The school disco classic has been the soundtrack to many a hoedown, but an internet rumour promises to ruin it forever
A RIDICULOUS theory claims that country hit Cotton Eye Joe was really a song about STD's - and the lyrics fit this crazy claim surprisingly well.
The school disco classic has been the soundtrack to many a hoedown, but a rumour circulating on the web promises to ruin it forever.
People claim that the Rednex version of Cotton Eye Joe, originally covered in 1994 and remixed in 2002, comes with an unlikely meaning - it's all about STIs.
The rumour may clearly be an uncomfortable myth, but the song's lyrics fit this eye-watering hidden meaning far better than you could ever imagine.
The clue is in the name, since Cotton Eye Joe is a slang term referring to the process of a man being swabbed for sexual diseases.
An Urban Dictionary entry lists the term Cotton Eye Joe as: "The act of a man having his urethra swabbed to test for STDs.
"Or just another name for STDs because you have to get the swabbing."
When you think about the lyrics, it's easy to see how this ridiculous theory came into being:
“If it hadn’t been for cotton-eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
"Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, cotton-eye Joe?"
Just when you thought things could get any worse, the second verse only reinforces the claim:
"He brought disaster wherever he went,
"The hearts of the girls was to hell broken sent.
"They all ran away so nobody would know,
"and left only men cause of Cotton-Eye Joe."
However, the song's country origins can be traced back far enough that the STI theory can be exposed as an almost-certain myth.
Although the lyrics aren't the same as the popular Rednex remix, the song is said to be so old that it predates the 1861–1865 American Civil War.
And there is a far more likely take on the song's link to STIs: the term Cotton Eye Joe was coined as a result of the hit track, rather than the other way round.
In fact, the term Cotton Eye Joe once referred to someone who had cataracts or was going blind - and needed to wear a cotton eye patch.
This suggests that the song's original meaning was nothing to do with STI tests - meaning we can all go back to enjoying the cheesy remix.
This isn't the first ridiculous theory to sweep the internet, after we revealed that fans of classic film Ferris Bueller's Day Off have developed a disturbing take on the movie.
Meanwhile, morbid Grease fans have ruined the film's innocence by claiming that Sandy was really dead throughout the entire flick.
