Massa's in de Cold Ground

"Massa's in de Cold Ground" is a minstrel song composed by Stephen Foster and first published in 1852. It was one of only four songs Foster published that year  and sold hundreds of copies. Foster received a royalty of only 2 cents for each copy sold, but the song earned him US$900 within five years of its publication. 

The song is written in the key of D major in 4/4 time. An initial phrase is repeated five times, beginning every line except one. The phrase ends with a octave leap upwards in the melody. "Massa" is a slow, sad song in dialect written for the minstrel stage. 

The song tells of slaves weeping at the grave of their deceased master. Sometime after the American Civil War, another "cold" was added to title, thus becoming, "Massa's in de Cold, Cold Ground".  

In November of 1852, when the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was first performed as a dramatic adaptation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Foster's birthplace), "Massa's in de Cold Ground" and two other Foster melodies were added to the production.

Notes

References
 Emerson, Ken. 1997. Doo-dah! Stephen Foster and the rise of American popular culture. Simon & Schuster. 
 Stephen Foster Song Book [Música Impresa]: original sheet music of 40 songs. 1974. Courier Dover Publications.

Other websites

 The Music of Stephen Collins Foster 

Category:19th-century American songs
Category:Compositions by Stephen Foster