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]
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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
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.
- Chase, Gilbert (2000). America's Music: From the Pilgrims to the Present. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-00454-X.
- Crawford, Richard (2001). America's Musical Life: A History. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04810-1.
- Darden, Robert (1996). People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1752-3.
- Koskoff, Ellen, ed. (2000). Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 3: The United States and Canada. Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-8240-4944-6.
- National Conference on Music of the Civil War Era (2004). Mark A. Snell; Bruce C. Kelley (eds.). Bugle Resounding: Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-1538-6.
- Southern, Eileen (1997). Music of Black Americans. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-03843-2.