Chapter XV: Types of Phono-Photographic Records of Negro Singers

We have referred often in these pages to the wealth of material found in the great variety and number of the Negro’s songs. We have appraised the collections which have been published and those which are to come as valuable source material for the study of folk life and art and especially for their value in the portrayal of representative Negro life. Adequate analysis and presentation of these values will be possible only after a number of the other collections have been completed and comprehensive studies made.

There are other values not yet presented. For example, the scientific study of the Negro’s musical ability has barely begun, but it promises much. The work of Professor Carl E. Seashore and others has resulted in the formulation of various tests and methods for studying musical talent and singing ability. Many valuable studies have been reported from various psychological laboratories. One of the latest developments in this field is the phono-photographic method of recording voices. In this method the phono-photographic machine makes it possible to take pictures of sound waves of all kinds. Among other things, it registers the most delicate variations in pitch, variations which are often too subtle for the human ear to perceive. In short, it gives a picture of exactly what a voice or a musical instrument does.

Naturally this method of sound wave analysis may be of untold value in the study of the human voice. It enables the singer to see his voice in detail. It furnishes the scientist with data for the study of the qualities which make a voice good or poor. It opens up many possibilities, both practical and theoretical, as a method of voice analysis.

Of special interest and importance is the application of this method to the study of Negro singers and Negro voices. It was therefore a fortunate turn of circumstances which made it possible for the authors of this volume to join Professor Seashore and Dr. Milton Metfessel of the University of Iowa in making extensive phono-photographic studies of various Negro singers during the fall of 1925, with headquarters at the University of North Carolina Institute for Research in Social Science. Professor Seashore was able to coöperate personally in the work at Hampton, while Dr. Metfessel remained throughout the entire period of the study.[98]

[98] Dr. Metfessel, using the perfected machine which long years
of work at the University of Iowa psychological laboratories have
produced, was successful in obtaining a large number of satisfactory
records. He also took moving pictures of the singers. Needless to
say, we are indebted to him for the material of this chapter.

Among the types of Negro singers whose voices were subjected to the phono-photographic process were practically all of the common types which we have been recording in the pages of this volume and of _The Negro and His Songs_. There were the typical laborers, working with pick and shovel. There was the lonely singer, with his morning yodel or “holler.” There were the skilled workers with voices more or less trained by practice and formal singing. There was the more nearly primitive type, swaying body and limb with singing. The noted quartet from Hampton Institute, as well as individual singers there, coöperated. Men and women from the North Carolina College for Negroes represented other types. Quartets and individuals from the high schools at Chapel Hill and Raleigh, North Carolina, were still other types. Finally the voices of one hundred and fifty Negro children from the Orange County Training School at Chapel Hill and the Washington School at Raleigh were recorded. Types of songs included in the experiments were the gang work song, the pick-and-shovel song and various other work songs, the yodel, the “1926 model laugh,” the blues, formal quartet music, spirituals, and children’s songs. It would thus appear that both the selections and the numbers were adequate to make a valuable beginning in a new phase of the subject.

The results of this study will be published fully later. The present chapter is in no sense a report of the results. It is intended merely to describe the phono-photographic study, to give some examples of records obtained during the study, and to indicate certain possibilities of this method as a scientific means of research into Negro singing abilities and qualities.

The following explanation will suffice to acquaint the reader with the method of reading the photographic records presented in this chapter. Along the left side of each graph are the notes of the scale in half steps. When the heavy line which represents the voice rises or falls one space on the graph, the voice has changed a half tone in pitch. Time value is shown along the bottom of the graph. The vertical bars occurring every 5.55 spaces along the bottom mark off intervals of one second.

If one were to sing a perfectly rigid tone, its photographic record would be a horizontal straight line. Such a thing is very rare, however, in any type of singing, for most sustained tones photograph as more or less irregular wavy lines. Indeed, a voice whose sustained tones photographed as a straight line would not produce as good tones as one with rapid and regular variations of the vocal cords. A good singing voice possesses what is called the _vibrato_. In terms of the photographic records, the pitch vibrato consists of a rise and fall of pitch of about half a tone about six times a second. In Figure I are given samples of tones photographed by Seashore and Metfessel from the singing of _Annie Laurie_ by Lowell Welles. The first represents the singing of the word “dew” in the line, “Where early fa’s the dew.” The second is the word “and” from the line, “And for bonnie Annie Laurie.” The vibrato is present in both tones. Note how the voice line varies above or below the note E on “dew” and F-sharp on “and,” sometimes as much as a quarter of a tone. Note also the smoothness and regularity of the pitch fluctuations. It is this smoothness of the vibrato which characterizes good singing.

