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04 May 98 - 10:04 PM (#27301) Subject: Lyr Add: A REFRAIN OF THE RED RIVER PLANTATION^^ From: yuval@megsinet.net I came across the following three songs in a 1853 slave narrative, Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. Can anyone tell me anything about them? Particularly, what do they mean? Some words that I don't get: Harper's creek, josey, Hog Eye, Hosey, and yo' (as in "stole my yo'")? Here they are: 1) Harper's creek and roarin' ribber / Thar, my dear, we'll live forebber; / Den we'll go to the Ingin nation, / All I want in dis creation, / Is pretty little wife and big plantation. / Chorus. Up dat oak and down dat ribber, / Two overseers and one little nigger. 2) Who's been here since I've been gone? / Pretty little gal wid a josey on. / Hog Eye! / Old Hog Eye! / And Hosey too! / Never see de like since I was born, / Here come a little gal wid a josey 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 dam glad he was not dar. / Hop Jim along, &c. Any help would be greatly appreciated! |
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04 May 98 - 11:58 PM (#27311) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Bruce O. One is Hog Eye man (look in DT). I'll see if I kept any of the answers to 'the big plantation' one that was the subject of a query on another list 2 or 3 onths ago. |
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05 May 98 - 01:20 AM (#27320) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Barry Finn Check out Black-Eyed Susie in the DT, very close to your fist one. Do a forum search for Hog Eye, back a good while ago there was a thread on it. Barry |
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05 May 98 - 05:28 AM (#27333) Subject: RE: slave songs From: DWDitty To me, the ultimate slave song is Bid 'Em In on Oscar Brown, Jr.'s Sin & Soul album. |
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05 May 98 - 11:06 AM (#27347) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Barry Finn A couple threads you may want to check out in the forum searc; ?Songs on ,or about slavery? - Sept 22, 97 & Slave revolts - Feb 28, 98. Barry |
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05 May 98 - 04:24 PM (#27374) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Allan 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. |
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05 May 98 - 04:44 PM (#27378) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Bruce O. Well, not much turned up on an earlier query to a different list.
> Looking for an 1830s folksong which has the following lines in it:
> All I want in this creation
Well, yes, and I even have the tune in my head. Meseems the verse was in the form
the abcs might go:
And yes, I have the same impression, that the verse is probably found used in more songs than one. The form is consistent with variants of 'Salty Dog.' -- Happy hunting. Aloha, Lani
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05 May 98 - 05:57 PM (#27389) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Antaine What about "stole my ewe" as a possibility? ewe=female sheep There is a song called "The Moving Cloud" sung in Ireland which involves the slave trade. Good song. Best of luck. |
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05 May 98 - 08:00 PM (#27401) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Martin Ryan. DW Do you know is the "Sin & Soul" album available on CD? It was a great favourite of mine many years ago - until my son banjaxed it on a pirate Radio station about five years ago! Regards |
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05 May 98 - 08:52 PM (#27406) Subject: Lyr Add: BLACK-EYED SUSIE^^ From: Barry Finn All I want in this creation Pretty little wife on a big plantation chorus; Oh, my pretty little Black-eyed Susie (2x),br>
Up Onion Creek & down Salt Water
All I want to make me happy
Black dog, white dog, little black nigger
Going back home with a pocketfull o money
If I stop & stumble in the water
Who's been here since I been gone
Up the Oak & down the river
Then we'll go to the Indian Nation From American Ballads & Folk Songs, J & A Lomax. They didn't say much about the song, only calling it a square dance tune. Barry |
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05 May 98 - 10:38 PM (#27418) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Ole Bull Here's a clue. Some of the words recall the popular Minstrel songs of the 1840's; "Walk Along John," Jim Along Josey" and "Old Dan Tucker." |
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05 May 98 - 11:37 PM (#27427) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Bruce O. I think Ole's on the right track. #3 of the original post looks to me rather more like a medley than a corrupted verse of a song. |
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06 May 98 - 06:33 AM (#27446) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Bill in Alabama Referring to Antaine's suggestion, he is quite correct. "Yo" is still the folk pronunciation given to the word "ewe" in many parts of the American South. |
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06 May 98 - 11:24 AM (#27476) Subject: RE: slave songs From: yuval@megsinet.net Thanks a million, everyone. You've been a great help. Ole Bull: how can I find the words to the three 1840s minstrel songs you mentioned? |
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06 May 98 - 11:29 AM (#27477) Subject: RE: slave songs From: yuval@megsinet.net By the way, in the book Twelve Years a Slave is an actually notated tune to the first of these songs. Unfortunately the words, which are given separately from the tune, don't fit the melody at all. The melody is clearly a fiddle-type melody (square dance?); the author, Solomon Northup, was a fiddler. It may be the tune to Black-Eyed Susie ...? Unfortunately, in the reprint of Twelve Years a Slave by Louisiana State Univ. Press, the tune is left out altogether. You have to go back to the 1853 original to find it. |
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06 May 98 - 12:33 PM (#27485) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Jon W. Old Dan Tucker is in the DT here. The other two I couldn't find. |
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06 May 98 - 09:12 PM (#27548) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Art Thieme "Bid Em In" was written by Oscar Brown Jr. I'm fairly certain. Roy Inman & Ira Rogers did it on an Argo LP also. But it wasn't an actual slave song from that sad era. For some great insight and songs of those times read __Sinful Tunea And Spirituals--Blak Folk Music To The Civil War__by Dena J. Epstein (University Of Illinois Press). This volume is one of many in the wonderful series Music In American Life. I'm gonna try to give Oscar Brown a call to see if the album is on CD but cannot do that while I'm on line! Bye... Art Thieme |
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06 May 98 - 10:00 PM (#27554) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Art Thieme Sorry! Too many Oscar Brown jrs in Chicago phone book for information to help me. |
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08 May 98 - 09:57 AM (#27724) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Rockaday Johnny A great source for this type of tune is Thomas W. Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes -a new, expanded edition, with music. Edited, with introduction and notes by Charles K. Wolfe U of Tenn Press |
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08 May 98 - 10:39 AM (#27727) Subject: RE: slave songs From: Martin Ryan Art A recent thread confirmed that the Oscar Brown "Sin and Soul" album was available on CD. DWDITTY wrote In answer to Martin Ryan's question, Sin & Soul is available on CD. Try Borders or CD Now at www.cdnow.com. Regards |