The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-01-17
THE STORY OF "OLD SHADY"
Facts Concerning a Song Often Su.g
by the Late G. n. Wiswell.

by the Late G. n. Wiswell.
The fact that the late George n. Wis.
well had so often sung "Old Shady" fol
so many Of the Republican conventions
! of this state adds timely interest to the
account given, as we'll as to the words,
las Smiths ''Stories of Great National
Songs" Col. Smith says:
Perhaps the most fun-provoking so12
of the Civil war is Old Shady. With .
| fine bass or baritone voice behind it, it is
overrunning with laughter. To announce
the piece at a war song concert, or at a
| public entertainment Of any kind, is to
create hutter of pleasant anticipations
| and to signify to the auditors that merri.
| ment may have full swing.
During the siege Of Vicksburg, il
May and June Of 1868. a great many
slaves had escaped within the Union
lines. Some of them We're hired by the
| army, and many others were given free
transportation north. Among those serv.
ing as cooks was a slave, almost white,
who was known by the name Of 'O:d
Shady He was employed at the head.
quarters of Gen. Mcpherson during the
siege, and was a fine specimen of sim.
pie, honest manhood. Gen. Sherman, in
view, says old Shady was poet in the
rough. After supper, the officers al
headquarters, including several generals
| and Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Sherman
| would assemble to hear him and his
chorus Of darkies sing. One Of the songs
became very popular. and was persona
to the negro cook, entitled, Day Of Jub::
lee but now better known as 'Old
| Shady which ran thus:
~oh, YAH yah. 1arkies n {ang h., via me- &C.,
| Is a coming, coming-Hail, mighty day:
Chorus.
Den away, den away, can't stay here
Den away, den away, for l am going home.
"Oh, mass got scared and so did his lady,
! Dis chile breaks for ole Uncle Ably:
Open de gates, out here's Ole Shady,
A-coming, a-coming-Hail, mighty day:
:'Goodby, Mass Jeff, goodby Misr Stephens,
'Scuse dis niggah fur takln' his leavin's,
'Spect purity soon you'll hear Uncle Abran' 2
Coming, coming-Hail, mighty day!
,.Gcodby, hard word, wild never any pay -,
l'ze gwine up North where de good folks
Dat white wheat bread and dollar day
Are coming, comng-Hail, mighty day!
"oh, I've got wife and I've got baby,
LINN up yonder in Lower Canady,
Won't dey laugh when dey see Ole Shady
"A
"Gen: Sherman, speaking of odd
Shady says: 1 do not believe that
since the Prophet jeremiah babe the
Jews to sing with gladness for Jacob,
and to shout among the chiefs OF the ma
tons, because of their deiiverance from
the house Of bondage, any truer song of
gladness ever assembled from the lips Of
man than at Vickspurg, where "Old
Shady sang for us in voice Of pure
melody this song of leliyerance from the
bonds of slavery.
the negro character, because. as rule,
| the colorcd people were kind and re-
spectful; ard he quotes Henry Clay as
saying that his colored boy, whose name
is; now forgotten. was the most, accom-
6saed sfp n ad9s in W5a S Gen.
tiful sentiment than that Of my acauaint-
ance, ''Old Shady: "Goodbye, Massa
Jeff goodby, Massa Stephens. 'Scuse
| dis niggah fur takin' his leavn' s''-po-
lite, and gentle, to the end. Burns never
said anything better
Blakely Durant. and after the war he
got his wife and nice little baby out of
! lower Canady' and worked on an up
per Mississippi steamboat. Gen. Sher-
man once met him on one of the river
steamers, when he sang from the hurri-
cane deck that good old song, which
brought tears to the eyes of the passen-
gers. | believe him now dead, but, liv-
ing or dead. he has the love and respect
of the old Army of the Tennessee which
gave him freedom. .Goodby, Massa Jeff
goodby, Massa Stephens was a beauti-
full expression of the faithful family serv-
amt who yearned for freedom and "a
dollar day.
Gen. Sherman's article for the Re-
view was written in 1888. and Durant
did not die until 1896. After working
on the river boats for some time, he
settled at North Forks. y. D.. where he
where one of his daughters was gradu-
ated from the North Dakota State uni
versity."