“AND” F♯

“DEW” E

FIG. I]

To illustrate their scope, methods, and possibilities three specimens of photographic records of Negro voices are presented: a song, _I Got a Muley_,[99] by Odell Walker; a yodel or “holler,” as it is commonly called, by Cleve Atwater; and Cleve’s “1926 Model Laugh.”

[99] The tune is slightly different from the music of the song of the
same name given in Chapter XIV. It is variously called _I Got a Mule
on the Mountain_, _I Got Mule Named Jerry_, _I Got a Muley_, _Jerry
on Mountain_.

Figure II is the photographic notation of _I Got a Muley_. The music of the song as best it can be represented in ordinary notation is given below. Several interesting things are revealed by the song picture in Figure II.[100] For one thing, we have here a picture of some of those elusive slurs which are so common among Negro singers. Take the words “muley on a mount’n” in Figure II-A, for example.

[Music:

I GOT A MULEY, MULEY ON A MOUNT’N CALL ’IM JERRY; I GOT A MULEY,
MULEY ON A MOUNT’N CALL’IM JERRY. I CAN RIDE HIM, RIDE’IM ANY TIME I
WAN’ UH; I CAN RIDE HIM RIDE’IM ANY TIME I WAN’UH, LAWD, LAWD, ALL DAY
LONG.]

When one hears these words as they were sung by Odell Walker, one is apt to feel that with the exception of the last syllable of “mount’n” they are all sung on the same pitch. The graph shows that this is not so. There are really drops in pitch of one and a half or two whole tones at two places in this phrase. Or take the word “ride,” as it occurs in the phrase, “ride ’im any time I wan’ uh,” which phrase occurs twice in the song. One can tell while listening to the song that there is some sort of slur present, but it is impossible to tell by means of the ear alone exactly what is happening. The graph reveals the fact that the singer actually begins the word “ride” between D-sharp and E and carries it as high as G-sharp. The outstanding tone heard, however, is G-sharp. Other pitch changes not shown in the ordinary musical notation may be easily detected by the reader.

[100] A measure on the graph is equivalent to approximately nine
spaces on the horizontal scale. Note that the singer did not keep
accurate time. His measures range from six to twelve spaces.

The vibrato is present in places in the record of this song. In section A there is a trace of it on the word “muley” the first time it occurs. In section B there is an approach to it on the word “Jerry.” In section C it occurs on the word “ride” the first time it appears. In section D there is a tendency toward it on “Lawd, Lawd,” but it shows best in “long”, the last word of the song. A comparison with the examples of artistic singing in Figure I shows that our Negro workman’s vibrato is rough and irregular and that it does not maintain a steady general pitch level as does Welles’s vibrato. It must be borne in mind, however, that this particular song does not afford good opportunities for sustained tones and that the Negro singer’s vibrato might have shown to better advantage on a different song.

In Figure III is a picture of a yodel or “holler.” It is the sort of thing which one hears from field hands as they go to work in the morning, or from some gay-spirited pick-and-shovel man as he begins digging on a frosty morning.

No attempt is made to include the ordinary musical notation of the yodel, for it would give but a suggestion of the vocal idiosyncrasies involved in the execution of the yodel. The most remarkable thing about this record is the sudden changes of pitch which it portrays. In Figure III-A just at the beginning of the fifth second interval the voice takes a sudden drop. Then it rises from F to G in the octave above in about a third of a second. In section B of the yodel, near the end of the fifth second interval, the same spectacular rise occurs, this time from F-sharp to G-sharp in about one-tenth of a second. Still more remarkable are the several rapid rises and falls in pitch in section C. In the production of such sudden changes the vocal cords must undergo a snap. Even in speech, where pitch changes are very rapid, such sudden ascents and descents do not occur.

It is also interesting to note that the vibrato is present at times in the yodel. It is fairly plain on C-sharp along the middle of section A and still better on G at the end of the same section. It also shows at the end of section B, continuing into section C; and the yodel ends with a semi-vibrato. There is an approach to it in several other places. The vibrato of our Negro worker, however, is rather erratic and wavering in comparison with the vibrato of the vocal artist in Figure I. Yet one must remember that our subjects, both in Figure II and Figure III, were Negro workers whose voices have never had a touch of formal training.

