The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1909-10-28
act tiltuN attoiiii -.


tsvn rron Sc svauco ribbtf is.
one thinr. and 10 travel ttroueh
the south until suddenly with a.
squeak from the locomotive one
looks from the window ~ q Pull
man car and pros for the fist time
IN all bic life The clear client water
81 this stream is quite different
thing
How many have seen The suWa-
nee river through the veil 81 sonu-
mcnt and song uu6ct the environ
mcnt Of the first named order and
how few. comparatively, have ac-
tually stood upon the banks " the
river itself listened to the soft. low
murmur OF its waters. So clear. so
beautiful and So blue I'm eddy places,
with trees bending over its bosom.
all fxtooned with long waving
Spanish moss. which so abouuds in
. tho western region Of Florida.
Just how a river, narrow. sand
bottomed, bluc-watered river, that
the United states as does the SUI
vance, could ever have become so
famous In this wide world does seem
strange to one when he comes 10
think of II, all because of mere
song But, after all, it has charm
all its own, and the average visitor
will find under its spell that IT Will
linger with surprising tenacity and
grow upon him like the shadow Of
some mysterious fascination.
way down upon de S'wanee ribber
Far. far away.
Oars whar my heart am turnin' /
ebber,
Oars whar de ole folks stay.
No such ideal picture book songs
as this are ever heard on the
Suwanee river in real life, unless
It be now and then when some resi-
dent of this section chooses to hum
a few lines of this song in a spirit
much the same as that of the dea-
con in church who says amen
when the preacher has finished the
morning prayer-simply agreeing
to what the author of this immortal
song has written.
But there ar songs along the
Suwanee river that are character
istic and unique in all their plain
tive melody, pathos and humor
The negroes who are found at work
along the river, either on the little
boats that haul lumber up or down
from the mills or phosphate from
the nYnes, or out in the lumber
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 the
livelong day, grooming some plain
tive air in nor otonous fashion or
else joining a chorus where there
are several Of them, and making
the woods around them fairly re-
vertebrate with the echoes of their
camp meeting hymns, such as this:
Jes' look ever yonder what | see
Angels bid me ter come
See two angels calm at me
Angels bid ME ter come
Rise an shine, mourner,
Rise an shine, mourner.
Rise an shine, mourner
Rise an shine. mourner,
Fur de angels bid'er me to come.
How their rich, mellow voices do
melt away In the distance as they
Join in this sweet old air, and how
the plaintive strain seems to die
away upon the singing waters of
the famed river! And when they
get to the chorus, how they swing
around at their work and bear
down on the loud pedal of their
voices and throw genuine jubi-
lee vigor of camp-meeting into the
song! III they are cutting logs for
the saw mill nigh at hand they are
apt to swing their axes in full time
with the measure of the song and
this gives 1t all the more interest
and one peculiar charm.
One of the lively JIG songs that
are often hearu IN the lumDef anu
phosphate camps along the 'Suwa-
nee river runs some thing like this:
Jay bird up de sugar treee,
Sparrow on de ground:
Jay bird shake de sugar down,
Sparrow pass hit eroun.
Shoe, ladies, shoe,
Shoe, ladies, shoe,
Shoe. ladies, shoe my gal,
I'm boun' for Sugar Hill.
Five cents in my pocket change, |
Ten cents is my bill;
If times don't get no bettah heah |
I'm boun' for Sugar Hill.
Etc, etc.
The music to this song is much |