African American chain gang | work songs and spirituals (1929) [restored video and audio]
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- čas přidán 6. 08. 2024
- This film was made in Augusta, Georgia, which lies on the border with South Carolina. March 18th, 1929. The workers appear to be in the process of smoothing out a road. The first song, “Build Right on that Shore” can be classified as a spiritual. The second song “Waterboy, Run” is a work song, used to keep rhythm and entertain the workers just as sailors would sing sea shanties onboard a ship.
This kind of music was more popular during the nineteenth century, when it was performed by slaves to accompany their labor. Most of the authentic recordings that exist of African American work songs (including those made by John and Alan Lomax) were recorded in prisons; this is because prisons were isolated from the popular music trends of the outside world, so the old songs were preserved.
Here are some films made in the 1960s showing more prison work songs: www.folkstreams.net/films/afr... www.folkstreams.net/films/par...
It is this kind of traditional African American folk music that gave rise to blues, jazz, rock n roll, and arguably most of modern popular music (“Build Right on that Shore” even uses the twelve-bar blues chord sequence!).
If anyone has any information about the two songs, I’d love to hear it. All I know is that “Build Right on that Shore” is Roud 16441.
I added artificial color with an automatic online tool, and improved the audio to remove background noise.
0:00 Digging
0:52 “Build Right on that Shore” (spiritual)
I’m gonna build (I’m gonna build)
Right on that shore (build right on that shore)
I’m gonna build (build right on that shore)
Right on that shore (build right on that shore)
I’m gonna build for my Jesus, Lordy
For my Jesus evermore
[following verses replace “build” with “die”/“pray”]
2:58 Food
5:09 “Waterboy, Run” (work song)
When you see me, Lord I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run
When steam I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run, waterboy run
When you see me, Lord I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run, oh lord, waterboy run
When steam I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run, lord waterboy run
6:05 Water
Support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/TheFolkRevivalPro... - Hudba
If you're interested in African American history, I'd recommend watching this video, which shows how traditional African music influenced the music of the Appalachian Mountains: czcams.com/video/WRIkXGlttyg/video.html
The main purpose of this channel is to conserve and share authentic recordings of all kinds of traditional music. If you support this goal and appreciate this channel's content, consider subscribing.
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I am a Ph D student and writing article about folk music . use and purpose of both Sri Lankan sihala folk song and blues work song and field holler are similar .where can i listen spiritual songs
We’re here for folk music. 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ not trash.
@@emilinebelle7811
This music was learnt in the oral tradition and based on different kinds of traditional music that came before it (from Europe and Africa).
Please let me know exactly what makes this "trash" rather than "folk".
@@TheFolkRevivalProject I think for some ignorant people, it's only folk music when white people do it.
Which is a shame, really. For the ignorant.
I love how you can hear the origins of doo-wop in the harmonies.
Hey this is pretty good, but there's so much amazing traditional American folk music from African Americans. You should definitely showcase more of it. I love your format of giving the context and credits to the performers.
I'm definitely open to that. There's already lots of great footage of African American folk music on the Alan Lomax CZcams channel, which seems to be quite popular. That's one of the reasons I haven't focused on it too much.
Great pieces of history thank you
Cool video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Amazing footage.. the bossman would have chosen specific prisoners to do this The songs dont flow because the ppl know.... they r being used... thx alot for vid Love ur channel
This is amazing.
Cool vid although I think the "workers" are actually in the process of trying to look like they are working for the video. Their shovels mostly don't touch the ground and when they do its not in a meaningful manner. But I still love it.
Thanks for watching!
I think you're right - they were probably just told to "perform" for the camera.
You are right. Lol
@@TheFolkRevivalProject Not only that, but let’s just say if you don’t want to work but told to, you slack off on purpose because you get nothing out of it anyway.
@@Delta47_11B I think they had to conserve energy. I don't know how they did that day in day out. I can only do that kind of labor for about an hour or two and I'm exhausted. Plus it's hot and they are wearing long sleeves and pants. What a terrible life.
Just looks like Boss making properganda bs ..plenty food plenty water..i think Not..but amazing colour footage for iits time🌻
>Me working
It looks like they are pretending to work, not that I blame them.
The "workers" are prisoners. Workers are paid for their labor, prisoners aren't.
They are workers in the sense that they’re doing work. Also the second song is classified as a “work song”.
@@MvFwd I don't know enough about prisons in this era to make that kind of judgment. I was simply defending my use of the term "work songs".
Propagating the slave mindset. "Yeah, keep working because you paid. But work none the less boa" *whip*
When I work on my cabin I feel like one of them
😐😐
Old good times
An the men sang like men back then too. Now many male singers sing like girls. Funny how that is. I wonder when that changed
What is wrong with you?
I suppose when they started pumping chicken with estrogen and all the chemicals in our food. Folks are less fertile now too.
There’s plenty of channels dedicated to this type of nonsense. Let’s keep it beautiful and you could just make a secondary channel that features the help.
Racist fool
Because they don't work in real life