"Jimmy Crack Corn" or "Blue-Tail Fly" is an American song which first became popular during the rise of blackface minstrelsy in the 1840s through performances by the Virginia Minstrels. It regained currency as a folk song in the 1940s at the beginning of the American folk music revival and has since become a popular children's song. Over the years, several variants have appeared.

Most versions include some idiomatic African American English, although General American versions now predominate. The basic narrative remains intact. On the surface, the song is a black slave's lament over his white master's death in a horse-riding accident. The song, however, is also interpreted as having a subtext of celebration about that death and of the slave having contributed to it through deliberate negligence or even deniable action.

When I was young I us'd to wait
On Massa and hand him de plate;
Pass down de bottle when he git dry,
And bresh away de blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn I don't care,
   Jim crack corn I don't care,
   Jim crack corn I don't care,
   Ole Massa gone away.

Den arter dinner massa sleep,
He bid dis niggar vigil keep;
An' when he gwine to shut his eye,
He tell me watch de blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn &c.

An' when he ride in de arternoon,
I foller wid a hickory broom;
De poney being berry shy
When bitten by de blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn &c.

One day he rode aroun' de farm,
De flies so numerous dey did swarm;
One chance to bite 'im on the thigh,
De debble take dat blu tail fly.
   Jim crack corn &c.

De poney run, he jump an' pitch,
An' tumble massa in de ditch;
He died, an' de jury wonder'd why
De verdic was de blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn &c.

Dey laid 'im under a 'simmon tree,
His epitaph am dar to see:
'Beneath this stone I'm forced to lie,
All by de means ob de blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn &c.

Ole massa gone, now let 'im rest,
Dey say all tings am for de best;
I nebber forget till de day I die,
Ole massa an' dat blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn &c.

De hornet gets in your eyes an nose,
De skeeter bites y'e through your close,
De gallinipper sweeten high,
But wusser yet de blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn &c.

O when you come in summer time,
To South Carlinar's sultry clime,
If in de shade you chance to lie,
You'll soon find out de blue tail fly,
   An scratch 'im wid a brier too.

Dar's many kind ob dese here tings,
From diff'rent sort ob insects springs;
Some hatch in June, an some July,
But August fotches de blue tail fly,
   An scratch 'im wid a brier too.

When I was young, I used to wait
On Massa's table an hand de plate;
I'de pass de bottle when he dry,
An brush away de blue tail fly.
   An scratch 'im &c.

Den arter dinner massa sleep,
He bid me vigilance to keep;
An when he gwine to shut he eye,
He tell me watch de blue tail fly.
   An scratch 'im &c.

When he ride in de arternoon,
I foller wid a hickory broom;
De poney being berry shy,
When bitten by de blue tail fly.
   An scratch 'im &c.

One day he rode aroun de farm,
De flies so numerous did swarm;
One chance to bite 'im on de thigh,
De debble take dat blue tail fly.
   An scratch 'im &c.

De poney run, he jump, an pitch,
An tumble massa in de ditch;
He died, an de Jury wonder why,
De verdict was, de "blue tail fly."
   An scratch 'im &c.

Dey laid 'im under a simmon tree,
His epitaph am dar to see;
Beneath dis stone I'm forced to lie,
All by de means ob de blue tail fly.
   An scratch 'im &c.

Ole Massa's gone, now let him rest,
Dey say all tings am for de best;
I neber shall forget till de day I die,
Ole Massa an de blue tail fly.
   An scratch 'im &c.

De hornet gets in your eyes an nose,
De skeeter bites y'e through your close,
De gallinipper sweeten high,
But wusser yet de blue tail fly.
   An scratch 'im &c.

"De Blue Tail Fly" was published by both Keith's Music House and Oliver Ditson in Boston in 1846, but Eric Lott (citing Hans Nathan) gives the version a date of 1844. This probably refers to Christy's Minstrels' Ethiopian Glee Book, which has sometimes been mistakenly attributed to 1844; in fact, that series did not begin publishing until 1847 and did not include Christy's version of this song until its 1848 edition.

I SING about de long-tail blue,
So often you want someting new;
Wid your desire I'll now comply,
An' sing about de blue-tail fly.
   Jim Crack com', I don't care,
   Jim Crack com', I don't care,
   Jim Crack com', I don't care.
      Ole Massa well a-day.

When I was home, I used to wait
On Massa—han' him roun' de plate;
I pass'd de bottle when he was dry,
An' brush'd away de blue-tail fly.
         Jim Crack com', &c

Ole Massa ride in de arternoon,
I follows him wid a kickeribroom;
De pony rear'd when he was dry,
An' bitten by de blue-tail fly.
         Jim Crack com', &c.

De pony jump'd, he rear'd, he pitch'd,
He tumbled Massa in a ditch;
De wonder was he didn't die,
When bitten by de blue-tail fly.
         Jim Crack com', &c.

Dey buried him 'neath a simmon tree;
His paragraph is dere, you'll see;
Beneath de shade he's forced to lie,
All by de means ob de blue-tail fly.
         Jim Crack com', &c.

Ole Massa's dead, so let him res';
Dey say all tings is for de bes'.
I shall neber forget to de day I die,
Ole Massa an' de blue-tail fly.
         Jim Crack com', &c.

If you should go in summer time,
To Souf Carolina sultra clime,
And in de shade you chance to lie,
You'll soon find but dat blue tail fly.
   Jim crack corn I don't care!
   Jim crack corn! I don't care.
      For massa me gave away.

When I was young I used to wait,
On massa's table and hand de plate,
I'd pass the bottle when he dry,
An brush away de blue tail fly.
         Jim crack, &c.

When ole massa take his sleep,
He bid dis nigga sight to keep,
And when he gows to shut his eye,
He tell me watch dat blue tail fly.
         Jim crack, &c.

Ole massa ride in arternoon,
I follow arter wid a hickory broom,
De pony he is bery shy,
Kase he bitten by de blue tail fly.
         Jim crack, &c.

De pony run dar jump an pitch,
He trowed ole massa in the ditch,
He died an de Jury all did cry,
Dat de verdict was de blue tail fly.
         Jim crack, &c.

Ole massa's dead now let him rest,
Dey say all tings am for de best,
I nebber shall forget till the day I die,
Ole massa and de blue tail fly.
         Jim crack, &c.

When I was young I used to wait
On Massa and hand him de plate;
Pass down de bottle when he get dry,
And brush away de blue-tail fly.
   Jim crack corn I don't care,
   Jim crack corn I don't care,
   Jim crack corn I don't care,
   Ole Massa gone away.

Den arter dinner massa sleep,
He bid dis niggar vigil keep;
An' when he gwine to shut his eye,
He tell me watch de blue-tail fly.
   Jim crack corn, &c.

An' when he ride in de arternoon,
I foller wid a hickory broom;
De poney being berry shy,
When bitten by de blue-tail fly.
   Jim crack corn, &c.

One day he rode around de farm,
De flies so numerous dey did swarm;
One chance to bite him on the thigh
De debble take dat blue-tail fly.
   Jim crack corn, &c.

De poney run, he jump an' pitch,
An tumble massa in de ditc'
He died, an' de jury wonder'd why
De verdic was de blue-tail fly
   Jim crack corn, &c.

Dey laid 'im under a 'simmon tree,
His epitaph am dar to see:
'Beneath dis stone I'm forced to lie,
All by de means ob de blue-tail fly.'
   Jim crack corn, &c.

Ole massa gone, now let 'im rest,
Dey say all tings am for de best;
I neber forget till de day I die,
Ole massa an' dat blue-tail fly
   Jim crack corn, &c.