Some years ago in Sing Out Pete Seeger gave his explanation of the song-- the proper chorus is "GIMME" cracked corn, and I don't care when a slave had done something really rotten, his rations were reduced to cracked corn & nothing more but in this song-- the slave had found a way to cause(??) an accident that resulted in his getting rid of his master, and he is saying "gimme cracked corn, and I don't care" in other words-- "it was worth it" a very subversive song for the 1840s! I would attribute it to Wm. Lloyd Garrison except that he, reportedly, had no sense of humor!