Slave Songs of the United States explained

Slave Songs of the United States was a collection of African American music consisting of 136 songs. Published in 1867, it was the first, and most influential,^{[1] [2]} collection of spirituals to be published. The collectors of the songs were Northern abolitionists William Francis Allen, Lucy McKim Garrison, and Charles Pickard Ware.^[3] The group transcribed songs sung by the Gullah Geechee people of Saint Helena Island, South Carolina.^[4] These people were newly freed slaves who were living in a refugee camp when these songs were collected.^[5] It is a "milestone not just in African American music but in modern folk history".^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} It is also the first published collection of African-American music of any kind.^[10]

The making of the book is described by Samuel Charters, with an emphasis on the role of Lucy McKim Garrison.^[11] A segment of History Detectives explored the book's history and significance.^[12]

Notable Songs

Several notable and popular songs in the book include:

• "Roll, Jordan, Roll" (#1)
• "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" (#31)
• "Bosom of Abraham" (#94 as "Rock My Soul")
• "Down in the River to Pray" (#104 as "The Good Old Way")
• "Jehova"
• "Hallelujah"
• "I hear from Heaven to-day"
• "Turn sinner"
• "Turn O"
• "Nobody knows the trouble I've had"
• "No Man can hinder me"
• "Heave away"
• "Charleston Gals"
• "I'm gwine to Alabamy"
• "I want to die like-a Lazarus die"
• "Belle Layotte"
• "On to Glory Jacob's Ladder"
• "My father, how long?"
• "Musieu Bainjo"
• "Lean on the Lord's side"
• "God got plenty o' room"

The book provides instructions for singing, which is accompanied by a discussion of the history of each song, with potential variations, interpretations of key references, and other related details. In the Dover edition, Harold Courlander contributes a new preface that evaluates the book's significance in both American musical and cultural history.

See also

• "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"
• Songs of the Underground Railroad
• "Jimmy Crack Corn"
• Port Royal Experiment
• Port Royal Island
• Saint Helena Island (South Carolina)
• Coffin Point Plantation

References

• Black, Robert (1968). "Reviewed Work: Slave Songs of the United States by Irving Schlein". Journal of the International Folk Music Council. 20: 82–83 – via JSTOR.
• Book: Chase, Gilbert . 0-252-00454-X . University of Illinois Press . America's Music: From the Pilgrims to the Present . 2000 . registration .
• Book: Crawford, Richard. 0-393-04810-1. W. W. Norton & Company. America's Musical Life: A History. registration. 2001.
• Book: Darden, Robert. People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music. Continuum International Publishing Group. New York. 1996. 0-8264-1752-3. registration.
• Book: Koskoff. Ellen. 0-8240-4944-6. Garland Publishing. Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 3: The United States and Canada. 2000.
• Book: Bugle Resounding: Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era. National Conference on Music of the Civil War Era. Mark A. Snell . Bruce C. Kelley. 2004. University of Missouri Press. 0-8262-1538-6.
• Book: Southern, Eileen. New York. 0-393-03843-2. Music of Black Americans. W.W. Norton & Co.. 1997.

External links

• Full text on Internet Archive (1867 edition)
• Full text on Internet Archive (1951 edition)
• History Detectives segment (S6E11)
• Remastered digital edition using LilyPond

Notes and References

1. Darden, pg. 71
2. Southern, pg. 152
3. Crawford, pg. 416
4. Web site: Crawford . Eric . The Negro Spiritual of Saint Helena Island: An Analysis of its Repertoire during the Periods 1860-1920, 1921-1939, and 1972-present . Washington Research Library Consortium. . The Catholic University of America . 3 March 2023.
5. Black . Robert . 1968 . Reviewed Work: Slave Songs of the United States by Irving Schlein . Journal of the International Folk Music Council . 20 . 82–83 . 10.2307/836087 . 836087 . JSTOR.
6. Darden, pgs. 99-100
7. Book: Maultsby, Portia K. . The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Overview. Mellonee V. Burnin . Susan Oehler. 572–591.
8. Cosmopolitan or Provincial?: Ideology in Early Black Music Historiography, 1867-1940. Guthrie P.. Ramsey, Jr.. Black Music Research Journal. 16. 1. Spring 1996. 11–42. 10.2307/779375. Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1. 779375.
9. Snell and Kelley, pg. 22
10. Chase, pg. 215
11. Charters, Samuel. 2015. Songs of Sorrow: Lucy McKim Garrison and "Slave Songs of the United States". Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
12. Web site: Slave Songbook History Detectives PBS. www.pbs.org. 2018-03-28.