Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: wysiwyg Date: 22 Dec 01 - 09:34 PM Thanks, Stewie-- good job and WELL-HANDLED. ~Susan |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Rolfyboy6 Date: 23 Dec 01 - 01:42 AM There is a version of "Run, Mona, Run" called "Bright Angels." I can only recall the chorus:
Run Mona Run, run for your freedom,
See Sweet Honey in the Rock's CDs.
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys performed "Run Mona Run" in the 30s and 40s. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Irish sergeant Date: 23 Dec 01 - 09:01 PM That's the one I have it on a CD of Civil War music.! Neil |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: wysiwyg Date: 03 Apr 02 - 02:58 PM There seems to be another RUN MOURNER RUN sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. I heard it at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage concert, a live and online-broadcast concert archived that you can hear too. Now where did I put that link.......... ~S~ |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Joe in the'pool Date: 04 Apr 02 - 08:29 AM Very interesting thread, as a young person I was very used to the word (as observed by my various scars) and acted accordingly. As be-fitting my upbringing I fought with anyone who used the word nigger, which, with hindsight helped to develop my 'could'nt care about life' attitude 'if this is what it was all about'. That led to the usual 'off to the bad boys home for you laddo' where I discovered that the other black people there, had nearly all been through similar situations, i.e. If somebody calls you nigger act first think later, yeh right but, we're the ones who end up in prison, or worse! As an adult I have fought against injustices for ALL people (as do many, many people) and at this time in my life (47) I welcome young Black people getting used to the word without their hearts missing a beat and their blood boiling to a point of 'no return'. It's part of the history of the most vile way, langauge can be used against Black people, so lets take the power away from those who use it to insult and await a response, which use to mean 'Prison' for the black person. So, run nigger run aka run rabbit run or whatever other version, lets have the discussions, lets utilise the words in poems/songs etc. we know when it's part of a racist attack or a way of explaining history etc. we know who the enemy is and it's NOT the word it's the ACTION. Keep up the discussions..it plays a part in keeping young black people out of Prison, for a word!! Joe |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: wysiwyg Date: 04 Apr 02 - 09:38 AM Thanks for your input, Joe. It's a complicated issue and there is much to consider, eh? ~Susan |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Irish sergeant Date: 04 Apr 02 - 08:48 PM Joe; Thank you for your insightful post. It gives a person much to think about. Kindest regards, Neil |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Dicho (Frank Staplin) Date: 13 Apr 02 - 12:49 PM Amy has posted the gospel song, "Run Samson Run," which has the line in the chorus: "Run Samson Run, Delilah's gonna get you, ..." in thread 46271 (Lyr. Req: Run Boy Run ): Run Samson Run |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Q Date: 22 Jan 03 - 10:31 PM See Po' Mona, Poor Mourner, and Good Lord Set You Free verses in thread 38691: Poor Mourner |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Suffet Date: 14 Sep 09 - 12:59 PM Greetings: I just uploaded an adapted version of Run...Run to the SoundClick website. I renamed it Run, Children, Run, and I wove together pieces of melody and text from several sources. Please click here to listen. --- Steve |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: meself Date: 14 Sep 09 - 03:09 PM I'm not familiar with the song, although I've known the title ever since seeing it on the back of a Skillet Lickers album thirty years ago or so. However, a while back I heard on internet radio an old recording (1920s?) of a harmonica player doing a "hunting" son which occasionally used that phrase, "run, N*gger, run" (apologies to those who are offended by asterisks) - but "N*gger" (apologies) was clearly the name of a dog. FWIW. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Suffet Date: 03 Oct 09 - 12:11 PM Greetings: However the song may have evolved by the 1920s, the earlier versions were not about dogs but about human beings. The references to the paddarollers make that clear. In my own recorded version,* for example, I sing the refrain It's run, children, when the paddarollers come..." Paddarollers or patrollers were posses of armed white men who hunted down runaway slaves. They were not dog catchers. *Click here to listen. --- Steve |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: meself Date: 03 Oct 09 - 12:30 PM I was not trying to convince anyone that the song under discussion is actually about a dog - I was simply reporting that there is a song that uses the expression "run, N*gger, run" in which N*gger is a dog. There's no argument, and no call for sarcasm. But go ahead anyway and enjoy yourself. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 03 Oct 09 - 12:36 PM The song is first noted in the 1851 "Serenaders Songbook," and later in "Slave Songs of the United States," Allen, Ware and Garrison, 1867. It definitely is about the patrollers and catching slaves. