List of blackface minstrel songs
This is a list of songs that either originated in blackface minstrelsy or are otherwise closely associated with that tradition. Songwriters and publication dates are given where known.
A[]
- "Alabama Joe" (a.k.a. "Shall Trelawney Die") (before 1855)
- "The Arkansas Traveler"[1]
B[]
- "Babylon Is Fallen", Henry Clay Work (1863)
- "Back Side of Albany"[2]
- "The Band of Niggers! From 'Ole Virginny State'" (1844)[3]
- "The Bee-Gum", (1833)[4]
- "Billy Patterson", Dan Emmett (1860)[5]
- "The Black Brigade", Dan Emmett (1863)[6]
- "Blue Tail Fly" (a.k.a. "Jimmy Crack Corn") c. 1846[7]
- "The Boatman's Dance", credited to Dan Emmett (1843)[8] (Emmett, Boston, 1840s or 1842) (Nathan 131-2, 186, 191, 193, 320-3)
- "Bonja Song" (c. 1820)[9]
- "" (a.k.a. "As I Was Lumbering")[10]
- ""[10]
- "Briggs' Breakdown", Z. Bacchus[11]
C[]
- "Camptown Races", Stephen Foster, (1850)[12]
- "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny"* James A. Bland
- "" (1844)[13]
- "Ching a Ring Chaw"[14]
- "Claire de Kitchen", performed as early as 1832 by T. D. Rice and George Washington Dixon[15]
- "Clar de Track", 1840s.[16]
- "Clem Titus' Jig", published by Dan Emmett[17]
- "Coal Black Rose" (c. 1829)[18][19]
- ""/"Come Back Steben"[16]
- "Cornfield Green"[20]
- ""[16]
D[]
- "", (1849)[21]
- "" (and variants), Dan Emmett (c. 1844)[22]
- "Dar He Goes! Dats Him!", Dan Emmett (1844)[23]
- "Dere Be Any Malted Licker Here?" [24]
- "Darkey Money Musk" (a.k.a. "Money Must", "Holyrood or Moneymusk", "Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk's Reel"), Daniel Dow (1780)
- "Darkies' Pastime"[25]
- ""[16]
- "Dick Myers' Jig", published by Dan Emmett[26]
- ""[10]
- "Division Street Jig", [27]
- "Dixie" (a.k.a. "Dixie's Land", "I Wish I Was in Dixie"), Dan Emmett contested, 1859[28]
- "Do Fare You Well Ladies" (1840s)[29]
- "Do I Do I Don't Do Nothing" (1825)[30]
- "Dr. Hekok Jig", , published by Dan Emmett[8](Nathan 200, 203, 208, 486-7)
E[]
- "Eelam Moore Jig", Dan Emmett (before 1854)[31]
- "Effects of the Brogue", (a.k.a. "Tatter Jack") Dan Emmett (by 1861)
F[]
- ""[10]
- "Farewell My Lilly Dear", Stephen Foster (1851)[32]
- "The Fine Old Color'd Gentleman", Dan Emmett (1843)[8]
- "De Floating Scow Quickstep" (a.k.a. "Oh Carry Me Back to Old Virginny"*), E. Ferrett (1847)
- "Forty Hosses in de Stable", (1840s)[33]
- "The Free Nigger", sung by R. W. Pelham (1841)[34]
G[]
- "Gantz's Jig", published by Dan Emmett[35]
- "Genuine Negro Jig", published by Dan Emmett[36]
- "Get along Home, Cindy", possibly developed from a minstrel tune "Cindy Lou"[37]
- "Ginger Blue" (1841)[38]
- "Grape Vine Twist"[39]
- "Gonna Eat Ma Chicken 'Til I'm Fried"[40]
- ""[10]
- ""[10]
- "Gumbo Chaff" (a.k.a. "Gombo Chaff"), early 1830s[41]
- "Gwine to de Mill", (1846)[42]
H[]
- ""[16]
- "Hard Times", Tom Briggs (1855)[43]
- "Hell on the Wabash Jig"[44]
- "High Daddy", Dan Emmett (1863)[45]
- "Hop Light, Loo", Dan Emmett (before 1854)[46]
