"Old Dan Tucker", also known as "Ole Dan Tucker", "Dan Tucker" and other variants, is a popular American song. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and performer Dan Emmett. The blackface troupe the Virginia Minstrels popularized "Old Dan Tucker" in 1843 and it quickly became a minstrel hit. "Old Dan Tucker" as originally published exemplifies the masculine boasting songs that predominated in early minstrelsy. Musicologist Dale Cockrell argues that the song represents a transition between early minstrel music and the more European-style songs of minstrelsy's later years. "Old Dan Tucker" passed from the minstrel stage to folk usage where it was used for many variations where verses were added or deleted according to the whim of the singer. It was also used for bawdy lyrics along the lines of "Old Dan Tucker was a mean motherfucker ...". I remember singing "Old Dan Tucker" in grade school with the first verse and chorus shown here.