Allen J.M. Smith on purevolume™

Folk / Country / Acoustic

Stephen Foster gets bum rap

Nineteenth-century American composer Stephen Foster is incorrectly and unjustly thought by some modern listeners to be a man of the Old South and a racist. On the contrary, he was a Yankee abolitionist from Pittsburgh, Pa.

He was an influence against the slave system in the American South, and some of his songs were written with the purpose of arousing anti-slavery sentiment. Unfortunately, his anti-slavery efforts are sometimes overshadowed by changes in language that make some of his choices of words seem politically incorrect to modern ears.

Two such songs he wrote to ignite abolitionist sentiment were "Old Black Joe" and "My Old Kentucky Home." The former was meant to humanize the slaves in the eyes of white Americans by depicting an old black man who reflects on the sadness caused by outliving his friends and relatives. The old man is articulate and poetic in his lament, imagining his loved ones calling him to Heaven. He says, "Why do I weep, when my heart should feel no pain?/Why do I sigh, that my friends come not again?/Grieving for forms that have vanished long ago?/I hear their gentle voices calling, 'Old Black Joe.'"

The latter depicts the tragedy of a slave family in Kentucky when a patriarch is being "sold down the river" to the harsh, deadly life of a slave in a Louisiana sugar or cotton plantation, where he's sure to be worked to death.
Please give an unbiased listen to "Old Black Joe," and hear it in historical perspective.

As always, I welcome your comments and will reply to them.

In case you want to toss a penny in the old man's hat, click here to go to my iSound site, where you can buy my songs.

March 12

New recordings for next CD

A new CD, "Beautiful Dreamer" and Other Songs, Ballads and Dances will probably see completetion in 2008. Three of the songs are re-recorded or re-mastered: the title track, Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer;" a Child ballad from the 1600s, "The Golden Vanity;" and a minstrel show tune from the 1850s that celebrates the dancing ability of girls from Buffalo, N.Y., "Buffalo Gals."

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November 6

Note to self

Note to self: stop talking to self.

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September 1

I Got Them Old Weltschmertz Blues

Quick! Somebody generate some Gemuetlichkeit!

Oh, the planet's getting warmer,
And the population's growing,
And the Mexicans just gave the door a knock.
The Canadians, our former
Allies now are malice showing,
And the Brits are pulling troops out of Iraq!

And the Chinese all are sending
Dog food flavored with lead paint,
And the German pope consigns us all to Hell!
Where will it all be ending?
Peace and harmony it ain't,
Oh, the world just isn't working very well!

Iranians are making missiles,
Aussies' skin is getting cancer,
And the New York Stock Exchange just went to Hell!
China's sending stern episcles,
I don't have a single answer,
And I'm not really feeling very well.

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August 30

I Got Them Old Sinus Infection Blues

The infection that's entered my sinuses
Is one of my life's many minuses.
My temperature's off, and I'm starting to cough,
And my eyes are exhibiting drynesses.

I'm not getting any work done.
I'm not having very much fun.
I'm home all alone, there's no one to phone,
And my nose is now starting to run.

"Oh, woe is me," I cry!
If only I would die!
If I could but lose these old sinus blues,
I'd be a much happier guy.

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August 20

Buffalo Gals are gals from Buffalo

I was born near Buffalo, N.Y., in Erie, Pa., so I always assumed that a Buffalo Gal is a gal from Buffalo, but I've met a lot of people who never made the connection between the city and the song. They think a buffalo gal is a frontierswoman.

The leading folklorists of the 20th century, the Lomax brothers, said that the song was popular in minstrel shows in the 19th century, and the performers would change the name of the song to match the city they were in, and Buffalo was the one that stuck. It certainly sings better than "Cleveland Gals" or "Erie Gals."

I bought a new banjo, a Gold Tone Whyte Layde Plus. Its design is based on an antique banjo, the Vega Whyte Layde. It has a darker, sweeter, longer-sustaining tone than a bluegrass banjo. I love it. T share its beautiful sound with you, I recorded "Buffalo Gals" on it for you and made it downloadable. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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