The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1875-04-16

Hi.oh-oh.
These Dixie songs all parlake of the char
acter of the work that the singers are engage
ell at. Sometimes, in the old days, an army
Of hundreds of negroes could have been seen
on cotton plantation hocing ina row across
young field of the kingly plant, and then
the leaders sung of their neighbors cmbalm-
ing their virtues and commenting on their
vices, or telling the legends of their home.
For instance:
0ld m0rster's maxim money now,
Jang gam lang go hay
We does IL with de hoe and plow,
Jang gam lang go hay.
Oars old Icll. he's zone 80 hell
Jang gam lang 50 hay.
De nigga he's sold nobody can tell,
Jang gam lang go hay.
Little piece Of lean and little piece fat,
JanG gam lang 90 hay.
And the white folks grumble ii you eat much of
dat,
Jang gam lang go hay.
Wid all this trouble we all like ham,
Jang gam lang go hay.
An ruddah be a nigga dan poo white man,
Jang gam lang go hay.
At the quarters, after the work was over, all
the negroes would gathey in some favoritc
spot, with the banjo, bones, triangle, fiddle
and tambourine, they would make delicious
music, while they were possessed ofnone ofthe
accomplishment of Instrumentation would
dance to the merry numbers. All of these, of
every age and sex, could dance. Sometimes
they carried on a species of song called talk
ing jawbone." In this two of the most
learned would be pitted against each other,
al toll nd = ha hot
could hold out is rhymes the longest was the
victor. All those present would gather around
the musical gladiators, and one would start
III
Ebn Ednun. smcv J8laI,-- -,
Ding dat nigga what stole my Oh,
sat putyest sheep that was In my hocS
And Taggy stole my turkey cock
Old jlwbone do go home.
Then the other would take up the time
and sing:
Dars old marster promised me
When he died he d sOt Inc free,
Now Old marster's dead and gone,
Here's dis darkey stiil hlln' up corn,
old juwbone do go home
And thus they would go on, for hours at
time, until finally one or the other had to
succumb for the lack of more stuff to sing
about. 1t has been a matter of wonder that
this peculiar style of song has never been
taken up and presented by the travelling ne
gro minstrel troupes of the day.
The plantation negroes in the days of slav-
cry sang everywhere in the tieldsat work; at
the corn husking; in their forms of worship;
in joy and in sorrow, everywhere, they sang.
Who has not seen an aged aunty sitting on
the sunshiny side of her cabin, on a sunny
Sunday afternoon, with her head resting on
her hands, and her elbows on her knees, rock
ing back and forth, grooming something like
this:
sing, little children, sing,
Mighty long time gwine TO the crossroads.
What made you come 80 slow:
Hope 10 get ar III de due time,
| Before dem gates is cloS.d
G'Ory hall, IN.
In the log churcl the leader in the field
was the leader in the meetin', and his song
| was sometimes III this shape;
| Why can't yuu DO like Peter did,
\ waikin uu dc sea,
lie clappcd al, hands 10 his dyn Lord,
| Oh, glJl l1,l rem 'mn"r me.
Member de rich ana member de poor,
| M'anerde bond and dc free,
| And when yuu are done 'mcmbenn round.
| Dear, good Lord, remember me.
Their religious songs were all very devout
and eyinced perfect faith in the teachings
OF the Bible, the great truths OF which they
had gathered by scraps from the familiar as
SociatiOn, oil some oi the house servants with
white person, VINO could read, aud by them
carried in Il sort Of legendary way to the field
hands. Besides, they had a kind OF religion
craven on the tablets of their hearts, nearly
like those on the tablets OF stone In the
same manner their songs sometimes derived
amusing touches of the classics-as for in
stance, in one ballad where they sang of Il
horse whose foot struck a rock and fresh
water came to the furnished, which is doubt
less akin TO the old neurological story OF
Pegasus,
\ huge book could be written about the
songs OF this simple and untutored people
and the half not be told.
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