Slave Songs of the United States

Book Description

Originally published in 1867, this book is a collection of songs of African-American slaves. A few of the songs were written after the emancipation, but all were inspired by slavery. The wild, sad strains tell, as the sufferers themselves could, of crushed hopes, keen sorrow, and a dull, daily misery, which covered them as hopelessly as the fog from the rice swamps. On the other hand, the words breathe a trusting faith in the life after, to which their eyes seem constantly turned.

Customer Reviews:

A trove.......2007-03-23

There are 136 songs in this book, most of which are no longer sung. They are simply amazing, musically and theologically. An example: "Come and Go With Me", collected in Augusta, GA, presents a major scale with a flat 6th and 7th, and the tune ends on the 4th. Unfortunately, the collectors, as went on for generations as standard procedure, did not acknowledge the names of any of their sources. The original "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" is in here; it is a rowing song from the sea islands, addressed to the archangel Michael as a prayer for safe passage; these lyrics are more striking than the familiar ones. Here are the complete lyrics to "Come and Go With Me", which is singular both in its scale and its notion that heaven is in the present, to be accepted rather than earned:

Ole Satan is a busy ole man
He roll stones in my way
Master Jesus is my bosom friend
He roll 'em out my way

Oh, come and go with me
Oh, come and go with me
Oh, come and go with me
A-walking in the heaven I roam

I did not come here myself my Lord
It was my Lord who brought me here
And I really do believe I'm a child of God
A-walking in the heaven I roam

Oh, come and go with me
Oh, come and go with me
Oh, come and go with me
A-walking in the heaven I roam

It was reported that the freed slaves did not want to remember their old songs. And we all have reasons for forgetting a painful past. But look at these songs; they are the heart and soul's truth of life. It is not too late to learn from these people. Put this music in your heart.

Water spring that never dry, Hallelu, Hallelu
The more we dig, the more it spring, Hallelujah!

An Exceptional Tool.......2005-12-13

Those who love spirituals often find the origins of spirituals in general to be elusive, if not impossible to track with any degree of reliability. Though this collection of spirituals is quite limited in terms of being highly localized (versus attempting to comprehend all of the spirituals of all of the South), it covers many of the best-loved Negro spirituals. Published first in 1867, it provides perhaps the strongest link for the largest grouping of spirituals, contemporaneous (or nearly so) with the music it attempts to capture.

For those who love the Negro spiritual, this is a 'must have' for your collection.

A great historical account of forgotten American History.......1999-05-28

This book gives great insight in to the true meaning of African American slaves songs. This book also discusses the origin and uses of the songs and provides footnotes for most of the colloquials and variations in dialect for each song.

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first review

Negro Slave Songs in the United States
Miles M. Fisher
Manufacturer: Citadel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0806500905
Release Date: 1998-08-18

Book Description

The songs and spirituals of the American Negro are recognized as unique and valuable contributions to the world. What few people have known, however, is that the Negro spirituals and songs of the antebellum South were more than simply musical expression. They were, in Dr. Fisher's words, the "oral historical documents" of a people. As decoded by Dr. Fisher, the spirituals reveal data respecting their authors, their dates, their places of origin, their plans for escape, and their protests against slavery.

Customer Reviews:

first review.......2000-06-26

This book was a great source for my research on slave songs! I suggest this book to anyone who is interested in (or is researching) songs sung by slaves.

The Sounds of Slavery: Discovering African American History through Songs, Sermons, and Speech

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A good book that is much more than it seems to be
A fascinating soundscape

The Sounds of Slavery: Discovering African American History through Songs, Sermons, and Speech
Shane White , and Graham White
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 080705027X

Book Description

Through vivid anecdotes and firsthand accounts, White and White expand our historical ear from the 1700s through the 1850s, showing how profoundly slaves shaped the American soundscape. The Sounds of Slavery allows us to eavesdrop on the past, providing a fascinating, innovative, and accessible account of the aural dimension of slavery.

