affectionately yours said who dat when i said who dat origin.
affectionately yours said who dat when i said who dat origin.
who dat say who dat when i say who dat origin?
affectionately yours
staged minstrel skits featured frightened african american characters saying "who dat" when they encountered a ghost, or someone imitating a ghost. then, the "who dat"–"who dat say who dat" skit would play itself out. this skit was done frequently in short reels from the 1930s to 1950s and in some early tv shows too. even the marx brothers had a "who dat" routine, which they included in their film "a day at the races". "who dat man? why it's gabriel!" often, a ghost was called a "who dat." metro-goldwyn-mayer's animated character bosko once had such an encounter in a 1938 toon called "lil ol bosko in bagdad." in 1941 butterfly mcqueen infamously delivered what african american film historian donald bogle described as what "might be the most demeaning line ever uttered by a black in the movies" when she said, "who dat say who dat when i say who dat?" in the movie affectionately yours.
who dat?
back in wwii, u.s. fighter squadron pilots would often fly under radio silence. but things get lonely up there in the cockpit, so after a while there'd be a crackle of static as someone keyed his mike. then a disembodied voice would reply, "who dat?" an answer would come, "who dat say who dat?" and another, "who dat say who dat when ah say who dat?" after a few rounds of this, the squadron commander would grab his microphone and yell, "cut it out, you guys!" a few moments of silence. then... "who dat?"









































section::::origins of the "who dat?" chant.
who dat?