American Folk songs of black/afram origin

[IllmaticDelta]

Jock-A-Mo aka "Iko Iko"

New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two "tribes" of Mardi Gras Indians. The lyrics are derived from Indian chants and popular catchphrases. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written in 1953 by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford in New Orleans, but has spread so widely that to popular belief, it is commonly assumed to be a much older folk song.

The story tells of a "spy boy" or "spy dog" i.e. a lookout for one band of Indians encountering the "flag boy" or guidon carrier for another band. He threatens to set the flag on fire.

"Iko Iko" (/ˈaɪkoʊ ˈaɪkoʊ/) is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two "tribes" of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released as a single in 1953 by Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters that failed to make the charts. The song first became popular in 1965 by the female pop group The Dixie Cups, who scored an international hit with "Iko Iko". In 1967 as part of a lawsuit settlement between "Sugar Boy" James Crawford and the Dixie Cups, the trio were given part songwriting credit to the song. In 1972, Dr. John had a minor hit with his version of "Iko Iko". The most successful charting version in the UK was recorded by Scottish singer Natasha England who took her 1982 version into the top 10. "Iko Iko" became an international hit again twice more, the first being the Belle Stars in June 1982 and again with Captain Jack in 2001.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Oh, Dem Golden Slippers

"Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is a popular song commonly sung by blackface performers in the 19th century. The song, penned by African-American James A. Bland in 1879, is considered an American standard today. It is particularly well known as a bluegrass instrumental standard.

Overview
A minstrel show song set in the style of a spiritual, the song is apparently a parody of the spiritual "Golden Slippers", popularized after the American Civil War by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.[1] Today "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is often referred to simply as "Golden Slippers", further obscuring the original spiritual.[2]

The song's first stanza tells of the protagonist setting aside such fine clothes as golden slippers, a long-tailed coat and a white robe for a chariot ride in the morning (presumably to Heaven).

This leads to the refrain: Oh, dem golden slippers! / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Golden slippers I'm gwine to wear, because dey look so neat; / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Oh, dem golden slippers! / Golden slippers Ise gwine to wear, / To walk de golden street.

The second stanza describes the protagonist meeting up with other family members after his chariot ride. In the third, the protagonist tells children to prepare themselves for their own chariot ride.[3]

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

Amazing thread so far!

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

@IllmaticDelta - Been thinking of doing a series on the Afro-America (the entirety of the Americas) influence on modern African music. Thoughts?

I've got two good examples in mind.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

@IllmaticDelta - Been thinking of doing a series on the Afro-America (the entirety of the Americas) influence on modern African music. Thoughts?

I've got two good examples in mind.

you mean like cuban rhumba-->african soukous?

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

you mean like cuban rhumba-->african soukous?

Also, Ghanaian highlife. Also, the modern Jamaican dancehall influence on 'Afrobeats'. Jazz's influence on Fela Kuti/Ethiopian music. The list goes on!

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Also, Ghanaian highlife. Also, the modern Jamaican dancehall influence on 'Afrobeats'. Jazz's influence on Fela Kuti/Ethiopian music. The list goes on!

make the tread and I'll drop some knowledge

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Corrina, Corrina

"Corrine, Corrina" (sometimes "Corrina, Corrina") is a 12-bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Carter (Brunswick 7080, December 1928).[1] However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon and his publishers, Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams. The song is familiar for its opening verse:

Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?
Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?
I ain't had no lovin', since you've been gone

The Mississippi Sheiks, as the Jackson Blue Boys with Papa Charlie McCoy on vocals, recorded the same song in 1930; this time as "Sweet Alberta" (Columbia 14397-D), substituting the words Sweet Alberta for Corrine, Corrina.[2] "Corrine, Corrina" has been recorded in a number of musical styles, including blues, jazz, rock and roll, Cajun, and Western swing. The title of the song varies from recording to recording, most often with the variant "Corrina, Corrina".