"A fascinating book . . . that brings to life the historical soundscape of 18th- and 19th-century African Americans at work, play, rest, and prayer . . . This remarkable achievement demands a place in every collection on African American and U.S. history and folklife. Highly recommended."
—Library Journal

"The Sounds of Slavery will not only be valuable to young scholars, but . . . to young performers and composers, especially with the explosion of interest in 'roots music,' looking for new sources of original and searing music."
—Ran Blake, Christian Science Monitor

"Highly recommended."
—Michael Russert, Multicultural Review

"A work of great originality and insight."
—Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland

"Shane White and Graham White's book is a joy."
—Branford Marsalis

Shane White and Graham White, who are not related, are professor and honorary associate, respectively, in the history department at the University of Sydney, Australia. They are the coauthors of Stylin': African American Expressive Culture, from Its Beginning to the Zoot Suit

Customer Reviews:

A good book that is much more than it seems to be.......2006-01-20

White and White provide a great and useful book not only about slavery, but about African American culture as it emerged, developed itself and extended itself during the years of bondage. Using sound as their guide, they explore not just music, but speech, not just speech, but cries of agony and protest, about the noise instruments, dance, work, love, and death bring. As such they provide many explanations of how the variety of African cultures contributed to the growth of African American culture, how that culture has enabled us to survive, thrive, and contribute mightily the African, North American, and world culture.

This is a useful and practical book. As I type, I am in the home of a friend who is an accomplished jazz and blues singer who is working out a blues to sing at a memorial meeting for the songwriter who wrote it. Serious stuff. The ideas about the nature of African American expression in general, musical and vocal expression in particular, and even what we do when people pass here, animate both the ideas that come to me, to her, and her sister, and memories on how to do this both from musical sources and our grandparents. This is that kind of book.

The level of scholarship here is excellent. Everything is noted well, as such it provides an entryway to folks looking to get into serious sources on African American history, culture, and life. I like the fact that they refer to the 1930s WPA interviews with survivors of slavery as the "ex-slave" interviews instead of slave narratives as others do.

Finally, as a writer myself, I am completely bowled over by their ability to present such a full exposition of these questions, clear in the issues of Black studies, cultural studies, music, and the growing discourse of "everyday life," while using clear and vibrant language. You need not be a scholar or have a dictionary handy to read it and understand it. It is a compelling book that I could not put down and finished the day I started it.

I know I will read it again and again.

The book comes with an 18-track CD of source material chiefly taken from 1930s recordings by Lomax and other folklorists, although there is some material from as late as the 1970s. The CD focuses on aspects of African American folk expression that are usually not known to those who claim to be knowledgeable of African American culture: field hollars, sermons, work songs.

I emphasize that this book is not just about music, but about African American being and life. I emphasize that this book pictures the horror and devastation of slavery and our resistance and triumph of it, but illustrates what and how we do things now.

If you can't buy this book, get one from the library and save your money until you can have one of your own.

A fascinating soundscape.......2005-07-10

In West African tradition, sound making is functional, part and parcel of daily life, integral to most activities: working, celebrating, praying, mourning, placating, criticizing or just passing time. It's a tradition that was carried to the New World on slave ships, a tradition which enthralled, amused, repelled or even terrified white listeners...often simultaneously.

This book goes beyond the music created by enslaved Africans/African Americans (such as work songs and spirituals) to explore other forms of sound expression (including sermons, drumming, field hollers and storytelling) placed within a historical context to create a soundscape of African American slave life from the 1700's to the 1850's.

The written sources generally fall into two broad categories: the written observations of whites (letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles by travelers, missionaries, even slave owners themselves) and the testimony of former slaves collected by the WPA Federal Writer's Project during the 1930's.

