Hard to believe anyone would want to change or destroy these original lyrics. One doesn't have to sing them or even listen to them, but the original lyrics should be preserved. I grew up in the south and conversed with the children of slaves. The dialect in this song "reflects" that dialect. It doesn't literally, and phonetically match it. I have often heard people say they would have liked to have heard Lincoln speak. Surely there is value in knowing how African Americans spoke during the same period of history. The song itself casts a wonderful spell. It is magical!
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