In the Evening by the Moonlight (I)

DESCRIPTION: "In de ebening by de moonlight when de darkies work was over... Dat's de only time we had to spare.... Uncle Gabe would take de fiddle down...." "All dem happy times we used to hab, will ne'er return again... In de ebe'ning...."
AUTHOR: James A. Bland
EARLIEST DATE: 1880 (sheet music published by Benj. W. Hitchcock of New York)
KEYWORDS: Black(s) nonballad fiddle music
FOUND IN: US(MW,So)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Jackson-PopularSongsOfNineteenthCenturyAmerica, pp. 87-90, "In the Evening by the Moonlight" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean-FlyingCloud, pp. 103-104, "In the Evening by the Moonlight" (1 text)
Browne-AlabamaFolkLyric 149, "A Medley" (1 text, 1 tune, starting with the chorus of "Sweet Adeline," then "The Old Oaken Bucket," "In the Evening by the Moonlight," "Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown," and "Massa's in the Cold, Cold Ground")
Geller-FamousSongsAndTheirStories, pp. 22-26, "In The Evening By The Moonlight" (1 text, 1 tune)
Emerson-StephenFosterAndCo, pp. 43-44, "In the Evening by the Moonlight" (1 text)
Messerli-ListenToTheMockingbird, pp. 187-188, "In the Evening by the Moonlight" (1 text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 250, "In The Evening By The Moonlight" (1 text)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, pp. 193, 421,"In the Evening by the Moonlight" (notes only)
BoyScoutSongbook1997, p. 123, "In the Evening by the Moonlight" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST RJ19087 (Full)
Roud #9591
SAME TUNE:
In the Evening ("In the evening by the moonlight You can hear those Leaguers singing") (Harbin-Parodology, #243, p. 60)
NOTES [86 words]: James A. Bland (1854-1911), one of the leading songwriters of the 1870s, was a university-educated Black (born in New York) who spent many years in England. That he wrote songs about slaves and slavery days says more about the climate of the time than about his feelings about the institution. Even so, there is a slight dig at slavery in the remark that the time after supper was "de only time we had to spare, to hab a little fun."
Bland also wrote "[Oh, dem] Golden Slippers" and "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: RJ19087

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