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: meself Date: 03 Oct 09 - 01:15 PM No one is arguing it isn't, as far as I know. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Suffet Date: 04 Oct 09 - 01:20 AM Meself, I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, and I'm sorry if my message came across that way. I was only trying to cite a fact about the earlier versions. Tone of speech and nuance do not come across well in this medium. Your comments are well taken. --- Steve |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Azizi Date: 04 Oct 09 - 06:56 AM Here is information about "paddyrollers" that I have gleaned several online sources which are noted in this post: "Slave patrols (called patrollers, pattyrollers or paddy rollers by the slaves) "apprehended runaways, monitored the rigid pass requirements for blacks traversing the countryside, broke up large gatherings and assemblies of blacks, visited and searched slave quarters randomly, inflicted impromptu punishments, and as occasion arose, suppressed insurrections. The patrollers generally made their rounds at night, with their activity and regularity differing according to time and place. And patrol duty was often compulsory for most able-bodied white males. Some professions were exempt, but otherwise avoiding duty required paying a fine or hiring a substitute." http://eh.net/bookreviews/library/0513 These slave patrols were composed of White men who were well to do "respectable" members of society as well as poor Whites. Armed with whips and guns, "paddyrollers" exerted a brutal and archaic brand of racial control that is inextricably linked to post-Civil War vigilantism and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)." http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:oNn8nsnJK5oJ:www.rinr.fsu.edu/issue2001/slavery.html+paddyrollers&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us "Patrols used summary punishment against escapees, which included maiming or killing them." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_patrol "Slave patrols were populated in the beginning by people from all walks of life in the South, from wealthy land- and slave-owning aristocrats on down. Service in the patrols was required by law and refusal to perform patrol duty met with stiff fines. As such, Hadden writes, "Historians have routinely assumed that since patrollers did not stop every runaway, it matters little what patrols did; their uneven enforcement of the law must have diminished their impact on Southern history and slavery. As a result, the number of prominent slave histories that fail to mention even the existence of patrollers is startling. And when histories do include them, patrollers generally appear as little more than straw men, paraded for their inadequacies and little else. When mentioned at all, slave patrollers are drawn as poor, slaveless, sadistic whites of very low social rank. In fact, the dominant image is of Marks and Loker, the supremely evil slave-catchers of Uncle Tom's Cabin. But, as Hadden's research reveals, "Slave patrols between 1704 and 1721 frequently included men of superior social status, not just poor slaveless whites." And in a two-county study in Virginia, Hadden finds that "'Poor whites' does not describe the status of 18th century slave patrollers ...Typically, these men headed their own households. ...Half or more of all patrollers owned slaves, usually one to five slaves." http://books.google.com/books?id=WC7andkrJNcC&dq=slave+patrols+hadden&source=gbs_navlinks_s The book Slave Patrols Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas by Sally E. Hadden, (Harvard University Press, 2001) is available online at http://books.google.com/books?id=WC7andkrJNcC&dq=slave+patrols+hadden&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=MjXClVUCta&sig=v2ttH1zo5 ** Incidentally, the word "paddyroller" probably has no connection to "paddy, a pejorative referent for Irish people. Azizi Powell |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Suffet Date: 04 Oct 09 - 07:49 AM Azizi, Thank you for looking this up, condensing it, and posting it. As a former high school teacher in the USA, I can tell you from experience that very little attention is paid to slave patrols other than the brief mention that they existed. Much more attention is given to the Underground Railway, who are rightfully regarded for their heroic work, but who were rarely ever encountered. The slave patrols, on the other hand, were a constant fact of life in slave holding society. Maybe it's a reluctance to face the overwhelming and brutal reality of slavery in the Land of he Free. May it's a desire to find and applaud the few brave souls who resisted the slavocracy at great peril to themselves. Maybe it's both. --- Steve |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Azizi Date: 04 Oct 09 - 07:55 AM Correction: Here is information about "paddyrollers" that I have gleaned from several online sources which are noted in this post: |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Azizi Date: 04 Oct 09 - 08:43 AM You're welcome, Steve. And thank your for focusing attention on this history through your recording and your posts on this thread. With regard to your guesses about why very little attention is paid in American schools to the history of slave patrols other than the brief mention that they existed, I believe that it has much more to do with your first guess than with your