My big battle with "political correctness" occurred off and on from a song I learned from Walt Robertson, who, in turn, had learned it from Leadbelly.

The opening verse, which becomes the chorus, goes:

Black girl, black girl, don't lie to me,
Tell me, where did you sleep last night?
"In the pines, in the pines,
"And I shivered when the cold winds blow."

A poignant song of a young woman whose husband was killed in a railroad accident.

I got pounced on because of the "black girl" lyrics. Not "politically correct!" I shouldn't sing it!

I sang it for two young women, Lynn, a folk black singer, and Rosetta, a non-singing operator I worked with when I was with the telephone company in the 1980s. Both liked the song and said they were not at all offended to hear it sung by a white folk singer. They both told me to keep right on singing it.

Lynn had her own problems. People (white people) were on her case because she (horror of horrors!!) didn't sing blues and didn't want to. She liked ballads and sang them very well indeed.

Reminds me of Marian Anderson, a rich voiced operatic contralto, who, when they finally let her sing in "white" venues, expected her to sing only spitiuals!

On "Black Girl," I've heard a few white singers wimp out and sing it "Little Girl...." Totally limp! Gutless!!

Sorry for the thread drift…. Now, back to our regular broadcast.

Don Firth