In Figure IV we have a photographic record of a hearty Negro laugh. Its musical quality is at once evident. In the first three seconds of the laugh there is an unusual effect. It would not be called a vibrato because the pitch changes are too rapid and too extensive to give the vibrato effect. Near the beginning of the fifth second of the laugh the voice breaks up into a series of interrupted speech sounds. During the sixth second it suddenly becomes musical again and remains so for about two seconds. Then, after a rest, (see section B) the speech sounds reappear and continue intermittently to the end of the laugh.

These observations indicate some of the possibilities of the phono-photographic method of studying Negro voices and Negro songs. When the complete results of the recent study are ready for publication we may have data which will make it possible to compare scientifically the voices of different kinds of Negro singers as well as the voices of Negro and white singers.

Other studies and correlations may be made through the articulation of the moving pictures of the singers, their faces, their bodily movements, their emotional expressions, and whatever reactions the camera may reveal. In nearly all instances where phono-photographic records were made of Negro voices in the recent study, moving pictures were made of the singers. In addition to these, moving pictures were made of groups of workmen while singing. Some remarkable examples of skill in movement, of coördination of song with work, of mixture of humor, pathos, and recklessness with work and song were brought to light. These have been incorporated into a series of three reels. Some of these pictures of facial expression during singing will be included in the report of the study when it is published in complete form.

Many interesting questions may find their solutions if the scientific method is applied to the study of Negro singing ability. Is the vibrato a native endowment? Is the vibrato more frequent among Negroes than among whites? At what age does it appear in the voice?[101] What other qualities cause the rank and file of Negroes to excel as singers? Is the Negro’s capacity for harmony greater than the white man’s? Is his sense of rhythm better? These are some of the questions which science should be able to answer in the near future.

[101] A study of the voices of white and Negro school children now
being made by Milton Metfessel and Guy B. Johnson may throw some
light upon some of these questions.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY[102]

[102] This bibliography is not intended to cover all that has been
written on Negro songs. It includes references to actual collections
of songs and to a few other contributions which are of value to
the serious student of Negro songs. Dozens of merely appreciative
articles have been omitted. For a larger bibliography one may consult
the latest issue of the _Negro Year Book_.

BOOKS

ABBOT, F. H., and SWAN, A. J., _Eight Negro Songs_. Enoch & Sons, New
York, 1923. Eight songs from Bedford County, Virginia. Explanatory
comments and notes on dialect are given for each song.

ALLEN, W. F., and others, _Slave Songs of the United States_. New
York, 1867. Words and music of 136 songs are given.

ARMSTRONG, M. F., _Hampton and Its Students_. New York, 1874. Fifty
plantation songs.

BALLANTA, N. G. J., _St. Helena Island Spirituals_. G. Schirmer, New
York, 1925. A collection of 115 spirituals from Penn School, St.
Helena Island. This island is off the coast of South Carolina, and
its semi-isolation makes it an interesting field for the study of
Negro songs. Ballanta’s work is prefaced by a valuable but somewhat
pedantic discussion of Negro music.

BURLIN, NATALIE CURTIS, _Negro Folk-Songs_. G. Schirmer, New York,
1918-19. Four small volumes of Negro songs recorded at Hampton
Institute. Volumes I and II are spirituals, volumes III and IV are
work songs and play songs. These songs are of special value in that
the late Mrs. Burlin came nearer than any one else to the accurate
reproduction of Negro songs in musical notation.

CAMPBELL, OLIVE DAME, and SHARP, CECIL J., _English Folk Songs from
the Southern Appalachians_. The student who is interested in the
origin of Negro songs and their relation to English folk songs will
find valuable data in this book.

COX, J. H., _Folk Songs of the South_. Harvard University Press,
1924. Most of these songs are songs of the whites of the mountains,
but they are particularly valuable in that they throw light on the
origin of many Negro songs.

FENNER, T. P., _Religious Folk Songs of the American Negro_. Hampton
Institute Press, 1924. (Arranged in 1909 by the Musical Directors of
Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute from the original edition by
Thomas P. Fenner. Reprinted in 1924.) This volume contains the words
and music of 153 religious songs.

