"John Johanna", also known as "My Name Is John Johanna" or "The State of Arkansas" is a humorous song that comes from the minstrel stage, likely dating the song between the 1820s and the 1840s, during which blackface minstrelsy was at its height. The song tells the story of an unfortunate young man who finds himself appalled at the living and working conditions in Arkansas. The state of Arkansas was admitted to the Union in 1836. This song draws on fairly typical frontier stereotypes, Arkansas being largely untamed wilderness during the mid-19th century. This song is similar in both melody and lyrics to "The Buffalo Skinners", also in this section. It was recorded by Kelly Harrell and the Virginia String Band in Camden, New Jersey on March 23, 1927 for Victor records. This recording was included in The Anthology of American Folk Music, edited by Harry Smith which was originally issued by Folkways Records in 1952. More recently it was recorded by John Cohen on Elektra's Old Time Banjo Project. It was printed as "Old Arkansas" in Sharp's English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians (1917).