We Live on the Banks of the Ohio

DESCRIPTION: "We live on the banks of the O-hi-o, O-hi-o, O-hi-o, Where the mighty waters rapidly flow And the steamboat sweeps along." "Ole Massa to his darkies is good... He gives us our clothers...." Slaves, being so well-treated (!), are encouraged not to "droop"
AUTHOR: probably one of the Nightingale Serenaders (see NOTES)
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: slave work river
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 224, "We Live on the Banks of the Ohio" (1 text)
Salt-BuckeyeHeritage-OhiosHistory, pp. 53-54, "On the Banks of the Ohio" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #21013
NOTES [131 words]: While the editors of Brown are probably right in considering this a "plantation melody" -- i.e. minstrel propaganda to keep the slaves in line -- it's worth noting that slaves in the border region *were* generally better treated.
This wasn't because slave owners there were more enlightened. The explanation is simple: With freedom within easy reach, slaves were more likely to bolt if harshly treated. Few slaves ever escaped from the deep south -- but by the time of the Civil War, it was nearly dead in more northerly states *simply because slaves couldn't be kept*.
Salt, probably correctly, attributes this to a group called the "Nightingale Serenaders," who sang on Ohio River steamboats. But she ignores the slavery motif, claiming it's about life on a small farm by the river. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.3
File: Br3224

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