FENNER, T. P., and RATHBUN, F. G., _Cabin and Plantation Songs_. New
York, 1891. Old Negro plantation songs with music.

HALLOWELL, EMILY, _Calhoun Plantation Songs_. New York, 1910. A
number of songs with music collected from the singing of Negroes on
the Calhoun plantation.

HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER, _Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings_. New
York, 1880. Nine songs.

HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER, _Uncle Remus and His Friends_. New York, 1892.
Sixteen songs.

HIGGINSON, THOMAS WENTWORTH, _Army Life in a Black Regiment_. Boston,
1870. Chapter IX of this book is devoted to Negro spirituals as they
were sung in Col. Higginson’s regiment during the Civil War.

HOBSON, ANNE, _In Old Alabama_. New York, 1903. Ten dialect stories
and songs.

JOHNSON, JAMES WELDON, _The Book of American Negro Spirituals_.
Viking Press, New York, 1925. A collection of sixty-one spirituals.
Most of these songs have been published in other collections, but the
musical arrangements in this volume are new. While the melodies of
the old songs are retained intact, an effort has been made to improve
the rhythmic qualities of the accompaniments. The preface of the book
is devoted to the origin, development, and appreciation of Negro
spirituals.

KENNEDY, R. EMMET, _Black Cameos_. A. & C. Boni, New York, 1924.
A collection of twenty-eight stories, mostly humorous, with songs
interwoven. The words and music of seventeen songs are given.

KENNEDY, R. EMMET, _Mellows: Work Songs, Street Cries and
Spirituals_. A. & C. Boni, New York, 1925. Several spirituals and
street songs from New Orleans. The author includes character sketches
of his singers. His discussion of the relation of Negro songs to
printed ballad sheets is especially interesting.

KREHBIEL, H. E., _Afro-American Folk Songs_. G. Schirmer, New York
and London, 1914. A careful study of Negro folk songs from the
point of view of the skilled musician. Songs and music from Africa
and other sources are analyzed and compared with American Negro
productions. The music of sixty or more songs and dance airs is given.

MARSH, J. B. T., _The Story of the Jubilee Singers_. Boston 1880. An
account of the Jubilee Singers, with their songs.

ODUM, HOWARD W., and JOHNSON, GUY B., _The Negro and His Songs_.
University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1925. A study of
the origin and characteristic of Negro songs from the historical and
sociological point of view. The words of 200 songs are given. The
songs are discussed under three general classes: spirituals, social
songs, and work songs.

PETERSON, C. G., _Creole Songs from New Orleans_. New Orleans, 1902.

PIKE, G. D., _The Jubilee Singers_. Boston and New York, 1873.
Sixty-one religious songs.

SCARBOROUGH, DOROTHY, _On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs_. Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, 1925. One of the most important
contributions yet made to the study of Negro songs. This book
presents some 200 secular songs, including the music of most of them.
Especially interesting is the chapter on “The Negro’s part in the
Transmission of Traditional Songs and Ballads.” The lack of any sort
of index somewhat decreases the value of the book for purposes of
reference and comparison.

TALLEY, THOMAS W., _Negro Folk Rhymes_. Macmillan, New York, 1922.
This volume contains about 350 rhymes and songs and a study of the
origin, development, and characteristics of Negro rhymes. Besides a
general index of songs, a comparative index is included.

WORK, JOHN WESLEY, _Folk Songs of the American Negro_. Fisk
University Press, Nashville, 1915. The words of fifty-five songs and
music of nine, together with a study of the origin and growth of
certain songs.

PERIODICALS

_Adventure Magazine._ The files of this magazine for the last few
years should be of considerable interest to the student of folk song.
A department called “Old Songs That Men Have Sung” is conducted by
Dr. R. W. Gordon, a Harvard-trained student of folk song. Many of the
songs printed in this department are Negro songs or Negro adaptions.

BACKUS, E. M., “Negro Songs from Georgia,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 10, pp. 116, 202, 216; vol. 11, pp. 22, 60. Six
religious songs.

BACKUS, E. M., “Christmas Carols from Georgia,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 12, p. 272. Two songs.

BARTON, W. E., “Hymns of Negroes,” _New England Magazine_, vol. 19,
pp. 669 et seq., 706 et seq. A number of songs with some musical
notation and discussion.

