What is his "lou" and why does he want us to skip to it?

Cafe Society
1

You know the traditional song that goes in part,

Lou, Lou skip to my Lou,
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou
etc.

I always thought that Lou was the name of a girl, but it doesn’t seem to make any sense in the context.

Or is it a British beer-drinking song, and the host is urging his guests to get themselves to the bathroom before something bad happens?

2

This song is often used in square-dancing, so I’ve always assumed that “skip to my Lou” might be an abbreviation for “skip to the left” or some such. Allemande left and do-si-do talk.

The part about the flies in the buttermilk bothers me, so I would rather not think about these lyrics in any depth.

3

The lyrics to Skip to my Lou were written in 1843 by Daniel Decatur Emmett. This site claims the tune is from an “18th century British country dance.” I found nothing on who ‘lou’ is, but Emmet did marry one Mary Louise Bird in 1879.
Emmet also wrote such hits as (wish I was in) Dixie, Old Dan Tucker, Turkey in the Straw, and The Blue Tail Fly.

4

I thought it was “skip to the loo”, as in making a desperate run for the outhouse.