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Cotton Jenny Lyrics
There's a house on a hill
By a worn down weathered old mill
In the valley below where the river winds
There's no such thing as bad times
And a soft southern flame
Oh Cotton Jenny's her name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
When the new day begins
I go down to the cotton gin
And I make my time worth while to them
Then I climb back up again
And she waits by the door
Oh Cotton Jenny I'm sore
And she rubs my feet while the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
In the hot, sickly South
When they say we'll shut my mouth
I can never be free from the cotton grind
But I know I got what's mine
She's a soft southern flame
Oh Cotton Jenny's her name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
By a worn down weathered old mill
In the valley below where the river winds
There's no such thing as bad times
And a soft southern flame
Oh Cotton Jenny's her name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
I go down to the cotton gin
And I make my time worth while to them
Then I climb back up again
And she waits by the door
Oh Cotton Jenny I'm sore
And she rubs my feet while the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
When they say we'll shut my mouth
I can never be free from the cotton grind
But I know I got what's mine
She's a soft southern flame
Oh Cotton Jenny's her name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
Song Info
Submitted by
butneveroutgunned On May 27, 2006
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I think it has something to do with slavers, or post slavery still in a state of no income for his work.. Like he works for the same family he rents from, and never actually deals with money.. Kinda breaks even. He can never be free because he can never save money. So, in a way they still own him. But what he has is Cotten Jenny and they cant take that away, because he is free and they cant just break and sell of families like they used to.
I always thought Cotton Jenny was either his wife or someone he danced with quite often. This song always kind of made me smile; he ain't got a penny for her to spend but they're still having fun.
This song is about sex.
The "wheel of love" is a metaphor for it.
I don't believe this song is about slavery, per se. It's too heart warming for that. I've always had this image in my mind of Cotton Jenny being an African-American beauty, living in a little pretty cottage on a hill, and she and the singer, both poor laborers, cheer each other up and love to have a good, intimate time. This song makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Too crass, Zorro.
More about true love shared by two people stuck by life circumstances. She doesn't need riches to be content with another human being.
And neither does he.
Sex is part of that, but it's more than "just" sex. In fact, if you bothered to actually think and observe: there's no such thing as "just" sex.
emotion, good or bad, now or later, is always attached.