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Sitting on Top of the World

"Sitting on Top of the World" (also "Sittin' on Top of the World") is a country blues song written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon. They were core members of the Mississippi Sheiks, who first recorded it in 1930. Vinson claimed to have composed the song one morning after playing at a white dance in Greenwood, Mississippi.[1] It became a popular crossover hit for the band, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.[2]

"Sitting on Top of the World" has become a standard of traditional American music. The song has been widely recorded in a variety of different styles – folk, blues, country, bluegrass, rock – often with considerable variations and/or additions to the original verses. The lyrics of the original song convey a stoic optimism in the face of emotional setbacks, and the song has been described as a “simple, elegant distillation of the Blues”.

 

[morris]

Excellent thread!

 

[IllmaticDelta]

"If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" aka "Samson and Delilah"

"Samson and Delilah" is a traditional song based on the Biblical tale of Samson and his betrayal by Delilah. Its best known performer is perhaps the Grateful Dead, who first performed the song live in 1976, with guitarist Bob Weir singing lead vocals. It was frequently played live by the Dead. The 1977 album Terrapin Station. featured a studio recording of the song.

Although Weir learned the song from Reverend Gary Davis, several earlier versions were recorded under various titles, including "If I Had My Way, I Would Tear This Building Down" by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. Rev. Gary Davis's recording can be heard on the compilation album The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead. The song has since been performed by a wide variety of artists ranging from Charlie Parr, Ike and Tina Turner to Peter, Paul and Mary, The Washington Squares, Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band (in Verona, Italy 2006),and Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson, whose version appeared in the second season premiere episode (also titled "Samson and Delilah") of the Fox television show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Grammy Award-Winning artist and producer Art Greenhaw recorded a version of the song backed by The Jordanaires and Larry "T-Byrd" Gordon and released in 2005 as a lead song on the Grammy-Nominated album "Southern Meets Soul: An American Gospel Jubilee"

Bob Weir learnt this song from Rev Gary Davis, and the version the Dead do is based closely on Davis's. But the song's origins go back much further than that. It is first known of as a song sheet ("ballet") sold on the street in the early decades of the century - with the title "Samson Tore The Building Down". It was recorded in (possibly) 1923 by the Paramount Jubilee Singers with the same title. The best-known early recording is by Blind Willie Johnson under the title "If I Had My Way, I Would Tear This Building Down," from 1927. But there are at least three other recordings available from about the same time: "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" by Rev T.E.Weems; "Samson And The Woman" by Rev J.M.Gates; and "If I Had My Way" by Rev T.T.Rose.

This is the version by Rev. T.E.Weems (thanks to Eric Levy for the transcript):

Brothers and sisters, I'm gonna sing a song tonight.
And the subject of this song is, "If I had my way (Amen)
I would tear the building down" (Yes).
That old building of sin that troubled the Christian past (Yes sir),
I will tear it down (Amen).
I want the whole congregation to sing with uplifted voices.

If I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way
I would tear this building down

Delilah was a woman she was fine and fair
Pleasant looks, and her coal black hair
Delilah gained old Samson's mind
When he first saw the woman she looked so fine (Amen)

Whether he went to Timothy I cannot tell
But the daughters of Timothy pleased Samson so well (Yes)
Samson told his father just to go and see
If you can get that beautiful woman for me (Amen)

Cryin' if I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way
I would tear this building down

Samson went to town and he stayed too late
They wanted to kill him so they made him wait (Yeah)
Now wasn't Samson very strong
He pulled up the gate boards and he carried them along (Amen)

Samson he burned down a field of corn
They looked for Samson but he was gone (Yes)
So many thousand they formed a plot
It was not many days before he was caught (Yes sir)

They bound his hands while walking along
He looked on the ground and saw an old jawbone (Amen)
He moved his arms and the ropes popped like thread
When he got through playin' three thousand was dead (Amen)

Cryin' if I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way
I would tear this building down

Samson was a man very large in size
They overpowered Samson and they plucked out his eyes
Oh just listen to this tale
They taken old Samson and they put him in jail (Amen)

Let me tell you what the Philistines done
They took him to the building for to have some fun (Yes)
I was told that the building was high from the ground
Samson braced against the building and it tumbled down (Amen)

Cryin' if I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way (Lordy Lordy Lord)
If I had my way
I would tear this building down

This is the later, and better known, version by Blind Willie Johnson (thanks to Anita Cantor for the transcription):