With only three exceptions, the sound sources on the 18-track CD are field recordings by John, Ruby and/or Alan Lomax from the late 1930's. By that point, the sounds had been "tainted" by pop culture (many are the times I have tracked down one of my father's rural childhood favorites from the 1920's, only to discover that this "old folk song" his grandma sang was actually an 1890's parlor tune) but alas, this is as close as we're going to get to listening in on a time which preceded sound reproduction devices. And as there are few things more frustrating than trying to understand sound by reading about it, the CD alone would be worth the price of the book.

The book is written in a nonlinear style, perhaps reflecting the subject matter which is itself quilt-like: slaves were constantly creating and recreating from the sound materials at hand, materials which often were not even recognized as such by white listeners. This nonlinear style could make the book a bit difficult to use for reference purposes, but fortunately it is well indexed. This fascinating soundscape is recommended for anyone interested in African American music in general, or the era of slavery in particular.

No More!: Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance

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Valauable Addition to UGR Library
No More
Powerful and Dramatic.....

No More!: Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance
Doreen Rappaport
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 076362876X
Release Date: 2005-12-13

Amazon.com

Celebrating the deep strength and resilience of African American slaves over centuries of miserable oppression, Doreen Rappaport gathers stories, songs, and poetry in this stunning compilation. The quest for freedom and dignity drove many slaves to push themselves beyond what most humans could bear: enduring brutal beatings, watching their families be torn apart, experiencing humiliation at the hands of their white masters. But through it all, women, men, and children resisted in whatever ways they could. In riveting first-person narrative, Rappaport tells the stories of these courageous souls, from Olaudah Equiano's survival through the Middle Passage to Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad. Traditional songs are interspersed throughout, including "Gospel Train" and "Go Down, Moses," and artist Shane W. Evans (Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper's Daughter) captures the hope and despair of his subjects in rich, evocative oil paintings. Doreen Rappaport is the acclaimed author of many children's books, including Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. (Ages 7 to 11) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

"An excellent account of the many ways in which slaves participated in bringing down the greatest evil in our nation's history." - KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)

A man who cannot swim leaps off a slave ship into the dark water. A girl defies the law by secretly learning to read and write. A future abolitionist regains his will to live by fighting off his captor with his bare hands: "I will not let you use me like a brute any longer," Frederick Douglass vows. Drawing from authentic accounts, here is a chronology of resistance in all its forms: comical trickster tales about outwitting "Old Marsa"; secret "hush harbors" where Africans instill Christian worship with their own rituals; and spirituals such as "Go Down Moses," whose coded lyrics signal not just hope for deliverance, but an active call to escape.

Boldly illustrated with extraordinary oil paintings by award-winning artist Shane W. Evans, and meticulously researched by Doreen Rappaport, this stunning collection - spanning the period from the early days of slavery to the Emancipation Proclamation - is an invaluable resource for teachers, parents, libraries, students, and people everywhere who care about what it means to be free, what it is to be human.

Customer Reviews:

Valauable Addition to UGR Library.......2007-02-12

I teach a unit about the music of the Underground Railroad in public schools. "No More" has been a strong addition to my library because of both the songs and the stories associated with the songs. Kids love to hear stories and that makes my teaching of the music quite a bit easier and meaningful.

No More.......2005-03-09

I would recommend this book to someone who is into slave kind of things because the book is about slavery. This book has different kind of stories about slavery that the reader will enjoy. All of the stories are about slavery. There are also songs about slavery that they sang.This is a true book. Again, I would recommend this to someone who's into slavery.

