The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #4899   Message #27374
Posted By: Allan
05-May-98 - 04:24 PM
Thread Name: slave songs
Subject: RE: slave songs
If I understand correctly, you are having difficulty with figuring out the language used in this song. I will attempt to translate as best I can but have a couple of things I don't really understand either. If English is a second language to you, then I would guess that you may have been unable to find creek in your dictionary. It is usually a very small stream or rivulet. Creeks were often named for the person or family whose land they were on. So here you have Harper's Creek.

1) Harper's creek and roaring river / There, my dear, we'll live forever; / Then we'll go to the Indian nation, / All I want in this creation, / Is pretty little wife and big plantation. / Chorus. Up that oak and down that river, / Two overseers and one little nigger. 2) Who's been here since I've been gone? / Pretty little gal with a jersey on. / Hog Eye! / Old Hog Eye! / And Hosey too! / Never see the like since I was born, / Here come a little gal with a jersey on. / Hog Eye! / Old Hog Eye! / And Hosey too! 3) Ebo Dick and Jurdan's Jo, / Them two niggers stole my yo'. / Chorus. Hop Jim along, / Walk Jim along, / Talk Jim along, &c. / Old black Dan, as black as tar, / He's damn glad he was not there. / Hop Jim along, &c.

The "jersey" or "josey" was likely intended to be used as a sort of internal rhyme for the name, or nickname, Hosey. A few other names are thrown in: "Ebo Dick and Jurdan's Jo" as the ones who "stole my yo'". I can't make out the meaning of "yo'" either. I can only guess.