- "Hot Corn"[10]
I[]
- "I Ain't Got Time to Tarry" (a.k.a. "The Land of Freedom"), Dan Emmett (1858)[47]
- "I'm Going Home to Dixie", Dan Emmett (1861)[48]
- "I'm Gwine ober de Mountain", Dan Emmett (1843)[49]
- "I Saw the Beam in My Sister's Eye"[50]
- "Ireland and Virginia"[51]
J[]
- "Jack on the Green", Dan Emmett[52]
- "James Crow", (1832)[53]
- "", popularized by Joel Sweeney (1840)[54]
- "", credited to "an Eminent professor" and performed by John N. Smith (1840) [55]
- "Jim Brown" (1835)[13]
- " or De Broken Yoke in de Coaling Ground" (1840)[56]
- "Johnny Roach", Dan Emmett (1859)[57]
- ""[16]
- "Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel", Dan Emmett (1853)[58]
- "The Jolly Raftsman"[20]
- "Juba"[59]
- "Juber" (1840s)[60]
- "" (1840)[61]
- "Jump Jim Crow", (c. 1823, popularized by T.D. Rice in 1828)
K[]
- "Kingdom Coming" (a.k.a. "Year of Jubilo"), Henry Clay Work (1862)
L[]
- "Land of Canaan", played by J. Simmons (before 1860)
- ""[16]
- "De Long Island Nigger", (?) (c. 1848)[3]
- "Long Time Ago", John Cole (1833)[62]
- "Loozyanna Low Grounds", Dan Emmett (1859)[63]
- “Lucy Long” (see http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/minstrel/lucylongfr.html)
- ""/"Lucy Neale" (1844)[43]
- ""[16]
M[]
- "Marty Inglehart Jig", Dan Emmett (1845)[64]
- "Mary Blane" (a.k.a. "Mary Blain"), Billy Whitlock (1846)[8]
- "Massa Is a Stingy Man" (1841)[65]
- ""[10]
- "Miss Lucy Long" (a.k.a. "Lucy Long", "Miss Lucy Song"), Dan Emmett and Frank Brower (1844), or Billy Whitlock (1842)[43] or possibly Billy Whitlock (1838)[66]
- "Moze Haymar Jig", Dan Emmett (1845)[67]
- "My Old Kentucky Home", Stephen Foster (1853)[32]
- "My First Jig", Dan Emmett (c. 1840s)[68]
- "My Long Tail Blue" (1830s)[34]
- "" (1843)[69]
- ""/"Old Dad" (1844)[70]
N[]
- "Negro Jig", Dan Emmett (1845)[35]
- "", Stephen Foster (1849)[32]
- "New York Gals", ?[71]
- "The Newton Jig", James Buckley (1860)[72]
- ""[10]
- "Nigger on de Wood Pile", Dan Emmett (1845)[35]
O[]
- "(O Lud Gals) Gib Me [Us] Chaw Terbakur", words by Dan Emmett (1843)[73]
- "Oh, Come along John" a.k.a. "Walk along John" (1843)[74]
- "Oh, Ladies All!", Dan Emmett (published 1858, probably written in the 1840s)[75]
- "", Stephen Foster (1850)
- "Oh! Susanna", Stephen Foster (1847)[10][76]
- "Old Bob Ridley", Charles White (1855)[77]
- "Old Dan Tucker", words by Dan Emmett (1843)
- "Old Folks at Home", Stephen Foster (1851)[32]
- "", F. M. Brower (1844)[78]
- "Old Joe Golden"[79]
- "Old Johnny Boker"[2]
- ""[10]
- "Old K. Y. Ky.", Dan Emmett (1860)[80]
- ""/Ole Tare River" (1840)[81]
- "", Stephen Foster (1848)[32]
- "Ole Bull and Old Dan Tucker" (1844)[82]
- "The Ole Grey Goose" (1844)[83]
- "" (and variants), perhaps Joel Sweeney (1840)[43]
- "", (1844)[84]
- "Ole Virginny Break Down" (1841)[85]
- "The One Horse Open Sleigh", (a.k.a. "Jingle Bells") James Lord Pierpont (1857)[86]
- "Joe Sweeney's Jig", published by Dan Emmett[87]
