"Cotton Eye Joe" is a song by the Swedish Eurodance group Rednex, released in August 1994 by Jive and Zomba as the lead single from their debut studio album, Sex & Violins (1995).

The vocal verses are performed by Annika Ljungberg, while the "Cotton Eye Joe" chorus is sung by Göran Danielsson, who does not appear in the music video, which was directed by Stefan Berg.

[6] In the 2002 book, Move Your Body (2 The 90s): Unlimited Eurodance, writer Juha Soininen notes that the song "broke the euro mould by letting a man sing the refrain while a woman sang the middle part.

[9] Larry Flick from Billboard described it as "country hoedown fiddling sewn into a raucous pop/rave dance beat", noting that the song has "cheeky rap poking stereotypical fun at Southerners".

"[13] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger said that "Cotton Eye Joe” work "on that basic, energetic, ass-moving level", adding that "the hollering diva interludes actually change things up a little, though that decades-old hook is solid enough to stand on its own.

"[14] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report noted that "this group from Sweden puts a techno spin on a square dance staple", stating that its "fresh, unique approach makes 'Cotton Eye Joe' so hot.

"[19] A reviewer from Music Week gave it five out of five, describing it as "Europop meets country in an irritatingly catchy tune", that is "guaranteed to pack the dance floors at party time and a cast iron cert of a hit.

"[20] John Kilgo from The Network Forty complimented "Cotton Eye Joe" as a "outright winner", stating that "this novelty track is not only catchy and fun, but uptempo as well.

"[21] Stuart Bailie from NME wrote, "A fantastic western dance (and if you haven't thrown shapes to this at The Broken Spoke in Austin, well, you've missed out, mate) is given the full-on techno treatment, like that cowboy outfit The Grid have done already this year.

[24] Chuck Campbell from Scripps Howard News Service felt it "has the same novelty appeal" as "I'm Too Sexy", "but in addition to the aggressive dance rhythm and offbeat vocals, the Rednex song also features an impossibly high-voiced woman and manic fiddle and banjo.

[26] The video features the band performing in a barn during a hoedown where the guests did activities such as dancing, playing and splashing in old wild west baths, and riding a mechanical bull.

[34][35] Billboard magazine ranked "Cotton Eye Joe" number 49 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time" in February 2024, writing, "A dangerously stomping Eurocountry reinvention of a 150-plus-year-old folk song, and one of the most demented crossover hits of the ’90s.

"Cotton Eye Joe" was frequently played for a segment called "Coin Quest" in the Adult Swim television series FishCenter Live.

[37][38] Jimmy Fallon sang a soft rock-style version of this song on his eponymous late-night talk show as part of the Musical Genre Challenge.