In this song, "Cotton Eye Joe" is a hot potato who rides from town to town charming and manipulating all the woman, ruining them for the other guys. "If it hadn't been for Cotton Eye Joe, I'd been married a long time ago," one of these poor dudes laments in the first line.
This song originated in America in the 1800s, and is commonly associated with the American South. It became a popular song in country bars, as it was perfect for line dancing. It's a traditional folk song, and many country artists recorded it.
The 1980 John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy renewed interest in this song. In the movie, it's performed by a band created for the film called the Bayou City Beats, who play it while the crowd at Gilley's nightclub (where most of the action takes place) line dances to it.
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