BERGEN, MRS. F. D., “On the Eastern Shore,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 2, pp. 296-298. Two fragments, with a brief
discussion of the Negroes of the eastern shore of Maryland.

BROWN, J. M., “Songs of the Slave,” _Lippincott’s_, vol. 2, pp.
617-623. Several songs with brief comments.

CABLE, GEORGE W., “Creole Slave Songs,” _Century_, vol. 31, pp.
807-828. Twelve songs with some fragments, music of seven.

CLARKE, MARY ALMSTED, “Song Games of Negro Children in Virginia,”
_Journal of American Folk-Lore_, vol. 3, pp. 288-290. Nine song games
and rhymes.

COX, J. H., “John Hardy,” _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, vol. 32,
p. 505 et seq. Here will be found Cox’s discussion of the John Hardy
or John Henry story, together with several versions of the song.

GARNETT, L. A., “Spirituals,” _Outlook_, vol. 30, p. 589. Three
religious songs. However, they appear to have been polished
considerably by the writer.

HASKELL, M. A., “Negro Spirituals,” _Century_, vol. 36, pp. 577 et
seq. About ten songs with music.

HIGGINSON, T. W., “Hymns of Negroes,” _Atlantic Monthly_, vol. 19,
pp. 685 et seq. Thirty-six religious and two secular songs, with
musical notation.

LEMMERMAN, K., “Improvised Negro Songs,” _New Republic_, vol. 13, pp.
214-215. Six religious songs or improvised fragments.

LOMAX, J. A., “Self-pity in Negro Folk Song,” _Nation_, vol. 105, pp.
141-145. About twenty songs, some new, others quoted from Perrow and
Odum, with discussion.

“Negro Hymn of Day of Judgment,” _Journal of American Folk-Lore_,
vol. 9, p. 210. One religious song.

NILES, ABBE, “Blue Notes,” _New Republic_, vol. 45, pp. 292-3. A
discussion of the significance of the blues and the music of the
blues. The style is somewhat too verbose and technical for the
average reader.

ODUM, ANNA K., “Negro Folk Songs from Tennessee,” _Journal of
American Folk-Lore_, vol. 27, pp. 255-265. Twenty-one religious and
four secular songs.

ODUM, HOWARD W., “Religious Folk Songs of the Southern Negroes,”
_Journal of Religious Psychology and Education_, vol. 3, pp. 265-365.
About one hundred songs.

ODUM, HOWARD W., “Folk Song and Folk Poetry as Found in the Secular
Songs of the Southern Negroes,” _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, vol.
35, pp. 223-249; 351-396. About 120 songs.

ODUM, HOWARD W., “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” _Country Gentleman_,
March, 1926, pp. 18-19, 49-50. Several religious songs with
discussion.

ODUM, HOWARD W., “Down that Lonesome Road.” _Country Gentleman_, May,
1926, pp. 18-19, 79. Several secular songs, music of six, some new
and some quoted from _The Negro and His Songs_ and from the present
collection.

PEABODY, CHARLES, “Notes on Negro Music,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 16, pp. 148-52. Observations on the technique of the
Negro workman in the South, with some songs and music.

PERKINS, A. E., “Spirituals from the Far South,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 35, pp. 223-249. Forty-seven songs.

PERROW, E. C., “Songs and Rhymes from the South,” _Journal of
American Folk-Lore_, vol. 25, pp. 137-155; vol. 26, pp. 123-173; vol.
28, pp. 129-190. A general collection containing 118 Negro songs,
mostly secular.

REDFEARN, S. F., “Songs from Georgia,” Journal of American Folk-Lore,
vol. 34, pp. 121-124. One secular and three religious songs.

SPEERS, M. W. F., “Negro Songs and Folk-Lore,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 23, pp. 435-439. One religious and one secular song.

STEWARD, T. G., “Negro Imagery,” _New Republic_, vol. 12, p. 248. One
religious improvisation, with discussion.

THANET, OCTAVE, “Cradle Songs of Negroes in North Carolina,” _Journal
of American Folk-Lore_, vol. 7, p. 310. Two lullabies.

TRUITT, FLORENCE, “Songs from Kentucky,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 36, pp. 376-379. Four white songs, one of which
contains several verses often found in Negro songs.

WEBB, W. P., “Notes on Folk-Lore of Texas,” _Journal of American
Folk-Lore_, vol. 28, pp. 290-299. Five secular songs.

