"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, 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/or flour and lard shortening.

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 a 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 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 doesn't 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. 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 goes:

Other renditions

The Beach Boys version

"Shortenin' Bread" was recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys numerous times. Only one version has seen official release, as the final track on their 1979 album L.A. (Light Album). 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. Numerous anecdotes have been reported about Wilson's obsession with the song: A number of Wilson-produced "Shortenin' Bread" and "Ding Dang" variations remain unreleased. Titles include "Clangin'" (recorded with Nilsson), "Brian's Jam", and "Rolling Up to Heaven". A version that was developed from a 1973 session, featuring American Spring as guest vocalists, was completed for the unreleased album Adult/Child in 1977.