Other editions of book Slave Songs of the United States

First published in 1867, this landmark book represented the first systematic effort to collect and preserve the songs sung by the plantation slaves of the Old South. To ensure authenticity, the editors notated most of the melodies and words directly from the singers themselves. The result was a rare musical treasury containing complete music and lyrics for over 130 songs, arranged by geographical region. Among them are: Roll, Jordan, Roll; Jehovah, Hallelujah; I hear from Heaven to-day; Michael, row the boat ashore; 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 presents the melody lone and all the known verses to each song. The editors also include directions for singing, along with a commentary on each song's history, its possible variations, what some of its key references mean and other pertinent details. A new preface to the Dover edition by Harold Courlander appraises the book's importance in American musical and cultural history.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Slave Songs of the United StatesIt is not generally known that the beautiful air Long time ago, or Near the lake where drooped the willow, was borrowed from the negroes, by whom it was sung to words beginning, Way down in Raccoon Hollow.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

"It is... already becoming difficult to obtain these songs," editor WILLIAM FRANCIS ALLEN (1830-1889) wrote in the Introduction to the 1867 first edition of this extraordinary collection of "negro" spirituals. With his fellow American abolitionists LUCY MCKIM GARRISON (1842-1877) and CHARLES PICKARD WARE (1849-1921), Allen gathered songs from the post-slavery communities of Port Royal, South Carolina, to create this first published collection of African-American music. Among the 136 songs, included are: "Roll, Jordan, roll" "Blow your trumpet, Gabriel" "The Lonesome Valley" "There's a meeting here to-night" "Hunting for the Lord" "Rain fall and wet Becca Lawton" "Jesus on the Waterside" "Build a house in Paradise" and many others. A landmark work of music history, this is an essential text for anyone interested in American folk music.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Originally published in 1867, this book is a collection of songs of African-American slaves. A few of the songs were written after the emancipation, but all were inspired by slavery. The wild, sad songs capture the feelings of their creators perfectly; of crushed hopes, keen sorrow and a dull daily misery, which covered them as hopelessly as the fog from the rice swamps. On the other hand the words breathe a trusting faith in the life after to which their eyes seem constantly turned

Slavery is an important part of American history. It is intriguing to not only learn about the history of slavery, but it is extremely important to learn about the daily lives of slaves as well. Slave songs were more than simply songs that were sang as slaves worked. These songs were sometimes a source of inspiration and hope. Other times the songs could be used as a way to communicate to one another or as a form of protest against the conditions of slavery. It is equally as enlightening to read the slave narratives. Although these narratives are not all inclusive, they are some of the best sources we have today to analyze slave life from the perspective of the slave.