- "Owl Creek Quickstep", Dan Emmett[88]
P[]
- "Pea Patch Jig", Dan Emmett[43]
- "Peel's Jig"[89]
- "Peter Story Jig", Dan Emmett[90]
- ""[10]
- ""[10]
- ""[16]
- "Picayune Butler's Come to Town" (before 1847)[91]
- "Polly Wolly Doodle
- "Possum up the Gum-Tree"[92]
Q[]
- "Quaker's Jig", [35]
R[]
- "Ring, Ring de Banjo", Stephen Foster (1851)[93]
- "Rise Old Napper"[89]
- "Road to Richmond", Dan Emmett (1864)[94]
- "Rob Ridley", Charles White (1855)
- "Rock Susana", Horace Weston (1887)[95]
- "Root, Hog or Die", Dan Emmett (c. late 1840s or early 1850s)[96]
- "Rosa Lee"[10]
S[]
- "Sad to Leave Our Tater Land" (early 1850s)[51]
- "Sandy Boy", possibly Phil Rice (before 1858)
- "Sandy Gibson's", Dan Emmett (1859)[97]
- "Seely Simpkins Jig", Dan Emmett[88]
- "Settin' on a Rail" (1836)[98]
- "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me" (1869)[99]
- "Sich a Gettin' Up Stairs" (c. 1834)[98]
- ""[10]
- ""[10]
- "Sliding Jenny Jig", [100]
- "", possibly Phil Rice (before 1858)
- "", (1847)[8]
- ""[10]
- "Sugar in a Gourd"[13]
- ""[10]
- ""/"Suzy Brown"[16]
- ""[10]
T[]
- "Tell Me Josey Whar You Bin" (1840)[101]
- ""[10]
- "Tom Brigg's Jig", published by Dan Emmett[26]
- "'", Dan Emmett (1843)[102]
U[]
- "" (1848)[103]
V[]
- "Van Bramer's Jig", published by Dan Emmett[104]
- ""[10]
W[]
- "Walk Along John" (1843)[105]
- "" (c. 1840)
- ""[10]
- "" (subtitled "Knock a Nigger Down"), performed by Joel Sweeney (1840)[54]
- ""[16]
- "What O' Dat", Dan Emmett (1859)[106]
- "Whoop Jamboree Jig"[107]
- ""[10]
- "Who's Dat Nigga Dar a Peepin" (1844)[108]
- "Wide Awake" a.k.a. "Dar's a Darkey in de Tent", Dan Emmett (early 1859)[47]
- ""[10]
- "De Wild Goose-Nation", Dan Emmett (1844)[109]
Y[]
- "Yellow Corn"[20]
Z[]
- "Zip Coon" (a.k.a. "Old Zip Coon"), performed by George Washington Dixon (1829? 1835?)[110]
Notes[]
- ^ Nathan 209.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Winans 5. Winans gives no more information than the title.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nathan 84.
- ^ Nathan 161.
- ^ Nathan 254-5.
- ^ Nathan 255.
- ^ Lott 200.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Winans 4.
- ^ Nathan 159-60.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Mahar 368.
- ^ Nathan 483-4
- ^ From Representative Poetry Online Archived 2009-10-16 at the Wayback Machine; the site does not specifically single this out as a minstrel tune, but it is by Foster, and the dialect is immediately apparent.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Nathan 207.
- ^ Cockrell 148. Cockrell gives no composer or date of publication.
- ^ Cockrell 47-9.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Mahar 367.
- ^ Nathan 194.
- ^ Lott 133: performed 1833 by T. D. Rice in .
- ^ Cockrell, p. xi.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Nathan 215.
- ^ Nathan 59.
- ^ Nathan 324-7.
- ^ Nathan 183-4.
- ^ Nathan 187
- ^ Nathan 190.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nathan 200-1.