INDEX TO SONGS

PAGE

A CREEPER’S BEEN ’ROUN’ DIS DO’ 149

A NIGGER’S HARD TO FOOL 180

A VAMPIRE OF YOUR OWN 143

ALL BOUN’ IN PRISON 79

ALL RIGHT 109

ALL US NIGGERS ’HIND DE BARS 87

ANGELS LOOKIN’ AT ME 198

BABY, WHY DON’T YOU TREAT ME RIGHT? 148

BAD MAN LAZARUS 50

BEAR CAT DOWN IN GEORGIA 121

BERDA, YOU COME TOO SOON 128

BETTER’N I HAS AT HOME 85

BILLY BOB RUSSELL 54

BLOODHOUN’ ON MY TRACK 66

BOLIN JONES 62

BOYS, PUT YO’ HANDS ON IT 107

BUFFALO BILL 67

CAN ANY ONE TAKE SWEET MAMA’S PLACE? 156

CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN, LET WHEELERS ROLL 102

CAPTAIN, I’LL BE GONE 100

CAPTAIN, I WANTA GO HOME 45

CASEY JONES 126

CHAIN GANG BLUES 78

CHICKEN NEVER ROOST TOO HIGH FO’ ME 133

CO’N BREAD 181

CREEPIN’ ’ROUN’ 63

DADDY MINE 155

DARLIN’, GET ON DE ROAD 132

DAS ’NOUGH SAID 130

DAT BROWN GAL BABY DONE TURN ME DOWN 137

DAT CHOCOLATE MAN 161

DAT LEADIN’ HOUN’ 67

DAT NIGGER O’ MINE DON’T LOVE ME NO MO’ 162

DAT SLY GAL 164

DE CHOCOLATE GAL 153

DE CO’T HOUSE IN DE SKY 184

DE DEVIL’S BEEN TO MY HOUSE 193

DE GOAT’S GOT A SMELL 131

DE MULATTO GAL 153

DE WOMAN AM DE CAUSE OF IT ALL
A 142
B 143

DE WOMEN DON’T LOVE ME NO MO’ 141

DEM CHAIN GANG HOUN’S 86

DEM LONGIN’, WANTIN’ BLUES 162

DEM TURRIBLE RED HOT BLUES 130

DERE’S A LIZZIE AFTER MY MAN 163

DERE’S MISERY IN DIS LAN’ 161

DEW-DROP MINE 149

DEY GOT EACH AND DE UDDER’S MAN 144

DEY’S HANGIN’ ’ROUN’ HER DO’ 148

DIAMOND JOE 130

DIDN’T OL’ PHARAOH GET LOST? 191

DIG-A MY GRAVE WID A SILVER SPADE 129

DON’T FOOL WID ME 63

DON’T WANTA SEE HER NO MO’ 137

DON’T YOU GIVE ME NO CORNBREAD 105

DON’T YOU HEAR? 68

DON’T YOU TWO-TIME ME 156

DOVE CAME DOWN BY THE FOOT OF MY BED 127

DUPREE 55

DUPREE’S JAIL SONG 123

DUPREE TOL’ BETTY 57

EVERYBODY CALL ME THE WAGES MAN 116

“FREE LABOR” GANG SONG 90

GIVE ME A TEASIN’ BROWN 146

GO ’LONG MULE 177

GOIN’ BACK TO DE GANG 86

GOIN’ DOWN DAT LONESOME ROAD 46

GONNA TURN BACK PHARAOH’S ARMY 191

GOOD LAWD, I AM TROUBLED 192

GOOD MORNING, MR. EPTING 171

GOODBY, SING HALLELU 205

GOODBY, SOOKIE 131

GOT ME IN THE CALABOOSE 76

GREAT SCOTS, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO 132

GWINE TO GIT A HOME BY AN’ BY 176

HAVE EVERLASTIN’ LIFE 194

HE GOT MY GAL 151

HE-I-HEIRA 92

HE RUN ME IN 131

HE TUCK HER AWAY 149

HE WUS DE GOV’NOR OF OUR CLAN 127

HELP ME DRIVE ’EM 109

HI, JENNY, HO, JENNY JOHNSON 185

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN 150

HONEY BABY 145

HOT FLAMBOTIA AN’ COFFEE STRONG 112

HUMP-BACK MULE 179

I AIN’T DONE NOTHIN’ 69

I AIN’T FREE 71

I AIN’T GONNA LET NOBODY MAKE A FOOL OUT O’ ME 128

I AIN’T NO STRANGER 159

I AM READY FOR DE FIGHT 64

I BELONG TO STEEL-DRIVIN’ CREW 110