Powerful and Dramatic............2002-06-24

As author, Doreen Rappaport tells the reader in the forward to this amazing book: "In No More! I have attempted to trace the courageous struggle waged by enslaved Africans from the time they boarded the first slave ships heading for the New World to emancipation with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment." Ms Rappaport has compiled slave narratives and folktales, poetry, black spirituals, and biographies in this unique and engaging collection, to tell the brutal and humiliating history of slavery. Here are the stories of eleven extraordinary people, from the well know Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Booker T. Washington, to Suzie King Taylor who learned to read and write in a secret school and helped forge documents, and John Scobell, a runaway slave who spied for the Union Army. These are stories of resistance, rebellion, triumph and courage that inspire with their power. Ms Rappaports moving and dramatic text draws the reader in and transports you back in time on a historical journey from Africa, to the Middle Passage, the hard life on the plantation, and the taste of freedom on the Underground Railroad, to the Civil War and finally emancipation. Shane Evans bold and powerfully evocative oil paintings capture the emotions of pain, determination, hope, fear, and dignity in each beautiful portrait. Together, word and art put a very human face on the ugliness and inhumanity of slavery. No More! should be "must" reading for all children 10 and older. "On December 18, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in all states and territories, became the law of the reunited land. Black men, women, and children set out to meet their next challenge - freedom."

A New Reader of the Old South: Major Stories, Tales, Slave Narratives, Diaries, Essays, Travelogues, Poetry and Songs : 1820-1920

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A New Reader of the Old South: Major Stories, Tales, Slave Narratives, Diaries, Essays, Travelogues, Poetry and Songs : 1820-1920
Ben Forkner
Manufacturer: Peachtree Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1561450200

Book Description

THE LITERARY CANON of the old South is redefined in this remarkable companion to the highly acclaimed A Modern Southern Reader. Editors Ben Forkner and Patrick Samway, S. J. have selected from the most original and lasting works of nineteenth-century Southern writing (1820-1920) to reflect the full range of the Southern experience. The thorough introduction illuminates the individual pieces, providing insight into the culture of the Old South, from which rose a new generation of prominent, American writers. Features the work of Kate Chopin, Frederick Douglass, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ellen Glasgow, Henry Grady, Joel Chandler Harris, Thomas Jefferson, James Weldon Johnson, Sidney Lanier, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, and many others.

Slave Spirituals and the Jubilee Singers

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About music that reflected the hopes and despairs of slavery

Slave Spirituals and the Jubilee Singers
Michael L. Cooper
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395978297

Book Description

Many slave spirituals-songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore," and "Go Down, Moses"-have become interwoven into the fabric of American culture. For centuries these deeply moving songs were sung by slaves as they worked in the fields. In 1871, six years after the end of slavery, a group from Fisk University known as the Jubilee Singers toured the United States and abroad, raising money for their bankrupt school and, more important, bringing slave spirituals to the attention of a wide audience. This engrossing account, illustrated with archival prints and photographs and appended with the words and music to seven songs, tells the inspiring story of the Jubilee Singers and reveals spirituals to be an invaluable and unique history of American slavery.

Customer Reviews:

About music that reflected the hopes and despairs of slavery.......2001-11-05

Michael Cooper's Slave Spirituals And The Jubilee Singers provides a revealing history of the music which reflected the hopes and despairs of slavery. The Jubilee Singers embarked on a tour to raise money for their struggling school and succeeded in not only achieving personal fame, but bringing slave spirituals to the world. Archival prints and photos are included in this inspirational account.

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Bright Freedom's Song
Gloria Houston
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina

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Denzel Washington should play Abraham Galloway

The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina
David S. Cecelski
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807849723
Release Date: 2000-12-09

Book Description

The first major study of slavery in the maritime South, The Waterman's Song chronicles the world of slave and free black fishermen, pilots, rivermen, sailors, ferrymen, and other laborers who, from the colonial era through Reconstruction, plied the vast inland waters of North Carolina from the Outer Banks to the upper reaches of tidewater rivers. Demonstrating the vitality and significance of this local African American maritime culture, David Cecelski also reveals its connections to the Afro-Caribbean, the relatively egalitarian work culture of seafaring men who visited nearby ports, and the revolutionary political tides that coursed throughout the black Atlantic.

