Early Minstrel Show Music,

1843-1852

ROBERT B. WINANS

The first complete minstrel show was put on in 1843 and was an immediate
"hit," spawning many imitations and initiating what was to be the most
popular of popular entertainments for the next forty years or more.1 What
was it about, this entertainment, especially in its first, formative decade,
1843-1852, that so captivated a nation? Though many factors might enter
into the answer, surely one of the more important ones is the music of the
shows. For the minstrel show was primarily a musical event, not really
"musical theatre" in the modern sense, but what one might call "theatrical
music." Musical performances were what structured the early minstrel
show. Printed programs for the shows, which are the primary sources for
this essay, look like concert programs (see figure 9). Of course, much more
occurred on stage in the actual shows than appears in the programs, which
do not indicate all the dialogue and comic "business" that went on in
between musical numbers. But the musical pieces on the program structured
the evening. And previous scholarship has not dealt very substantially with
the music of the early shows, with the partial exception of Hans Nathan's
book on Dan Emmett. So my purpose here is to examine some of the
features of that music as it was performed on stage between 1843 and 1852.2
The starting point for discussing early minstrel show music is instru-
mentation. Table 3 shows the distribution of instruments in twenty-nine
minstrel companies active between 1843 and 1847.3 Clearly, the banjo and
the tambourine were indispensable, followed closely by the bones and the
violin.
The banjo of the period was not like a modern banjo (see figure 10). The
main differences were a larger diameter body with a deeper but thinner rim
and a fretless fingerboard; its five strings were gut, tuned, as a whole, either a
third or a fourth below modern pitch, depending on the key to be played.
These differences are important, because the minstrel banjo was at the heart
of the sound of the minstrel ensemble, and it did not sound like a modern
banjo. Surviving banjoes from the period have a mellower, fuller, more
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 73

Table 3 Minstrel Show Instrumentation, 1843-1847 (29 Troupes)

Banjo 29
Tambourine 29
Bones 25
Violin 20
Triangle 11
Second Banjo 8
Accordion 7
Jawbone 3
Second Violin 2
Drum 2
Flute 1
Tongs 1
Cymbals 1

resonant sound. The style of playing minstrel banjo was, according to

contemporary instruction manuals, similar to that folk style called
"frailing" or "clawhammer."4 In the minstrel ensemble the banjo was a
melody instrument; it did not provide chorda! accompaniment, as might be
assumed. The other melody instrument in the core minstrel band was the
violin.
The primary rhythm instruments were tambourine and bones. The
minstrel tambourine was larger than the common modern one and had
fewer rattles (see figure 11). This suggests that, while the modern
tambourine is more rattle than drum, the minstrel one was the reverse. The
bones were flat, animal rib bones, slightly curved, or hardwood facsimiles.
Two pairs were used, one pair in each hand, held between the fingers and
played with a rapid wrist action to produce a castanetlike sound capable of
great rhythmic complexity. These four instruments, then, banjo, violin,
tambourine, and bones, were the core ensemble of minstrel bands of the
period, largely because this instrumentation was used by the very first
minstrel troupe, the Virginia Minstrels (see figure 12). In addition, evidence
from ex-slave narratives shows that these instruments were indeed widely
played by slaves on southern plantations at the time.5
As noted in table 3, the other melody instruments that might have been
heard in an early minstrel band included a second banjo, an accordion
(which the illustrations show to be a kind of button accordion, also called a
melodeon, rather than the modern piano accordion), occasionally a second
violin, and even more rarely a flute. The accordion, when used, seems
always to have been a substitute for the violin, rather than an addition to it.
The most common additional rhythm instrument to he played was the
triangle, used in about a third of the groups, supplementing the bones and
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 77

