Sample from Research Paper on Duke Ellington’s Jump for Joy:

Duke Ellington—popular composer, pianist, and bandleader of jazz orchestras—

remains a household name to this day due to his musical accomplishments, but is often

forgotten for his contribution to representation in American theater. Born Edward

Kennedy Ellington, “Duke” ventured beyond his typical area of expertise into the realm

of musical theatre in 1941 with the show Jump for Joy. On Jump for Joy, Almena Davis

of the Los Angeles Tribune said it “[reflected] truly the happy satire of colored life…

Uncle Tom is dead. God rest his bones.” The show’s awkward charm allowed it to

communicate its progressive message of civil injustice without threatening the white

audiences of its day.

The title song of the musical is still today noted for its clever use of coded

language. At first glance, the lyrics to the title song “Jump for Joy” appear no different

from other traditional hymns of enslaved peoples in the Antebellum South. Only when

the musical’s context of specifically Jim Crow-era Black identity is taken into

consideration does the subversive humor and cultural commentary become evident.

The song, co-written with white lyricist Paul Webster, refers to the struggles of Black

performers continually tokenized and exploited in the entertainment industry; how they

were forced to continually perpetuate minstrel-show stereotypes to appease a white

audience, and how Duke himself lived this experience.

The song begins with, “Fare thee well land of cotton”. The saccharine tone

concealing the fact that Duke isn’t wishing a farewell as much as he is ushering the

remnants of slavery out the door. It beings with open acknowledgement of what the

country won’t acknowledge: its history of human enslavement and lack of reparations
for it. It continues, “Cotton lisle is out of style/ Honey Chile/ Jump for Joy”. The joke “out

of style” would suggest that in the eighty years post the civil war, we had moved beyond

white domination, which the writers knew that we knew not to be true. The title phrase

“Jump for Joy” can be viewed as sarcastic, for Ellington is commenting on the lack of

progress on behalf of the black man, and his lack of cause for celebration. Ellington

makes a mockery of the idea that black citizens should be grateful for “how far we’ve

come” when it comes to race relations and how they’re discussed.

Ulanov, Barry. “Jump for Joy.” Duke Ellington : The Roots of Jazz, Hachette Books,

1975, pp. 239–46.