- ^ Nathan 485.
- ^ The writer of "Dixie" is contested. Many sources, including Nathan, credit Dan Emmett as the song's writer. Sacks and Sacks, on the other hand, name members of the Snowden Family Band as the writers. Abel 47-8 lays out the claim to the song made by William Shakespeare Hays.
- ^ Nathan 86.
- ^ Nathan 159.
- ^ Nathan 345-6.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Lott 187.
- ^ Nathan 75.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nathan 57.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Nathan 195.
- ^ Nathan 202-4.
- ^ Dolby, Karen (2015). Auld Lang Syne: Words to Songs You Used to Know. Michael O'Mara Books. ISBN 9781782435433.
- ^ Nathan 79.
- ^ Nathan 191-2.
- ^ Nathan 244-5
- ^ Nathan 173.
- ^ Nathan 432-4.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Winans 5.
- ^ Nathan 194-5
- ^ Nathan 395-400.
- ^ Nathan 334.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nathan 243.
- ^ Abel 41.
- ^ Nathan 316.
- ^ Nathan 208.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Lott 95: these were essentially Irish nationalist songs in blackface.
- ^ Nathan 277.
- ^ Nathan 55-6.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Cockrell 10.
- ^ Cockrell 5.
- ^ Nathan 439-42.
- ^ Nathan 244.
- ^ Nathan 335-9
- ^ Nathan 443-6.
- ^ Nathan 73.
- ^ Nathan 72.
- ^ Nathan 161-2.
- ^ Nathan 379-80
- ^ Nathan 204-5.
- ^ Nathan 64-6.
- ^ Nathan 130-1.
- ^ Nathan 340.
- ^ Nathan 348.
- ^ Nathan 175-6.
- ^ Nathan 447-9.
- ^ Nathan 88.
- ^ Nathan 488.
- ^ Nathan 475-8.
- ^ Nathan 450-3.
- ^ Nathan 332-3.
- ^ Lott 203-206.
- ^ Nathan 81.
- ^ Nathan 457-60.
- ^ Nathan 467-8.
- ^ Nathan 385-9.
- ^ Nathan 471-4.
- ^ Mahar 22.
- ^ Nathan 461-3.
- ^ Nathan 469-70.
- ^ Nathan 90.
- ^ Brown, Joel. ""Jingle Bells" History Takes Surprising Turn". BU Today. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ Nathan 199.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Sacks and Sacks 170.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nathan 489.
- ^ Nathan 341-2.
- ^ Nathan 154
- ^ Nathan 186.
- ^ Lott 194.
- ^ Nathan 370-3.
- ^ Nathan 490.
- ^ Nathan 347.
- ^ Nathan 366-9.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Cockrell 47.
- ^ Nathan 89.
- ^ Nathan 490-1.
- ^ Nathan 65.
- ^ Nathan 403-9.
- ^ Nathan 87.
- ^ Nathan 491.
- ^ Mahar 196.
- ^ Nathan 381-4.
- ^ Nathan 191.
- ^ Nathan 479-82.
- ^ Nathan 257.
- ^ page on U.C. Berkeley site, page on www.stephen-foster-songs.de Archived 2005-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 11 Sept 2005. The tune is better known today as "Turkey in the Straw", although those are later lyrics.
References[]
- Abel, E. Lawrence (2000). Singing the New Nation: How Music Shaped the Confederacy, 1861-1865. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books.
- Cockrell, Dale (1997). Demons of Disorder: Early Blackface Minstrels and Their World. Cambridge University Press.
- Lott, Eric (1993). Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509641-X.
- Mahar, William J. (1999). Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early Blackface Minstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
- Nathan, Hans (1962). Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
- Sacks, Howard L. and Sacks, Judith Rose (1993). Way up North in Dixie: A Black Family's Claim to the Confederate Anthem. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Winans, Robert B. (1985). Liner notes to The Early Minstrel Show. New York: Recorded Anthology of American Music, Inc.
See also[]
Categories:
- Blackface minstrel songs
- Lists of songs