second. Furthermore, in my opinion, the fact that the function of slave patrols and their role in maintaining slave codes (and not just in hunting down runaway slaves) is minimized has alot to do with the continued existence in the United States of institutionalized racism. Here's a definition of "institutionalized racism": "Those forces, social arrangements, institutions, structures, policies, precedents and systems of social relations that operate to deprive certain racially identified categories equality" http://dictionary.babylon.com/INSTITUTIONAL_RACISM As I'm sure that you know, Steve (as a former teacher), in the United States extbook publications are a powerful Eurocentric institution. Most textbooks used in American public schooks don't fully & accurately reflect the history of the United States or the full and accurate history of other nations. Because of this, persons who really want to learn more about these histories need to do independent research both online and off-line. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Azizi Date: 04 Oct 09 - 08:57 AM Ahh!! Again, let me apologize for the typo. I meant to type "textbooks". I know that from certain typos new words are coined (like pwned). But my propensity to make typos is probably more a result of my Sun in Sagittarius (and Mercury & Jupiter in the same sign) and the fact that my Sagittarius Mercury is closely square my Ascendant in Virgo (not to mention that my Sun in Sagittarius is exactly opposite my Uranus in Gemini). And yes, I consider pyschological astrology to be one valid way for me to increase my understanding of myself and others. Besides all of that, my statements about astrology in this post are an attempt to "lighten" the seriousness of this thread. Positive vibrations :o) Azizi Powell |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: meself Date: 04 Oct 09 - 04:04 PM Steve - No problem; I appreciate your response. I was a little tired, and, as those near and dear to me can attest, I get a little grouchy when I get tired .... |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 04 Oct 09 - 04:53 PM The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made it a crime to harbor escaped slaves, or to knowingly ignore their presence. Anyone who found an escaped slave or knew of one was required by law to report to Fedral marshals or other legal authority. This meant that anyone wishing to avoid trouble, well-to-do or not, reported fugitives, regardless of their feelings about slavery. In Kansas, Missouri and some other states, pro- and anti-slavery gangs attacked those holding the opposite view. It also contributed to the creation of patrollers, the bounty hunters of their time. The song mirrors history. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Hellbilly Date: 26 Jan 11 - 08:22 PM I didn't see the lyrics to "Run Nigger Run" in this thread... are they available somewhere else on this Site? As a side note, stating one finds the word nigger offensive is as obvious as openly admitting one is opposed to the holocaust and crack-cocaine. But we're all glad you're champions of the people.
|
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,John Braden Date: 23 Mar 20 - 02:41 PM Two references found at the Library of Congress "Chronicling America" website: 1. Speaking in opposition of a plan to make the land west of the Blue Ridge non-slave, Mr. Thornton said, "In his imagination, he stood upon the Blue Ridge and observed with breathless anxiety the fugitive slaves passing from Eastern Virginia to the tune, 'Run, nigger, run, the patroler catch you." May 20, 1859 Richmond [Virginia] Enquirer p. 2, col. 2 2. "One of the rebel flags captured by General Curtis' troops, near Grand Glaize, in Arkansas, bore the following pleasant mottoes: 'Run, nigger, run! or Lincoln will catch you'" July 30, 1862 [Clearfield, Pa.] Raftsman's Journal p. 1, Col. 4. I'd like to see a discussion of the tune(s) attached to this song. Also, since the 1851 Serenaders' Songbook is not on line, it would help if someone would post the version of the song that allegedly apprears therein. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Lighter Date: 23 Mar 20 - 04:54 PM A version of the great tune - with revised words: https://tinyurl.com/toyoahl |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Lighter Date: 23 Mar 20 - 06:15 PM This song slip in the Library of Congress may be it: RUN, NIGGER, RUN! OR THE M.P. 'LL CATCH YOU. De sun am set—dis nigger am free, De colored gals he goes to see; I heard a voice cry, "Run, dad, fech you! Run, nigger, run, or de M.P. 'll catch you! Chorus and repeat. Run, nigger, run, de M.P.'ll catch you! Run, nigger, run, tum a du daddle da! Spoken. — Oh! you ought to seen me dressed dat day. I had a pair ob dese United States gaiters, hem-stitched behind, made ober at Blackwell's Island; and den I had on dat pink snuff-colored coat, and den I had on dat green white satin vest, together wid a hickory mahogany cane, wid a gold brass feller on de bottom. Oh! dar wasnt room enough dat day for me. I knocked de people off of de side-walk, and some of de time I got knocked off; but I got dar at last, and rung de bell. She opened the door; then hung my hat up on the floor. I set down by her side about an hour, telling her dat I lubbed her, when all at once she swooned ober in de chair, and exclaimed, "Look dar!" Says I, Whar? when I looked ober toards the door, and there was a white mans