Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands

by Parrish, Lydia; Rosenbaum, Art; Downes, Olin

• ISBN13: 9780820323893
• ISBN10: 0820323896
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-10-01
• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr

Summary

A valuable collection of folk music and lore from the Gullah culture,Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islandspreserves the rich traditions of slave descendants on the barrier islands of Georgia by interweaving their music with descriptions of their language, religious and social customs, and material culture.Collected over a period of nearly twenty-five years by Lydia Parrish, the sixty folk songs and attendant lore included in this book are evidence of antebellum traditions kept alive in the relatively isolated coastal regions of Georgia.Over the years, Parrish won the confidence of many of the African-American singers, not only collecting their songs but also discovering other elements of traditional culture that formed the context of those songs. When it was first published in 1942,Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islandscontained much material that had not previously appeared in print.The songs are grouped in categories, including African survival songs; shout songs; ring-play, dance, and fiddle songs; and religious and work songs. In additions to the lyrics and melodies,Slave Songsincludes Lydia Parrish's explanatory notes, character sketches of her informants, anecdotes, and a striking portfolio of photographs.Reproduced in its original oversized format,Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islandswill inform and delight students and scholars of African-American culture and folklore as well as folk music enthusiasts.

Author Biography

A native of New Jersey, Lydia Parrish (1871-1953) spent many winters on St. Simons Island with her husband, the artist Maxfield Parrish. Art Rosenbaum is a painter, draftsman, muralist, folk musician, and a professor of art at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia.

Table of Contents

List Of Music	p. ix
List Of Illustrations	p. xi
Foreword	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
An Explanation	p. xxv
Introduction	p. xxxv
Concerning Slave Songs And Their Preservation	p. 3
African Survivals On The Coast Of Georgia	p. 20
Freewillum	p. 45
Rockah Mh Moomba	p. 46
I Wok Om a Mo-na	p. 48
Byum By-e	p. 50
Afro-American Shout Songs	p. 54
Ha'k 'E Angels	p. 56
Until I Die	p. 62
Where Was Peter	p. 64
Plumb de Line	p. 67
Down to de Mire	p. 71
Eli Ah Can't Stan'	p. 74
Moonlight--Starlight	p. 76
Knee-Bone	p. 80
Oh Eve--Where Is Adam?	p. 85
Blow Gabriel	p. 87
My Soul Rock on Jubilee	p. 89
Good-Bye Everybody	p. 90
Ring-Play, Dance, And Fiddle Songs	p. 93
Emma You My Darlin'	p. 95
Go Roun' the Border Susie	p. 97
Sangaree	p. 99
It's Cold Frosty Mornin'	p. 102
Pretty Green Shawl	p. 104
Four and Twenty Lawyers	p. 104
Shout Josephine Shout	p. 106
The Buzzard Lope--a Solo Dance	p. 108
Throw Me Anywhere	p. 108
Gimme Him	p. 112
Stickit Ball a Hack	p. 114
Ham Bone Ham Bone	p. 114
Juba Dis an' Juba Dat	p. 116
Ball the Jack	p. 117
Fiddle Songs--Fragments	p. 118
Bile Dem Cabbage Down	p. 121
Way Down in the Old Peedee	p. 122
Johnny Come a Long Time	p. 124
I Jing-a-ling	p. 126
Religious Songs	p. 128
Church, Prayer, and Covenant Meeting	p. 129
Believer I Know	p. 131
Norah, Hist the Windah	p. 134
That Suits Me	p. 137
Wasn' That a Wonder	p. 139
I Heard the Angels Singin'	p. 140
Can't Hide Sinner	p. 142
John, John	p. 145
When I Rise Cryin' Holy	p. 148
No Hidin' Place	p. 151
Livin' Humble	p. 152
Swing Low Sweet Chariot	p. 154
When My Lord Calls Me I Must Go	p. 156
Zion	p. 158
My God Is a Rock in a Weary Land	p. 161
The Bell Done Ring	p. 164
An' He Never Said a Mumblin' Word	p. 165
May Be the Las' Time I Don't Know	p. 166
One-a These Days	p. 167
Baptism	p. 168
Wade in nuh Watuh Childun	p. 170
Sabbath Has No End	p. 172
"Settin'-up"	p. 174
In That Old Field	p. 175
Jesus Gon tuh Make Up My Dyin' Bed	p. 178
O de Robe	p. 180
Ride on Conquering King	p. 182
Aye Lord, Time Is Drawin' Nigh	p. 185
Nummer Me One	p. 188
For I Ain' Goin' t' Die No Mo'	p. 190
"Buryin'"	p. 191
In Some Lonesome Graveyard	p. 193
I Got to Lay in Yonder Graveyard	p. 196
Work Songs	p. 197
Shanties	p. 200
Call Me Hangin' Johnny	p. 203
Knock a Man Down	p. 205
Sandy Anna	p. 206
Pay Me My Money Down	p. 208
Debt I Owe	p. 210
Ragged Leevy	p. 212
Good-Bye My Riley O	p. 214
Ole Tar River	p. 216
Shilo Brown	p. 218
This Time Another Year	p. 220
Haul Away, I'm a Rollin' King	p. 220
Sundown Below	p. 221
My Soul Be at Res'	p. 221
Anniebelle	p. 222
Rice Songs	p. 225
Do Remember	p. 228
Peas an' the Rice	p. 232
Hard Time in Ole Virginny	p. 234
A. B. A. B. A.	p. 235
I Gwine t' Beat Dis Rice	p. 236
Rowing Songs	p. 236
Oh When I Come to Die	p. 240
Miscellaneous Work Songs	p. 243
Five Fingers in the Boll	p. 247
Drinkin' of the Wine	p. 249
When I'm Gone to Come No Mo'	p. 251
A Selected Bibliography	p. 253
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