"Follow the Drinking Gourd," a song of the Underground Railroad, was one of the songs I performed and heard performed quite frequently in the fifties and early sixties. Ironically, I have just recently begun re-viewing "Roots" on DVD for the first time since it was originally broadcast. A recurring theme in the background is "Kumbaya," which has become an unfortunate metaphor for "sickeningly overperformed folks songs" of late. Yet, in context, it can still be quite moving.