Help with slang

[Al Smitley]

First off...... I think I liked Tim's "Johnny Boker" a little better but this experiment was interesting, too.   It never hurts to get a fresh perspective.  Fresh perspectives can lead us subtly in different directions.

I may have already asked this.  If so, I apologize.  There is a verse in "Zip Coon On The Go-Ahead Principal" that has always puzzled me. 

---------------

Oh, if I were the President ob dese 'nited States  (3 times)

I'd lick lasses candy and swing upon the gates

An does I Dina like why I strike em off de docket  (3 times)

De way I us'd em up was a sin to Davy Crocket

------------------

What does "swinging on a gate" signify?  I know a fiddle tune of that title so it must have some meaning from an earlier time.  What about "lick (mo)lasses candy"?  Any meaning or just nonsense words?  Most of all, what is the meaning of "An does I Dina like why I strike em off de docket"?  I know that a "sin to Davy Crockett" was an early-mid 19th C expression of something undesirable, and the first part of that line, I suppose, might offer a clue about the previous line.  Any reenactors out there that can help?

[Anthony G Spangler]

Hi Al,

This intrigued me, and I'm no expert by any means, but here's a thought.  Swinging on the gate reminds me of the old child’s play of riding a gate back and forth on its hinges, all the way open and back again.  That and the "lasses candy", carefree pastimes, say, "If I were the President", I'd do whatever I wanted!

The second part is tougher.  Is "does" minstrel speak for "those"?  If so, some versions of the lyrics I found don't capitalize the D in Dina, which suggests it is a form of "don't", sort of like the old Scot stereotypical, "Dinna ye know, mon", which takes me to something like, "And those I don't like, I get rid of."

I also found some indications that "a sin to Davy Crockett" could also simply refer to something astonishing or amazing to behold.  Seeing as Crockett had such a larger than life reputation, anything that he thought was a sin, well, that was something to see!  So, the sheer number of those that Zip "gets rid of" is something to behold!

What it seems to say to me is, "If I was the President, life would be good and I'd do whatever I wanted to, and if anyone caused me grief I'd just get rid of them!  And you'd be flat out amazed at how many of 'em I'd get rid of!"

Is there more "code" to it than that (as in "Juba killed the yeller cat")?  That I couldn't begin to guess at, heheh.

Quite honestly, all of the above could be completely wrong, and I'd like to know, too!

Thanks for indulging me,

Tony

[Al Smitley]

Thanks Anthony.  That made more sense than anything I came up with and I think your thought process made sense.