It's interesting to trace the history of the Paul Robeson recordings of this song. It was written in 1927 by Oscar Hammerstein. Hammerstein was always a crusader for social justice, so the song has a powerful message. But since it was written in 1927, it was sung in so-called "negro dialect." It was a signature song for Robeson, and he first recorded it in "dialect." Each time he recorded it, he removed more of the language that might be considered offensive. I'm not sure whether that improved the song, but that's what Robeson did.

Another song Robeson had trouble with, was "Old Black Joe." I think he ended up singing it "Old Man Joe."

-Joe-