Well, if I had my way
I had-a, oh wicked ones
If I had-a, ah Lord, tear this building down

Weh-ell!
Delilah was a woman fine an' fair
Her pleasant looks-a, her coal black hair
Delilah gained old Samson's mind
A-first saw the woman that looked so fine

A-well went Timnathy, I can't tell (note 2)
A daughter of Timnathy, a-pleased him well
A-Samson told his father, 'I'm goin a-a-a'
(Help) me Lord

If I had my way
Well, if a had-a, oh wicked ones
If I had-a, ah Lord, tear this building down

Weh-ell!
Samson's mother replied to him
'Can't you find a woman of your kind and kin?'
'Samson, will you please your mother's mind?'
Go'd and married that-a Philistine

Let me tell you what, old Samson

Well, he roared at the lion, the lion run
Samson was the first man the lion attack
He caught the lion and got upon his back
A-written that he killed a man with his ...
And Sampson had his hand in the lion's jaws

If I had my way
If I had-a, oh wicked ones
If I had-a, ah Lord, tear this building down

'Well, your riddle please, a-tell it to me'
'A-how an eater became forth meat?'
'Well, your riddle please, a-tell it to me'
'A-how strong of it came forth sweet?
Deliah got his army after him
Well, the bees made-a honey in the lion hair

Well, if I had my way
Well, if I had-a, oh wicked ones
If I had-a, ah Lord, tear this building down

So men in Sorek a-formed a plot
Not many days 'fore Samson was caught
A-bind his hands whilst a-walkin' along
A-looked on the ground and found a lil' jawbone
He moved his arm, ropes a-pop like thread
Dropped those threads, three thousand were dead

Lord, If I had my way
Well, if I had a, oh wicked ones
If I had a, ah Lord, tear this building down

Weh-ell!
Samson's strength though they never found out
'Till they began to wonder about
A-'till his wife sat up upon his knee
'A-tell me where your strength lie, if you please?'

Samson's wife she a-talked so fair
Told his wife cut off-a his hair
'Shave my head, clean as your hand
'Till I become a natural man!'

Lord, If I had my way
Well, if I had a, oh wicked ones
If I had a, ah Lord, tear this building down

 

[IllmaticDelta]

All the Pretty Little Horses (also known as "Hush-a-bye")

"All the Pretty Little Horses" (also known as "Hush-a-bye") is a traditional African American lullaby from the southern United States.

Meaning

It was originally sung by an African American slave who could not take care of her baby because she was too busy taking care of her master's child. She would therefore sing this song to her master's child (Lacy 1986, p. 76). Originally, the lyrics were "birds and butterflies, peck at his eyes" but were changed to "birds and butterflies, flutter 'round his eyes" to make the lullaby less violent for younger children. This theory is backed by the reference to "wee little lamby...cried for her mammy" as slaves were often forcibly separated from their own families in order to serve their owners. This verse is in a very different emotional tenor to the rest of the lullaby, suggesting a particular significance.

Lyrics

The oldest surviving set of lyrics are as follows:

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy you little baby.
When you wake, you shall have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.

Blacks and bays, dapples and greys,
Go to sleepy you little baby,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby,
When you wake, you shall have,
All the pretty little horses.

Way down yonder, down in the meadow,
There's a poor wee little lamby.
The bees and the butterflies pickin' at its eyes,
The poor wee thing cried for her mammy.

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you wake, you shall have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.


Musical and literary adaptations

"All the Pretty Little Horses" has inspired a variety of recordings (both direct performances of the known lyrics and adaptations thereof). Some of the singers who have recorded adaptations of "All the Pretty Little Horses" include (but are not limited to):

