Everyone — literally everyone — knows the song "Oh! Susanna," written by Stephen Foster. Or, as noted by The Paris Review, everyone at least knows the first two stanzas — and, of course, the chorus. The second stanza is notorious for its nonsensical lyrics: "It rained all night, the day I left / the weather, it was dry / the sun so hot, I froze to death / Susanna, don't you cry."

Ha! Hilarious, innocent fun for kids of all ages. Except, as noted by Vox, the song is actually sung from the point of view of a slave, and the contradictions of the lyrics are meant to convey how stupid he is. Because he's Black. And a slave.

As noted by Digital Music News, one reason this might be surprising is due to the song's lyrics being changed frequently over the years. A verse that casually describes the protagonist electrocuting 500 other slaves (using a racial epithet to describe them) through his stupidity has been largely lost to time. And no one misses it, really, but it's important to note that this silly song was originally intended to mock and dehumanize people held in bondage.

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