For those who are not aware, I am working on a couple of pieces for a barbershop quartet group. One of those songs is called “Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah,” a song that is more or less familiar to many people who sing or hear music. At first glance, there is little that is particularly remarkable about this song, which is a happy-go-lucky tune, but underneath the surface the song becomes considerably more interesting, given the wide gap between the spread and influence of the song itself and the forgotten nature of its original film. Today, therefore, I would like to examine this song in its historical and cultural context so that it might be better understood how ironic and controversial this upbeat little song really is.

At first glance, it might be a little bit difficult to believe how a song about a little bluebird of happiness could have anything at all to do with controversy, especially since it was an Academy Award winning song in 1947 that has been covered by musicians as diverse as Johny Mercer, Chevy Chase, and Aly & Aj. The controversy, of course, is not from the song itself, but rather from the context of the song, as it appears as one of the tunes in the Disney film “Song Of The South [1].” “Song Of The South” may just be the most controversial Disney film of all time (perhaps even more so than The Black Cauldron), and it was recognized at the time by Walt Disney as being potentially dangerous because the original screenwriter was a proud Southerner who turned the somewhat familiar Uncle Remus stories (at least I was familiar with them as a child growing up in the rural South) and turned them into a whitewashed view of the unreconstructed Southern mindset during the Reconstruction.

If “Song Of The South” was recognized as being potentially too racist in the 1940’s (!), its portrayal of benevolent white masters and simple black folk has not aged well at all. The film has never been released in VHS or DVD, and only snippets of the film have been shown as the part of other Disney compilations. It is unlikely that “Song Of The South” will ever be deemed suitable for widespread consumption, even though I have known people who went out of their way to get pirated copies of the film when I lived in Florida. Personally, I think it appropriate that most children are protected from this unacceptable historical view of the South, given that there are enough wicked but enduring and popular portrayals of the South as being a virtuous region of people who eschewed oppression in their race relations and were innocent victims of brutal Yankees (see “Gone With The Wind”). This is, of course, total nonsense. Nevertheless, the fact remains that even in its highly censored form, “Song Of The South” has achieved a role of significant cultural influence, not merely through its portrayal of the Uncle Remus stories (which are wonderful stories themselves and a notable cultural artifact), but also through its music and through the way that it has become embedded in the larger political context of the portrayal of the Reconstruction South, including the sympathetic view of the band Alabama to the movie, presumably, in their song by the same name.

The difficulty with “Song Of The South” and that which is connected to it (like its songs) is that the film itself appeared to come with a strong motive to present the postwar South in a flattering and dishonest way. By doing so there was the notable problem that the cliched characterization within the film represents a stereotypical and reactionary approach to difficult racial matters. On the other hand, the fact that “Song Of The South” is so controversial and also so heavily censored tends to inflame those who believe that the South has nothing to be ashamed of for its history and who are upset at constantly feeling the need to apologize for historical wrongs. There is a valid point for such a perspective inasmuch as present-day people have deliberately worked for the cause of justice and have ceased the oppression of the poor and vulnerable. There is a fine balance that must be kept between an honest admission of the past and a struggle to overcome the patterns of the past so they do not simply change names and faces while retaining the evil at its base. And sadly, the little bluebird of happiness is not as innocent as would appear to be the case at first glance, as unfortunate as that is.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_the_South