I BID YOU A LONG FAREWELL 197

I BRUNG A GAL FROM TENNESSEE 137

I CALLS MY JESUS KING EMANUEL 205

I CAN’T KEEP FROM CRYIN’ 40

I DONE SOL’ MY SOUL TO DE DEVIL 158

I DON’T FEEL WELCOME HERE 164

I DON’T LOVE HIM NO MO’ 162

I DON’T MIND BEIN’ IN JAIL 77

I DON’T WANT NO TROUBLE WID DE WALKER 113

I DON’T WANT NO CORNBREAD 114

I DON’T WANT YOU ALL TO GRIEVE AFTER ME 197

I GOT A GAL AN’ I CAN’T GIT HER 147

I GOT A LETTER, CAPTAIN 82

I GOT A LETTER FROM MY MAN 158

I GOT A MULEY 120

I GOT ANOTHER DADDY 165

I GOT CHICKENS ON MY BACK 128

I GOT MY MAN 150

I LOVE JESUS 195

I NEVER WILL TURN BACK 200

I RATHER BE IN MY GRAVE 38

I STEAL DAT CORN 68

I TOL’ MY CAP’N THAT MY FEET WAS COL’ 102

I WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN 203

I WENT TO DE JAIL HOUSE 79

I WENT TO SEE MY GAL 147

I WISH I WAS DEAD 39

I WISH I WAS SINGLE AGAIN 163

IF DERE’S A MAN IN DE MOON 143

IF I CAN GIT TO GEORGIA LINE 75

IF I’D A-KNOWN MY CAP’N WAS BLIN’ 101

IF YOU WANT TO SEE A PRETTY GIRL 145

I’M A NATURAL-BO’N RAM’LER 65

I’M COMIN’ BACK 85

I’M DE HOT STUFF MAN 65

I’M DE ROUGH STUFF 69

I’M FISHIN’ BOUN’ 181

I’M GOIN’ BACK HOME 96

I’M GOIN’ HOME, BUDDIE 43

I’M GOIN’ ON 112

I’M GOIN’ OUT WEST 124

I’M GONNA GET ME ANOTHER MAN 165

I’M GONNA HAVE ME A RED BALL ALL MY OWN 132

IN DE MORNIN’ SOON 201

I’S A NATURAL-BO’N EASTMAN 68

I’S DONE SPOT MY NIGGER 150

I’S DREAMIN’ OF YOU 154

I’S GONNA SHINE 204

I’S HAVIN’ A HELL OF A TIME 138

I’S SWINGIN’ IN DE SWINGER 204

JAIL HOUSE WAIL 73

JES’ BEHOL’ WHAT A NUMBER 194

JES’ FER A DAY 87

JOHN HENRY (See Chapter XIII) 221-240

JUDGE GONNA SENTENCE US SO LONG 80

JULIA LONG 125

JULY’S FOR THE RED-BUG 106

KITTY KIMO 187

LAWD, SHE KEEP ON WORRYIN’ ME 136

LAWD, LAWD, I’M ON MY WAY 46

LAWDY, WHAT I GONNA DO? 139

LAYIN’ LOW 62

LEFT WING GORDON (See Chapter XII) 206-221

LONG, TALL, BROWN-SKIN GIRL 146

LOOKIN’ OVER IN GEORGIA 121

MAMMY-IN-LAW DONE TURN ME OUT 141

MISSUS IN DE BIG HOUSE 117

MULE ON THE MOUNTAIN 119

MY BLACK JACK 155

MY GAL’S A HIGH BO’N LADY 145

MY GIRL SHE’S GONE AND LEFT ME 136

MY HOME AIN’T HERE, CAPTAIN 98

MY JANE 144

MY MAN AM A SLAP-STICK MAN 156

MY MAN HE GOT IN TROUBLE 81

NEVER TURN BACK 107

NO COON BUT YOU 183

NO MORE 108

NOTHIN’ TO KEEP 115

O BUCKEYE RABBIT 110

O CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN 94

O LAWD, MAMIE 91

OH, DE GOSPEL TRAIN’S A-COMIN’ 202

OCCUPIED 164

OL’ BLACK MARIAH 87

ON DE ROAD SOMEWHERE 155

ON MY LAS’ GO-’ROUND 128

OUT IN DE CABIN 131

OUTRAN DAT COP 67

PHARAOH’S ARMY GOT DROWNDED 190

PITY PO’ BOY 38

PLEASE, MR. CONDUCTOR 44

PO’ HOMELESS BOY 43

PO’ LITTLE GIRL GRIEVIN’ 41

PO’ NIGGER GOT NOWHERE TO GO 39

PRISONER’S SONG 83

