Massa's in the Cold, Cold Ground

DESCRIPTION: "Round de meadows am a ringing, De darkeys’ mournful song,... Down in de cornfield Hear dat mournful sound: All de darkeys am a weeping, Massa’s in de cold, cold ground." The "darkeys" loved him because he was so kind; the singer cries and plays banjo
AUTHOR: Stephen C. Foster
EARLIEST DATE: 1852 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: slave death burial
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
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")
Henderson-VictorianStreetBallads, p. 130, "Massa's in de Cold Ground" (1 text)
Heart-Songs, p. 350, "Massa's in de Cold Ground" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dime-Song-Book #7/72, p. 40 and #7/64, p. 40, "Massa's in de Cold Ground" (1 text)
Jolly-Miller-Songster-5thEd, #125, "Massa's in de Cold, Cold Ground" (1 text)
Harbin-Parodology, 3307, p. 74, "Massa's in de Cold Ground" (1 text)
Fuld-BookOfWorldFamousMusic, p. 358, "Massa's in de Cold Ground"
NOTES [39 words]: Not one of Foster's best, but it gained some popularity due to its melody. Happily, it has pretty well died out since the Civil War; apart from the Browne-AlabamaFolkLyric fragment, there appear to be no traditional collections. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: RcMitCCG

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