The Use of Dialect in African-American Spirituals, Popular Songs, and Folk Songs

Abstract

The presence of vocal works that use dialect in African-American culture has been a controversial and difficult area of inquiry for those investigating the phenomenon. Dialect songs were first heard in the minstrel shows that toured the United States and Europe before the Civil War (Mahar 1999). They continued to be performed after the war as well, although not as frequently by professional troupes. Textually, many minstrel songs presented derogatory caricatures of African-American and slave culture known from depictions of southern plantations. By the 1870s, African-American dialect was still heard, most often in minstrelsy, although probably in some sacred repertory as well. While spirituals and jubilees sung in churches may have used dialect, existing evidence suggests that touring college groups, such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Hampton Students, avoided the use of dialect when they performed spirituals as part of their programs. The Fisk Singers' book The Story of the Jubilee Singers (Marsh 1880) and their later recordings (after 1909) offer their repertory in standard English. Ditson's (1887) publication Jubilee and Plantation Songs likewise eschews dialect. Undoubtedly, the use of standard English in these publications and in public performances reflected a desire to demonstrate that African Americans were educated and could speak and sing in standard English. Toward the end of the 1880s, a number of African-American vocal quartets began to appear in various venues, including vaudeville, country fairs, and variety shows. One of the most famous was the Standard Quartet, which toured with the South before the War company. The group made a number of cylinders in the early 1890s, of which one, Keep Movin', also sung in standard English, has survived (Brooks 2004, 96-97). However, the popularity of the antebellum spirituals and jubilees influenced a number of black minstrels to write and perform sacred dialect songs in their shows. James Bland's Oh, Dem Golden Slippers (1879) and Sam Lucas's On My Long White Robe (1879) are two examples of this sacred genre that migrated from the church and concert stage to the minstrel show. Lucas's song has no derogatory sense. Rather, the dialect conveys an African-American perspective (similar to that heard in spirituals) on the voyage that follows death. De gospel Trumpet am sounding loud, Put on my long white robe. See all de children a slipping proud, up an' down de road, When dey get near de pearly gate, Put on my long white robe, You can go inside if you ain't too late, And den how happy you'll feel. Chorus Oh! wait 'till I put on my long white robe, My starry crown and my golden shoes, I pass through the gates of de golden city Den I carry de news. During the 1890s, the most controversial dialect lyrics, which harkened back to the early days of minstrelsy, were set to ragtime melodies; this new genre is usually identified as the song. It was sung in a multiplicity of venues--in the minstrel show, in vaudeville, and on Broadway. It is generally stated that Ernest Hogan's All Coons Look Alike to Me was the first coon song (Woll 1989, 2), but in truth, a number of coon songs predate his piece. (1) His song, however, together with the Bully Song, whose authorship was claimed by no fewer than five composers, introduced the new genre to Broadway, where mainstream theatergoers readily accepted and approved their catchy tunes, sung by May Irwin. The coon song's popularity led many African-American lyricists and composers to write vernacular songs that were sung by both black and white performers. While most of these songs had slangy lyrics in which final sounds were dropped (hangin', for example) and contractions were used (ne'er), they did not use dialect (dere and dem). A small group, however, did. Bert Williams and George Walker, for example, wrote several that were heard in their musicals between 1897 and 1902, as did Irving Jones, Will Marion Cook, and Bob Cole. …