* Barbara dikkson
* Becky Jean Williams
* Caroline Herring
* Calexico
* Charlotte Church
* The Chieftains with Patty Griffin
* Coil, as "All the Pretty Little Horses", for their album Black Antlers
* Current 93, two versions as "All the Pretty Little Horses", for their 1996 album of the same name, one sung by Nick Cave
* Esther Ofarim
* Friends of Dean Martinez
* Grant Campbell For The Burrowers
* Holly Cole, as "All the Pretty Little Horses", for her 1997 album Dark Dear Heart
* Joan Baez
* Judy Collins, for her 1990 album Baby's Bedtime
* Kenny Loggins, as "All the Pretty Little Ponies", for his 1994 album Return to Pooh Corner
* Laura Gibson, as "All the Pretty Horses", for her EP Six White Horses
* Odetta, as "Pretty Horses"
* Olivia Newton-John
* Peter, Paul and Mary, as "Hush-A-Bye", for their 1963 album In the Wind
* Sam Cahoon as "All the Pretty Little Horses", on his 2008 album The Dismal Stars and the Clouds Afar
* Shawn Colvin
* Shearwater, as "All the Pretty Horses", for their 2004 split album Sham Wedding/Hoax Funeral

It has also inspired several pieces of literature, including Cormac McCarthy's award winning novel in 1992 (All the Pretty Horses), a young adult short story in the 1998 Here There Be Ghosts collection by Jane Yolen and David Wilgus, as well as Lisa Saport's 1999 children's picture book adaptation (All the Pretty Little Horses: A Traditional Lullaby).

This lullaby is also a gentle protest song. It originated in the days of slavery and deals with a typical situation where a female slave would have to nurse her master's children, while being forced to neglect her own baby, the "poor little lambie" at the mercy of the bees and the butterflies.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

there are afram, x-mas/nativity/negro spirituals too




Go Tell It on the Mountain

"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual song, compiled by John Wesley Work, Jr., dating back to at least 1865, that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers. It is considered a Christmas carol because its original lyrics celebrate the Nativity of Jesus:

“ Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere;
go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born. ”


The original edition, entitled "Cabin and Plantation Songs as Sung by the Hampton Students," was published in 1874; an enlarged edition by Thomas P. Fenner and Frederic G. Rathbun was published in 1891 (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons).

In 1963, the musical team Peter, Paul and Mary, along with their musical director Milt Okun, adapted and rewrote "Go Tell It on the Mountain" as "Tell It on the Mountain", their lyrics referring specifically to: Exodus and using the phrase "Let my people go," but referring implicitly to the Civil Rights struggle of the early 1960s. This version became a moderately successful single for them (US #33 pop, 1964).

According to Religious Studies professor and Civil Rights historian Charles Marsh, it was African American Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer who combined this song with the spiritual "Go Down Moses," taking the last line of the chorus, "Let my people go" and substituting it in the chorus of "Go Tell it on the Mountain."[1] Marsh does not document this claim, but notes that Hamer was highly active in civil rights work beginning in the 1950s, and that the use of the Exodus story and the singing of spirituals played a central role in her activities.

Little Big Town's 2006 non-album single version reached No. 35 on the Hot Country Songs chart.[2]

Other artists who have recorded the song (chiefly on either Christmas-themed music albums or collections of spirituals or folk songs) include:

• 
  
  
  • 195?: Mahalia Jackson on the album on the album Silent Night, Holy Night
  • 1960: Bobby Darin on the album The 25th Day of December
  • 1964: Simon & Garfunkel on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM
  • 1965: Ray Conniff Singers on the album Here We Come A-Caroling
  • 1981: Anne Murray on the album Christmas Wishes
  • 1990: Dolly Parton on the album Home for Christmas
  • 1993: Bruce Cockburn on the album Christmas
  • 1996: Vanessa L. Williams on the album Star Bright
  • 1998: Cece Winans on the album His Gift
  • 1999: Garth Brooks on the album Garth Brooks and the Magic of Christmas
  • 1999: Jewel on the album Joy: A Holiday Collection
  • 2001: Candi Staton on the album Christmas in My Heart
  • 2001: Fred Hammond on the album Christmas...Just Remember
  • 2001: Sara Evans on the album Country Christmas 2001
  • 2002: Jim Nabors on the album Jim Nabors Christmas
  • 2003: Oh Susanna on the album Maybe This Christmas Too? on the album (various artists)
  • 2003: The Blind Boys of Alabama on the album Go Tell It on the Mountain
  • 2004: James Taylor on the album A Christmas Album
  • 2007: Toby Keith on the album A Classic Christmas
  • 2008: Needtobreathe on the album An Alternative Christmas (various artists)
  • 2008: Sheryl Crow on the album Home for Christmas
  • 2009: Big Daddy Weave on the album Christ Is Come
  • 2012: Pentatonix on the album PTXmas
  • 2013: David Crowder Band on the album Wow Christmas: 30 Top Christian Artists and Holiday Songs
  • 2015: Hunter Hayes on the album Country Faith Christmas (various artists)
  • 2016: Jennifer Nettles on the album To Celebrate Christmas
  • 2016: Sarah McLachlan on the album Wonderland
  • 2016: Blues Traveler on Go Tell It On The Mountain (single)

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Mary Had a Baby (Yes Lord) aka People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.

