitar Jimmy Lyon – lead guitar Rod Novak – saxophone Fred Selden – saxophone Sterling Smith – Hammond organ
References
Bibliography
Eitel, Edmund Henry (ed.) The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley, Vol 5. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company (1913).
Perrow, E.C. "Songs and Rhymes from the South." The Journal of American Folklore, 28:108 (April - Jun. 1915) 129–190. Wade, Stephen. The Beautiful Music all Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012. Waltz, Robert B; David G. Engle. "Shortenin' Bread". The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World. Hosted by California State University, Fresno, Folklore, 2007.
External links The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley: In Ten Volumes, Including Poems and Prose Sketches, Many of which Have Not Heretofore Been Published; an Authentic Biography, an Elaborate Index and Numerous Illustrations in Color from Paintings by Howard Chandler Christy and Ethel Franklin Betts – complete text of James Whitcomb Riley's "A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out". A traditional version of lyrics and an MP3 clip are here Shortenin' Bread • Lyrics & Song Clip (free mp3)