Book

Slave songs of the Georgia Sea Islands

Creative Age Press • New York • Published In 1942 • Pages:

By: Parrish, Lydia, Churchill, Creighton, MacGimsey, Robert, Downes, Olin, Rosenbaum, Art.

Abstract

Indelibly impressed with the sounds of the African-American songs she had heard as a child in Philadelphia during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the author's interest was stimulated to learn more about this fascinating form of music. Many years later Mrs. Parrish found herself the owner of a home on St. Simon's Island on the coast of Georgia, a district that turned out to be a veritable sanctuary of Afro-American music. Her investigation of the subject soon branched out into the neighboring territories of the coasts and islands of Georgia and South Carolina, even extending as far as the Bahamas and Haiti. The collection of slave songs presented in this source represent twenty-five years of research by the author (p. v) working with Sea Island informants who had intimate knowledge of the songs. In this study, Parrish provides some general background information on the slave songs and their preservation, then divides them into five major categories for discussion: those that represent African survivals on the coast of Georgia; the type known as 'shout'; ring-play, dance, and fiddle songs; religious songs; and work songs. Each category contains background information on the particular type of song style represented, as well as the accompanying song text and musical score

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

North America

Sub Region

Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Folklorist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle ; 1990-1991

Field Date

ca. 1916-1941

Coverage Date

1795-1939

Coverage Place

St. Simon's Island and environs, Georgia , United States

Notes

[compiled by] Lydia Parrish ; foreword by Art Rosenbaum ; introduction by Olin Downes ; music transcribed by Creighton Churchill and Robert MacGimsey

Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-256) and background material

Parish lived on St. Simon's Island where she collected most of her material. However after the causeway was built to the mainland in 1924, she did venture out to the surrounding islands and counties, including Butler and Sapelo islands, the towns of Brunswick and Darien; and other places in Glynn, McIntosh, and Liberty Counties. The designation 'St. Simon's Island and environs' refers to this larger contiguous region.

LCCN

91022948

LCSH

Sea Islands/Gullahs