St. Helena Island Spiritual



1. Mary had a baby, oh, Lord,
Mary had a baby, oh my Lord,
Mary had a baby, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


2. What did she name him? oh, Lord,

What did she name him? oh my Lord,
What did she name him? oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


3. She named [1] him Jesus, oh, Lord,
She named him Jesus, oh my Lord,
She named him Jesus, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


5. Named him King Jesus (My Lord)
Named him King Jesus (Oh My Lord)
Named him King Jesus (My Lord)
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


6. Now where was he born? oh, Lord,
Where was he born? oh my Lord,
Where was he born? oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


7. Born in a stable, oh, Lord,
Born in a stable, oh my Lord,
Born in a stable, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


8. And where did she [2] lay him? oh, Lord,
Where did she lay him? oh my Lord,
Where did she lay him? oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


9. She laid him in a manger, oh, Lord, [3]
Laid him in a manger, oh my Lord,
Laid him in a manger, oh Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


10. Who heard the singing? (My Lord)
Who heard the singing? (Oh My Lord)
Who heard the singing? (My Lord)
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


11. Shepherds heard the singing (My Lord)
Shepherds heard the singing (Oh My Lord)
Shepherds heard the singing (My Lord)
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


12. Who came to see him, oh, Lord?
Who came to see him, oh, my Lord?
Who came to see him, oh Lord?
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


13. Shepherds came to see him, oh, Lord,
Shepherds came to see him, oh, my Lord;
Shepherds came to see him, oh, Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


14. Star keeps shining (My Lord)
Star keeps shining (Oh My Lord)
Star keeps shining (My Lord)
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


15. The wise men kneeled before him, oh, Lord,
The wise men kneeled before him, oh, my Lord,
The wise men kneeled before him, oh, Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


`6. King Herod tried to find him, oh, Lord,
King Herod tried to find him, oh, my Lord,
King Herod tried to find him, oh, Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


17. Moving in the elements (My Lord)
Moving in the elements (Oh My Lord)
Moving in the elements (My Lord)
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


18. They went away to Egypt, oh, Lord,
They went away to Egypt, oh, my Lord,
They went away to Egypt, oh, Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


19. Traveled on a donkey (My Lord)
Traveled on a donkey (Oh My Lord)
Traveled on a donkey (My Lord)
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.


20. Angels watching over him, [4] oh, Lord,
Angels watching over him, oh, my Lord,
Angels watching over him, oh, Lord,
People keep a-comin' an' the train done gone.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

What You Gonna Call Your Pretty Little Baby?

African-American Spiritual

Alternate Titles:
Mary, What You Gonna Name that Pretty Little Baby?
Mary, Mary (What You Gonna Name That Baby?
Glory To That Newborn King

1. Mary, Mary, had a little baby,
Oo pretty little baby,
Oo pretty little baby
Glory be to the newborn king.

2. Star a shinin', shinin' on the manger,
Oo, shinin' on the manger
Oo, welcoming a stranger
Glory be to the newborn king.

3. Mary, Mary, who was here who knew him,
Oo, did anybody know him,
The ox and the donkey they bowed right down before him,
Glory be to the newborn king.

4. Mary, what you gonna name your baby?
Oo, pretty little baby,
Mm, pretty little baby
Glory be to the newborn king.

5. Some call him Manuel, think I'll call him Jesus,
Mm, yes think I'll call him Jesus
Mm, my pretty little Jesus
Glory be to the newborn king.


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1. What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby?
Born, born in Bethlehem.
Some say one thing, I'll say Immanuel,
Born, born in Bethlehem.

