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THE MAROON TIGER
Page 3
| : c (ohe cJVegro in Song
By I). S. Days, ’36
In recent years a new and vivid history of the Ameri
can Negro has been discovered—not in the few and scat
tered literary efforts of his past, but in a record more
lasting, more easily understood, more impressive upon
present-day minds—his record in song. True history
throughout the ages has endeavored to relate the ac
counts of men’s lives and actions. Unfortunately, per
haps, no such chronicle of incidents with the American
Negro as dominant figure has been produced. Only oc
casionally is some allusion to his existence to be found
in the history of the American people. Almost in
variably these allusions are lowering and debasing in
their considerations of a people so definitely a force in
the upbuilding of this country. In the folk music of
the Negro, however, an impression, vibrant in content,
clearing up any doubt about his early life in a new
country, stands out pre-eminently.
The origin of the Negro folk tunes is not to be
found upon the American shores, hut one must search
farther back, into the tribal life of this dark people, long
before any of them were brought to America for servi
tude. Records show that the African native, as other
heathen peoples, had his type of song upon which ve
hicle he expressed his joys of victory over the enemy,
sorrow in defeat, annimation in the hunt, or peaceful
love in the lullaby. This heathen melody was character
ized by a rythmical and monotonous flow, often ren
dered more striking by frequent interjections.
In the year 1619, when the Dutch man-of-war landed
in the Jamestown port bringing twenty “Negars” for
trade for provisions, African music was transplanted upon
American soil. These heathen souls racked by the tor
ture of weary sea travel, bewildered by the bizarre ap
pearance of a new world, of new people, of a new God,
of new customs so different from their own chose to
utter the feelings of their bursting hearts upon the soar
ing wings of melody rather than to curse the very ele
ments themselves. They sang of sorrow and joy, of
hope and of faith in a brighter day when all the
shackles of toil would fall from their weary frames leav
ing them to rest in peace and spiritual goodness. All
the while these weird melodies cast a spell over the
startled hearers. Since that time men have sought the
reason why the expression of these people would be in
the most beautiful form, that of song. The only satis
factory answer is that is was a miraculous work of God,
His method of placing music in the scheme of a new
nation.
Many musicians and persons of less repute have tried
to show that the Negro song as we have it today is
not original, but is simply music of some European
people reorganized. They have attributed the source
to the music of the Indian native, the Scotch, or to the
Portuguese. None of these assertions hold true because
researches have proved the invalidity of each one. The
Negro folk tune in its early stages may have had the
common rhythm and monotony of tone as did that of
the Indian, but the fact proves only one point that of
the likeness of nearly all primitive creations. Truly,
the lilt and variety of tone found in later day Negro
song bears resemblance to the Scotch airs but because
of psychological and ethnological reasons they could
not be identical. The Scotchman, a man of the sword,
sang of blood and war. whereas the Negro sang of God
and religion. The relations between the African native
and the Portuguese were too slight to imagine that the
songs of this European people were transported to the
African shores and taught to the savages. Let us con
clude then that the Negro folk tune of today is truly
that of his American fore-fathers with a touch of new
world refinement.
It is easy to see that the every day life of the slave
was one of little variety. White man’s records say that
he toiled daily. His songs, however, tell of two emo
tions that swelled and subsided within him—those of
joy and those of sorrow. The songs tell us that his
chief consideration after the day’s work was spiritual
communion with the Holy Father. Many of the songs
have words, the substance of which coincides directly
with the Bible text. Incidentally the Bible was the
only book that most slaveholders permitted to be read.
We have such songs as Wide River referring to the Jor
dan River; Good News, the Chariot’s Coming alluding
to the angelic chariot; and Wasn’t That a Mighty Day
telling of the birth of Jesus Christ. From this point of
view our history says that a large portion of the slave’s
time was spent in religious worship. There was the
attitude toward prayer and humility which such songs
rs I’m Troubled in Mind, Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray,
the popular Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Ash And It Shall
Be Given, and Reign, Oh, Reign show. Songs like Steal
Away lend a two-fold interpretation; that of sneaking
away from the plantation for a quiet service under the
cover of night or that of stealing away from earthly
life to the heavenly abode. We learn that the slave
welcomed rather than feared death at various times
because hopes of the after life are found in By and By,
Them Golden Slippers, and In Bright Mansion Above.
His unaltered faith is splendidly manifest in songs like
You May Bury Me in De Eas’ and I Have Another Build
ing. The element of love rings true in / Know the Lord’s
Laid His Hands On Me, and Old Time Religion.
For the introduction of this music the Original Fisk
Jubilee Singers must get credit, in 1871, when on their
first tour they tried them as the last resort to capture
the interest of a displeased audience. Since that time
much has been done toward preserving these songs in
their forms as sung by the slaves. Eminent musicians
like Anton Dvorak who used one as the theme for his
New World Symphony, Walter Damrosch and Dr. Henry
E. Kiehbid who said that the slave songs are the only
American product of their kind which comes up to the
scientific requirements of folk music. Their worth has
has been proved by the continued and growing interest
which they demand from all who hear them. Their
influence upon composition is every where manifest in
the constant use in modern works. Let us search this
history for more of the tale it tells.