Black maritime laborers played an essential role in local abolitionist activity, slave insurrections, and other antislavery activism. They also boatlifted thousands of slaves to freedom during the Civil War. But most important, Cecelski says, they carried an insurgent, democratic vision born in the maritime districts of the slave South into the political maelstrom of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Customer Reviews:

Denzel Washington should play Abraham Galloway.......2001-12-13

This is the best book about slavery I have ever read. Cecelski is one of the most eloquent historians writing today. Because he focuses on the shifting shoreline (literal and figurative) between slavery and freedom, this book uncovers fascinating insights about the ways African Americans navigated the treacherous shoals of slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. Although he does not slight the horrors of slavery--read the chapter on canal digging--Cecelski shows how African Americans used their skills and understanding to best advantage, and how they created a vibrant culture of homegrown abolitionism and helped win the Civil War in eastern North Carolina, too. The research is incredible and the writing is beautiful. The author's mastery as a storyteller shines best in his tale of Abraham Galloway, the runaway slave, Union spy, state legislator, and daring rebel whose unbridled life defies every conventional wisdom about slavery and Reconstruction--this chapter should be a Hollywood movie. I cannot recommend a history book more highly than this one.

Bright Freedom's Song: A Story of the Underground Railroad

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Happy birthday Samantha
BRIGHT FREEDOM'S SONG
The Underground Railroad rides again.
A tale proving you are never too young to make a difference.
A girl helps slaves escape.

Bright Freedom's Song: A Story of the Underground Railroad
Gloria Houston
Manufacturer: Silver Whistle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0152018123

Book Description

Bright Cameron has always been taught that freedom is a person's most precious right. After all, Papa came to America as a poor indentured worker from Scotland and he toiled for years until his friend Marcus, a slave, helped him to freedom. But for Bright, slavery has always been something she has only heard about. Then she discovers that Mama and Papa are hiding runaway slaves in a hidden compartment of Papa's wagon and boarding them in the barn. Soon Bright, too, becomes involved in her family's secret world. One night, when Papa falls ill, Bright discovers how dear freedom truly is--and what price it exacts from those who must struggle for it.

Customer Reviews:

Happy birthday Samantha.......2001-04-06

This book is a really good book.It is about a girl's birthday and it is ruined and her party no one any of the food or drinks. To find out if her brithday is ruined or not

BRIGHT FREEDOM'S SONG.......2001-04-03

I liked Bright Freedom's Song because the author used powerful and strong words. The book told a lot of informatin about the Underground Railroad. I could't put the book down because I just wanted to find out what happens next. So if you like books about the Underground Railroad you should read Bright Freedom's Song by Gloria Houston.

The Underground Railroad rides again........2000-03-04

The book is wonderfully written. It demonstrates the various views of all those involved in the Underground Railroad. Houston also does an excellent job of going inside the characters to show their inner struggle in dealing with slavery. I found myself engulfed in Bright's actions and thoughts, at times, having many of the same sentiments. I found myself reading the book at different paces. I believe the syntax was a major part in this change of pace. However, the effect it gave was masterfully done. I noticed the more difficult syntax was used during the times a character struggle was occuring. Overall, the book would be an excellent choice for anyone, moreover, especially for a young reader. It is a great work of literature that could be used in both a language arts class or a social studies class.

A tale proving you are never too young to make a difference........1999-04-14

Bright, the daughter of a former indentured servant from Scotland, learns that her parents are providing a station for the Underground Railroad. She comes to understand the importance of this cause and bravely steps forward to do her part. She is quickly put to the test when her father becomes ill and the lives of a slave girl and Marcus are at stake.

A girl helps slaves escape........1998-09-24

Bright Cameron has known since she was just a little girl that her parents were providing a safehouse for the Underground Railroad on the Camerons' North Caronlina farm. Ever since her Pa, an indetured servant from Scotland, escaped from bondage, he's been helping slaves escape. Now, Pa's ill, and only Bright can save a fugitive slave woman and her two children. But can she find the courage to do so? This was an excellent book.

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Slave Songs (Traditional Black Music)
Jerry Silverman
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0791018539

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