2. What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
Born, born in Bethlehem.
Some call him one thing, I'll call him Jesus.
Born, born in Bethlehem.

3. What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
What you gonna call yo' pretty little baby,
Born, born in Bethlehem.
Sweet little baby, born in a manger.
Born, born in Bethlehem.

She noted: "Traditional Negro Christmas spiritual (general), of characteristic simplicity in question-and-answer form and strong rhythm. An earlier version is 'Mary, what yer gwin er name dat Purty Leetle Baby' in Southern Thoughts for Northern Thinkers by Jeannette Robinson Murphy (Bandanna Publishing Co., New York, 1904)."


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The Virgin Mary had-a one son
Mmmm, pretty little baby
Mmmm, glory Hallelujah
Glory be to the new born King

Mary, what you gonna name that pretty little baby?
Mmmm, pretty little baby
Mmmm, glory Hallelujah
Glory be to the new born King

Some call him one thing, think I'll name him Jesus
Mmmm, pretty little baby
Mmmm, glory Hallelujah
Glory be to the new born King

Some call him one thing, think I'll name him Emmanuel
Mmmm, pretty little baby
Mmmm, glory Hallelujah
Glory be to the new born King


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What You Gonna Name That Pretty Little Baby?

O Mary what you
gonna name that
pretty little baby?
Some call him one thing,
think I'll call Him Jesus.
Glory! Glory!
Glory to that new-born King!
Some call him one thing,
I think I'll say Emmanuel.
Glory! Glory!
Glory to that new-born King!

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1. O Mary, what you goin' to name that pretty little baby?
Glory! glory! Glory to that newborn King!

2. Some call him one thing, I think I'll call him Jesus,
Glory! glory! Glory to that newborn King!

3. Some call him one thing, I think I'll say Emmanuel,
Glory! glory! Glory to that newborn King!

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Railroad Bill’s body on display. His killer, Constable J.L. McGowan, stands over him.









Railroad Bill

The legend of Railroad Bill arose in the winter of 1895, along the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad line in southern Alabama. Based loosely on the exploits of an African American outlaw known as "Railroad Bill," tales of his brief but action-filled career on the wrong side of the law have been preserved in song (see lyrics), fiction, and theater. He has been variously portrayed as a "Robin Hood" character, a murderous criminal, a shape shifter, and a nameless victim of the Jim Crow South. He was never conclusively identified, but L&N detectives claimed he was a man named Morris Slater, and some residents of Brewton believed him to be a man called Bill McCoy who was shot by local law enforcement.
Stories about Railroad Bill began to surface in early 1895, when an armed vagrant began riding the L&N boxcars between Flomaton and Mobile. He earned the nickname "Railroad Bill," or sometimes just "Railroad," from the trainmen who had trouble detaining the rifle-wielding hitchhiker. On March 6, 1895, railroad employees attempted to restrain a man they found sleeping on a water tank along the railroad. The man fired on them and escaped into the woods after hijacking a train car. This incident sparked a manhunt by railroad company detectives that led a posse to Bay Minette on April 6, 1895. When detectives confronted an armed man there, he killed Baldwin County deputy sheriff James H. Stewart in the ensuing gunfight and evaded capture again.

E. S. McMillan
The deputy's killing swung the full attention of law enforcement and the media toward Railroad Bill. A notice for a $500 reward posted in Mobile identified him as Morris Slater, a convict-lease worker who in 1893 had fled from a turpentine camp in Bluff Springs, Florida, after killing a lawman. Slater had been nicknamed "Railroad Time" for his rapid work pace. Railroad Bill crossed into Florida where, on July 4, 1895, Brewton Sheriff E. S. McMillan tracked him to a house near Bluff Springs. As the sheriff approached the dwelling, the fugitive opened fire and disappeared into the woods, leaving McMillan fatally wounded.
The killing of McMillan marked a turning point and greatly expanded the efforts in both Alabama and Florida to hunt Railroad Bill down. Despite the increase in manpower, the outlaw remained at large, robbing trains and reportedly selling goods to impoverished people for prices lower than the local merchant stores, as well as engaging in occasional shoot-outs with lawmen and L&N authorities. All the while, his legend grew, especially in Alabama's African American community. Although the majority of blacks condemned Railroad Bill's actions, many also admired his courage and audacity. Some people attributed supernatural powers to him, maintaining that he was able to evade capture by changing into animal form and was only vulnerable to silver bullets. Other tales said that he had the power to disable the tracking abilities of the bloodhounds on his trail. One such tale, recounted by Carl Carmer in The Hurricane's Children: Tales from Your Neck o' the Woods, describes a lawman chasing Railroad Bill:
So the sheriff decided Railroad Bill must be hiding under the low bushes in the clearing and he began looking around. Pretty soon he started a little red fox that lit out through the woods. The sheriff let go with both barrels of his shotgun, but he missed. After the second shot the little red fox turned about and laughed at him a high, wild, hearty laugh—and the sheriff recognized it. That little fox was Railroad Bill.

