Global InformationCarve Dat Possum information
| "Carve Dat Possum" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of "Carve Dat Possum", 1875 | |
| Song | |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1875 |
| Songwriter(s) | Sam Lucas |
"Carve Dat Possum" is a minstrel song attributed to Sam Lucas in 1875. Very popular in its time,[1] it tells of hunting and preparing a possum to eat. The chorus:
- Carve dat possum, carve dat possum, children,
- Carve dat possum, carve him to de heart;
- Carve dat possum, carve dat possum, children,
- Carve dat possum, carve him to de heart.[2]
The song, as published by Lucas, is in 2/4 time.
Although the song was first performed by Lucas, The Pacific Appeal (San Francisco, October 25, 1879) notes that "it was only after a long epistolary discussion that Henry Hart (musician) obtained a public acknowledgement that he was the genuine author."
- ^ Johnson, Black Manhattan, p. 118: "One of the most popular of the minstrel songs of the seventies was 'Carve dat 'Possum,' written by Sam Lucas."
- ^ Lucas, "Carve Dat Possum".