face, peeping fro de crack ob the door; at the same time he exclaimed, What, Mr. Bones? Run, nigger, run, &c. Wid eyes erect, and head hanging down, Like de sprightly hare before de hound, Dis nigger streak it through de pasture, Nigger run fast, white man run faster. Spoken. — Well, I didn't zactly run; but I done some pretty tall walking. I went ober fences, fro fields, and I got drowned four times in the mud, an at last I got on the other side; an just as I passed the old corn crib, thar was a little boy come out from behind the crib, an he whispered in my ear, an told me to "What did he tell you to do, Mr. Bones?" Run, nigger, run, &c. And ober de fence, as slick as an eel, Dis nigger jumped—all but his heel; De white man caught dat fast you see, And tied it tight around de tree. Spoken. —Yes, just like all the niggers, the heel is the biggest part ob the foot, an' just as I jumped ober the fence, he coch me by the heel, an held me fast, an sez, "I got you now." Sez I, I dont know bout that; so he took an tied it three or four times 'round the tree, an' then I tought I was a goner, when all at once something fell out of the top of the tree, cut off my heel, an at the same time it exclaimed What, Mr. Bones? Run, nigger, run, &c. Dis nigger heard dat old whip crack, But nebber stopped for to look back; I started home as straight as a bee, And left my heel tied round de tree. Spoken. —Yes, there wur no time to stop an' look back then, kase I wur making bout a milemile an a halftwo milesthree miles ana halfor four miles to the minute. So ober the fence I went, knocked in the front door, upset the cook stove, spilt all the victuals ober the floor, scalded de old cook to deff, an knocked the old woman fro the front window ; den de old man got after me wid de broomstick, an ebery jump I took, he hollered out "What did he holler, Mr. Bones?" Run, nigger, run, &c. My *guess* is that "M.P." means "mounted patrol." |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Lighter Date: 23 Mar 20 - 06:26 PM Here it is in book form, credited to White: https://tinyurl.com/vaggmfg The woodcut shows that "M.P." should mean "metropolitan police." |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Starship Date: 23 Mar 20 - 06:27 PM https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Run,_Nigger,_Run Perhaps someone with better eyes could handle this, but I think it duplicates Lighter's post. |
Subject: Lyr Add: Run, Johnny, Run From: cnd Date: 23 Mar 20 - 06:43 PM Starhip - the link you shared does match Lighter's post. I have an album by noted Ozark folk music historian and songwriter Jimmy Driftwood (the album is Music of the Ozarks, produced by National Geographic) and Driftwood swears the song started life as a bootlegging song, as "Run Johnny Run." He writes: "Alexander Hamilton’s excise tax of 1791--a special whiskey tax--caused an insurrection in western Pennsylvania in 1794. President Washington sent federal troops to put down the riots. Out of this squabble came ”Run, Johnny, Run,” a song about a moonshiner and his trials with the law. During our Civil War, the Northerners sang a version called “Run, Johnny Reb.” Southerners didn’t like the song, but they liked the tune, so they sang it “Run, Nigger, Run." History has changed the lyrics of many a good old tune, but I had rather sing “Run, Johnny, Run”--even though I have been accused of tampering with the song. Here I play the mouth bow, perhaps mankind’s oldest musical instrument. Made of hickory in the form of a regular hunting bow, it’s played like a jew’s harp." On my quick search of Mudcat, I didn't see his version here so I thought I'd add it here. As sung on that album (though you can find a much more rousing version that I prefer online here to the dirge-like version on the album) Johnny was down at the moonshine still, In the bottom of a holler at the foot of the hill. He woke up ’bout the break of day And he thought he heard his grandpa say, Refrain “Run, Johnny, run, the federals will get you Run, Johnny, run, you better get away.” Johnny stopped at the top of the hill, And he saw them federals around his still, They busted the barrel and the boiler, too, And started drinking his mountain dew. Refrain The feds caught Johnny making a run, And they took him up to Washington, Put him to work for the government Making moonshine for the President. Refrain Johnny got rich at the government stills, And he ran off to his home in the hills. Now the federals are on his tracks He still owes a dollar on the whiskey tax. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Starship Date: 23 Mar 20 - 07:15 PM Thank you, cdn, much obliged. If a mod wishes to delete my post then please do. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Starship Date: 23 Mar 20 - 07:17 PM I'm on a roll today. I meant cnd. Very sorry. |
Subject: RE: Slavery-Era Song, 'Run, ======, Run' From: GUEST,Lighter Date: 23 Mar 20 - 07:32 PM I can't believe there's any documentation to show that "Run, Johnny, Run" is a product of the Whisky Rebellion. If there is, where is it? "Federals," however, is a perfectly likely replacement for "patteroles", and was commonly used for Union troops in the Civil War. And "Johnny," of course, meant a Southern soldier. So that much topical adaptation in a state like Missouri, which supplied 100,000 troops to the Union cause, would be perfectly believable - if not provable. |
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