tambourine. Other rhythm instruments used occasionally included jaw-

bone, drum, fireplace tongs, and cymbals.
The research behind this essay was designed to provide the best possible
information for an attempt at recreating the actual sound of the early
minstrel band in performance. The results of this effort are being issued by
New World Records. I recorded with the core ensemble of banjo, violin,
tambourine, and bones, and from this experience have formed some
different conclusions about the sound of this combination than those put
forward by Nathan. Nathan suggested that such a group would sound
"scratchy, tinkling, cackling."6 I think that the sound was much more solid
than that, that the instruments blended surprisingly well, with a more
mellow and melodic sound than Nathan suggests.
I entirely disagree with Nathan when he states that the "banjo could not
serve as a solid foundation in the ensemble."7 From various experiments
made while recording, when the banjo was purposely silenced in the middle
of a piece, my conclusion is that the banjo in fact is that very foundation.
When it ceases playing, the whole "bottom" drops out of the ensemble
sound, and the remaining instruments do come across as Nathan suggested.
But the banjo holds it all together and gives it substance.
Some have suggested that the sound of the early minstrel band was much
like that of the old-time banjo-fiddle string bands that were recorded in the
1920s. Given that both were built around the banjo-fiddle combination, and
that the later string bands had probably evolved from the models provided
by minstrel bands, some similarity is to be expected. But the sound is not
quite the same, because the banjo had changed by then, and the string
bands used no nonstring rhythmic instruments. A continuous line of devel-
opment which is worth exploring further exists between early minstrel
bands, old-time string bands, and modern bluegrass bands.
Both the minstrel band and the minstrel troupe as a whole increased in
size over time. In the first five years, the band was the whole company, by
and large, with the exception, sometimes, of a manager. The evidence of the
programs suggests that in this period troupes ranged in size from four to six
members, with the average being five. lathe second five years (1848-1852),
bands numbered from four to eight, the average being six, and the size of
the whole company ranged anywhere from four to fifteen members. Clearly,
specialization was developing in these larger troupes, with some in the
company being just ballad singers, or just dancers, which had not been true
earlier.
In terms of instrumentation, not much new was introduced in the
1848-1852 period. Banjo, violin, tambourine, and bones remained the core,
with more of a tendency to double up on instruments, especially the banjo.
A few more groups added a flute player, while some use was made of the
guitar, the clarinet, and also of the piano, especially by a few groups such as
Ordway's Aeolians in Boston.
78 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

After 1852 ensembles and companies continued to grow and standard

orchestra instruments were increasingly employed, until the original
"plantation" quartet was relegated to a specialty act.
Instrumental solos were nearly always a part of the minstrel program in
the first decade. Table 4 shows the most common kinds of instrumental
solos in terms of the percentage of the programs in which they appeared.
Solos became more frequent in the second half of the decade. This differ-
ence points to the gradual development of the "olio" section of the minstrel
show, where such solos came to be concentrated. But the olio as a separate
section of specialty acts was only beginning to take shape at the end of the
decade. Although many other writers seem to assume that the olio came
into being very early in minstrel history, nothing like it existed before about
1850; before then instrumental solos might appear anywhere in the
program.

Table 4 Principal Instrumental Solos

Percentage of Programs in Which

Solos Appeared, by Instrument
1843-18.47 1848-1852

Banjo 30 70
Duet :5 35
Trio 0 30
Violin 20 50
Tambourine 10 18
Accordion 10 23
Bones 0 21

Clearly, the most common solo was on the banjo. Banjo solos were not
often listed in the programs, but among those that were, the most frequent
was "Hard Times," written by Tom Briggs, a famous performer who played
with many companies and wrote a banjo instruction book in 1855 which
included this piece.8 As a typical banjo solo of the first decade, "Hard
Times" illustrates some of the features of banjo pieces that Nathan
discusses, especially the repetition of brief motives with slight variations,
the use of triadic figures, and the general emphasis on rhythmic rather than
melodic complexity.9
Not only did banjo solos, and duets and trios, become increasingly
performed during the decade, but the banjo was also frequently used to
accompany specialty dances, in addition to its ensemble function. The
banjo pieces seem always to have been "plantation" material; that is, more
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 79

