The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-12-09
"Way D,wn Upon DO s'eaneo Rbber.,


de S'wauee Ribber," is one thing, and
to travel South until, suddenly, with
a squeak from the locomotive, one
looks from the window of a car and
sees for the first timein all his life, the
clear. silent water Of this stream, IS
quite a different thing. How many
have seen the Suwanee river through
the veil OF sentiment and song, under
the environment of the first named orr
der; and how few, comparatively,
have actually stood upon the banks of
the river itself, listened to the soft,
low murmur OF its meandering waters,
so clear, so beautiful, and so blue in
eddy places, with trees bending over
lis bosom, all festooned with long,
waving Spanish moss, which so
abounds in the western regions OF
Florida. Fewer still are those who
have lived upon the banks Of this riv-
er known throughout the world OF
song, long enough to make study of
the people who dwell permanently in
its long, sweeping vale-the land OF
flowers, song,birds and sunshine.
Just how river, a narrow little
sand. bottomed, blue watered river,
that plays so small part in the map
Of the United States as does the Su.
vance, could ever have become so
famous in this wide world, does seem
strange when one comes TO think Of it,
all because OF mere sorg, says a
writer in Leslie's Weekly. But, after
all, it has charm all its own, and the
average visitor will find, when he
once falls under its spell, that It will
linger with him with surprising tenac-
ity. grow upon him like the shadow
of some mysterious fascination. No
doubt there was some such inspiration
behind the lines:
Way down upon de Swanee ribber,
Far, far away,
Oars whar my heart am turnin' ebber,
Oar S Wnar de ola 1olkS stay.
Be that as it may, no such ideal pic
ture book songs as this are ever heard.
on the Suwanee river in real life, un-
less it be, now and then, when some:
resident of this section chooses to hum
a few lines of this same song in a spirit
much the same as that Of the deacon
in church who says Amen" when the
! preacher has finished the morning
| prayer-simply agreeing to what the:
author of this INN ortal song has writ
ten.
But there are songs along the Su-
vance river that are characteristic
and unique in all their plaintive mel
ody, pathos and humor. The negroes
| who are found at work along the river,
either on the little boats that haul
timber up and down from the mills or
phosphate from the mines, or out IN
the lumbss camps and fields along the
river bank, seem to be all given to
song. They go about their work IN
the morning with song and sing all
| the Evelong day, grooming some plain
tive air in a monotonous fashion. or
else joining in a chorus where there
are several OF them, and making the
woods around fairly reverberate with
the echoes of their camp meeting
hymns, such as this:
'Jes look over yonder what | see
Angels bid me ter come
See two angels callin' at me
Angels bid me ter come.
! Rise an shine, mourner,
/ Rise an shine, mourner,
/ Rise an shine, mourner,
+ Fur de angels bid er me ter come!
/ How their rich, mellow voices dc
melt away in the distance as they jolr
| in this sweet old air, and how the
! plaintive strain seems to die away
upon the signing waters of the famed
river! And when they get to the cho
rus how they swing around at then
work and bear down on the loud peda
of their voices and throw the gen uint
/ old jubilee vigor of camp. meeting
| times into the song. If they are cut
| ting logs for the saw-mill nigh at hanc
they are apt to swing their axes IN ful
time with the measure of the socg
and this gives it al tie more interes
| and peculiar charm
One Of the lively Gig songs" tina
are often heard in the lumber anc
| phosphate camps along the SU:wsnee
RI yer runs; something like this:
':Jay-bird up de sugar tree,
Sparrow on de ground,
Jay-bird shake de sugar down,
Sparrow pass hit eroun'.
i Shoe, ladies, shoe,
Shoe, ladies, shoe,
Shoe, ladies' shoe my gal,
| I'm boun for Sugar Hill.
Five cents is my pocket cEaIge>
! Ten cents is my bill;
Iftimes don't git no bettah heah
\ I'm bound for Sugar Hill.
Etc, etc.
The music to- this song is much Z
the fashion of the common negro
songs, lively, yet full Of pathos and
plaintive melody. There is that in all
negro songs that is plaiutive, even
their most exasperatiDg footshakine
and soul-stirrlng ''jig-songs
True, typical negro songs rarely eve,
! show any particular effort at pr@para
! 1