PULL OFF DEM SHOES I BOUGHT YOU 140

PULLMAN PORTER 186

RAIN OR SHINE 129

RAISE A RUKUS TONIGHT
A 173
B 174
C 174

REASON I STAY ON JOB SO LONG 112

REUBEN 66

ROSCOE BILL 62

SAVE ME, LAWD 196

SECTION BOSS 93

SHANGHAI ROOSTER 134

SHE’S GOT ANOTHER DADDY 151

SHIP MY PO’ BODY HOME 37

SHOOT, GOOD GOD, SHOOT! 87

SHOOT THAT BUFFALO 123

SHOOTIN’ BILL 63

SHOT MY PISTOL IN THE HEART O’ TOWN 70

SINCE I LAID MY BURDEN DOWN 201

SLIM JIM FROM DARK-TOWN ALLEY 64

SOME O’ DESE DAYS 139

SOME O’ THESE DAYS 202

STEWBALL WAS A RACER 133

’TAINT AS BAD AS I SAID 75

TAKE ME BACK HOME 44

THAT LIAR 168

THAT OL’ LETTER 43

THE JUDGE HE SENTENCE ME 82

THE SANCTIFIED 195

THIS OL’ HAMMER 111

THROW MYSELF DOWN IN DE SEA 38

TRAVELIN’ MAN 59

TROUBLE ALL MY DAYS 40

TURN YO’ DAMPER DOWN 126

U-H, U-H, LAWDY 110

WAR JUBILEE SONG 169

WASH MY OVERHALLS 126

’WAY UP IN THE MOUNTAIN 104

WE ARE CLIMBIN’ JACOB’S LADDER 111

WE WILL KNEEL ’ROUN’ DE ALTAR 193

WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE? 160

WHAT YOU GONNA DO? 195

WHEN HE GRIN 69

WHEN I GIT HOME 203

WHEN I LAY MY BURDEN DOWN 200

WHEN I WORE MY AP’ON LOW 157

WHEN I’S DEAD AN’ GONE 197

WHO BUILT DE ARK? 191

WHOA, MULE 179

WHO’S GOIN’ TO BUY YOUR WHISKEY? 129

WILL I GIT BACK HOME? 45

WOKE UP WID MY BACK TO THE WALL 84

WORRIED ANYHOW 160

WRING JING HAD A LITTLE DING 175

YONDER COME DE DEVIL 130

YOU CALLS ME IN DE MORNIN’ 129

YOU MUS’ SHROUD MY BODY 199

YOU TAKE DE STOCKIN’, I TAKE DE SOCK 140

YOU TAKE DE YALLER, I TAKE DE BLACK 146

Transcriber’s Notes

The text has been transcribed verbatim from the source document,
including inconsistencies and (phonetic representations of) dialects
and speech and pejorative and offensive language.

Page 29, table: the percentages are as printed in the source
document, but appear to be off slightly for brand C and by several
percentage points for brands A and B.

Page 255, The first represents ...: first and second are reversed
compared to the illustration.

Changes made:

Footnotes have been moved to under the song or text paragraph in
which they are referenced.

Some minor inconsistencies and obvious typographical and punctuation
errors have been corrected silently. Several contractions such as
aint’, dont’ and wont’ etc. have been changed to ain’t, don’t and
won’t etc.

Page 25: Love, careless, love changed to Love, careless love.

Page 30: Lake Ponchartrain Blues changed to Lake Pontchartrain Blues.

Page 66: I’m a greasy streak o’ lightin’ changed to I’m a greasy
streak o’ lightnin’ (last verse but one).

Page 111: trottin’ Sallie changed to Trottin’ Sallie (second verse).

Page 226: O dat dress dat you wear so fine? changed to O’ dat dress
dat you wear so fine?