Cheer Up, Sam

DESCRIPTION: Minstrel song. Former slave tells of his love for Sarah Bell. He offered all he had, but she left him for a white man with money. Cho: "Cheer up Sam, now don't let your spirits go down, for there's many a belle that we know is lookin for you in town."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1856 (sheet music published by J. E. Gould)
KEYWORDS: minstrel slavery love rejection foc's'le
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas, p. 562, "Cheer Up, Sam" (1 text, 1 tune)
AdolphousMorningGlorySongster, p. 58, "Sarah Bell" (1 text)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #295, p. 21, "Cheer Up am, or Sarah Bell" (2 references)
Roud #22205
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Sarah Bell
NOTES [58 words]: Popular "shore song" adapted for use at the capstan. - SL
Popular it may have been, but I long searched without success for any sign of it before I found the mention in Wolf. I suspect a better description is "widely touted." There are a lot of nineteenth century printings, mostly in minstrel dialect, but no one seems to know who wrote the song. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.2
File: Hugi562

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