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Overview

The great American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar was among the first generation of freed African Americans. Born in 1872, his poems, written in African American dialect, are derived from various stories and experiences through which he heard about plantation life as a young child. The poem above shows a pristine clarity about religion and an unswerving hope and faith in God despite harsh conditions. Perfectly poised after each stanza is the refrain, "Lay low in de wildaness," which suggests a position of stillness amid tribulation, knowing that "He ain' gwine let yo' soul sink down."

Be ready to:

Connect and identify various rhythmic patterns in the context of the work patterns of the slaves.

Decipher embedded meanings in the text of specific plantation songs.

Recognize the diatonic sequence as it appears in the style and structure of these songs.

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References

Thematic and Musical Analysis of Field Hollers and Work Songs

Listen to an example (roughly from the 1920s) of the field holler in the video "Hollers". These songs are a deep expression from the heart and mirror life experiences, and as aforementioned, they don't distinguish between the sacred and the secular. In this example, notice the interchanging of "Lawd" and "Baby" throughout the piece. Most significant, however, is the holler itself. Within the inaudible syllables lies the utmost release of anguish and oppression.

Hollers

In this video "I don't do nobody nothin", the function of the refrain and the verseA group of lines which constitutes a unit., as mentioned earlier is again ever present. Keep in mind that a refrain differs from a chorus The refrain of a song; appears after a verse.. The refrain occurs before and between verses. The chorus appears after a verse, though both have the same function of summarizing the main content of the piece. Although you hear traces of tertian harmonyTerm applied to harmony which is based upon the interval of the third., this piece is heterophonic, meaning several simultaneous variations of the melodic scheme instead of traditional chords in thirds create harmony. "Good Lawdy" has been inserted into the refrain as an emphatic exclamation that completes or fills up the ends of phrases. It is an indicative expression to be found in many genres of African American music.

I don't do nobody nothin

Read the lyrics below as you listen to the song:

I Don't Do Nobody Nothin'

Refrain:
I don't do nobody nothin', Jesus
But they hates me just the same. (Repeat these two lines.)

Verses:
Oh, well, well, it's among that Christian family
That They cause my heart to pain
The sinner he don't know nothin' 'bout me oh Lord
He don't carry my name;

Oh, well, I tries to stay outa bad company,
You knows I try to save my name;
But somehow or other, O Lord, they' bukes me jes' the same.

Oh, well, yonder stands Sister Liza and yonder stands Sister Jane,
Well they can't hold all they conversation, 'thout they 'bukin' my name.

Luke 9:62, NKJV

No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God

Ashenaﬁ Kebede

There is no doubt that these calls were African in derivation and that they were sung in African dialects in the early part of slave history.