Railroad Bill-Morris Slater--was an African American robber of freight cars on the L&N, primarily between Hurricane Bayou and Bay Minette. He was a turpentine worker at Bluff Springs until he exchanged gunshots with a deputy from Pensacola one day in 1894. He thereafter conducted robberies on L&N trains, wounded two brakemen, became engaged in a gunfight with about a dozen railroad employees at Hurricane Bayou, killed a deputy named James Stewart at Bay Minette, killed Sheriff McMillan at Bluff Springs and was killed at Atmore in March 1896. In the 1920s he became an item of folklore, and a Negro ballad emerged titled "Railroad Bill."

The hunt for Railroad Bill persisted until March 7, 1896, when a man was gunned down by a host of law enforcement officials at Tidmore and Ward's General Store in Atmore, a depot town along the L&N. Accounts of the final episode in Railroad Bill's bloody career widely differ. Some say that authorities surprised and killed the man as he sat on an oak barrel eating cheese and crackers. Other accounts say that he engaged the lawmen in a shoot-out in front of the store, and still others contend that he walked into a trap at Tidmore and Ward's.
Railroad Bill's body was placed on public view in Brewton, and crowds of curious spectators gathered to get a glimpse. Many Brewton residents recognized the man as Bill McCoy, a local troublemaker who had threatened local saw-mill owner T. R. Miller with a knife at around the same time Morris Slater was working in the turpentine camp in Florida. Souvenir hunters paid 50 cents for a picture of Constable J. L. McGowan, believed to have fired the fatal shot, standing, rifle in hand, over the corpse of Railroad Bill strapped to a wooden plank. After a few days in Brewton, the body was taken by train to Montgomery and later to Pensacola, Florida, for public display. So many people came to see Railroad Bill in Montgomery that authorities charged an admission fee of 25 cents. His body's final resting place is unknown.
Railroad Bill was a symbol of the racial and economic divide in the post-Reconstruction Deep South. During this period of increasing legal segregation in Alabama and the rest of the South, the hunt for Railroad Bill became a theatrical white supremacist saga in local newspapers. The outlaw's legacy has been passed down through generations in many cultural representations. Railroad Bill blues ballads began circulating in the early twentieth century; one was recorded by Riley Puckett and Gid Tanner in 1924. Musicologist Alan Lomax recorded a version of Railroad Bill by Payneville native Vera Ward Hall in 1939. Blues singers have used "Railroad Bill" as a stage name, and the popularity of the ballads exploded during the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s. In 1981, the Labor Theater in New York City produced the musical play Railroad Bill by C. R. Portz.

Railroad Bill's growing legacy of miraculous escapes, which would ultimately number about seventeen, led to a profusion of tongue-in-cheek stories by African Americans taunting the failure of authorities to hem in the nationally-famous desperado.[27] The general theme of their stories was that he could change at will into an animal or an inanimate object to avoid capture.[28] There also emerged an African American folk ballad in 1895 that celebrated his exploits.[29] Titled "Railroad Bill," the ballad has been sung ever since by an inordinate number of musicians employing varying lyrics but always with a bad-man theme.[30] It also became popular in Europe and Australia after Lonnie Donegan, the "King of Skiffle," produced an eminently popular rendition in the 1950s. His version of "Railroad Bill" influenced a generation of young British artists, including The Beatles.[31]