or less in imitation of the dance music of the southern plantation,

sometimes played to show virtuosity and sometimes for comedy.
Much less information has been preserved about the nature of minstrel
violin solos of the period. I suspect that they were based on "plantation"
material toward the beginning of the period; in addition, performers surely
burlesqued virtuosos such as Ole Bull, who became enormously popular
just as the minstrel era began. Toward the end of the decade, however, the
evidence suggests that violin solos were serious music, played seriously, to
show virtuosity.
In the early part of the decade, violinists were probably playing as solos
such pieces as can be found in the Dan Emmett manuscript tune book of
which Nathan makes use. Nathan calls that manuscript a collection of
banjo tunes. An examination of the original (now at the Ohio Historical
Society) shows that it is not labeled as a banjo collection, and I have
concluded that although versions of these tunes were undoubtedly played by
banjo players, probably even originally played by banjo players, as written,
they look like fiddle tunes. On the whole, they are more idiomatic to the
violin than to the banjo; furthermore, many of the "composer credits" are
to well-known minstrel violinists. This does not really alter the importance
of these tunes or Nathan's analysis of them.10
Tambourine, bones, and other kinds of solos were also presented. One of
the earliest tambourine solos is described in a program as imitating railroad
trains, cannon, bugle calls, a French drummer, a grist mill, and a cotton
mill.11 Bones solos usually involved imitations of drums and horses. Late in
the period, minstrels presented occasional solos on guitar, concertina,
mandolin, hammered dulcimer, and such oddball novelties as "solo on
kitchen bellows."
Besides solos, various instrumental duets and trios were not uncommon,
involving all possible combinations of the available instruments. And
instrumental ensemble pieces, played by the full band, were regularly per-
formed. In fact, an introductory instrumental overture very quickly became
absolutely standard. In the early years, an instrumental ensemble piece
might also end the program, though this shortly gave way to other types of
finales.
Throughout the minstrel show's history, however, vocal music was more
important than strictly instrumental music; it was mostly minstrel songs
that people came to hear. In minstrel songs throughout the first decade, the
melodies were simple and folklike (some, in fact, were folk-derived), and
the verse/refrain format was the rule for the texts.12 The most common way of
presenting these songs in performance was with solo voice On the verse and
a small chorus of voices on the refrain, with instrumental accompaniment,
usually the full band, although all possible combinations of voices and
instruments were used. On chorus/refrains, the first minstrel troupe, the
Virginia Minstrels, apparently sang in unison, but group singing quickly
80 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

became harmonized, usually in four parts (sometimes three), on the model

of the Rainer family and the Hutchinsons. These four-person family singing
groups, who were all the rage just as the minstrel era began, had a
tremendous impact on the singing style in the shows. At the same time, the
minstrel show promptly turned around and mocked the family groups with
Rainer and Hutchinson burlesques, an aspect to which 1 will return. Songs
done completely in four-part harmony were also common. This kind of
harmonized choral singing is one aspect of the early minstrel show that
clearly came from then-current popular entertainment, rather than from a
desire to imitate real black folk-musical practice. Black musical traditions
of the time did not include this kind of harmonized choral singing.
In the early years, the singers were also the instrumentalists, providing
their own accompaniment. The performance of most of the troupes was
lively and raucous, in an attempt to portray that "exotic" (to northern
audiences) creature, the plantation "darkey," or his cousin, the urban
dandy.
The minstrel performers sang in dialect, which as written in the song
sheets bears little resemblance to actual black American speech patterns.
But they sang that way, of course, because they were whites, only parading
for a time in blackface, as some of the programs and sheet music covers
were careful to point out, showing the troupe both in and out of
blackface.13 Sometimes the labeling of these contrasted illustrations overtly
displayed the insidious social and political caste system of the time. The
picture of the troupe in blackface and comic "plantation" costume might
be captioned "As Plantation Darkeys," while the caption under the picture
of them in street clothes and without makeup reads "As Citizens."
How heavy the dialect was in performance is not clear. It had to be heavy
enough to suggest the real thing (some people were actually fooled), with
room for comic exaggeration, but not so heavy that the diction was
obscured for the primarily white audience, especially in the northern urban
centers where the form reached its peak popularity. Some idea of the style
can probably be derived from the turn-of-the-century black dialect
recordings of such performers as Billy Golden and Arthur Collins, since
these are a direct continuation of the minstrel tradition, and must make the
same compromise between authenticity, comedy, and clarity.
Table 5 lists the "hit" songs of the first decade of the minstrel stage,
based on the percentage of programs on which each song was included. But
I do not want to dwell on this list, since the distribution of the programs
that provide the data makes it reflect the second half of the decade much
more than the first. Focusing separately on the two halves of the decade
will be more informative.
Table 6 presents the "hit" minstrel songs of 1843-1847; the songs,
according to the playbills, which were actually performed most frequently
on the minstrel stage in this period. The blackface songs that prepared the
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 81

Table 5 Minstrel Show Hits, 1843-1852 (151 Programs)

Percentage of Programs
Song Title in Which Song Appeared

Miss Lucy Long 34

Virginia Rosebud 20
Railroad Overture 20
Stop Dat Knocking 19
Phantom Chorus 19
Old Dan Tucker 17
Boatman Dance 16
Ole Jaw Bone 15
Camptown Races 15
Let's Be Gay 13
Miss Lucy Neal 12
Old Tar River 11
Old Joe 11
See, Sir, See 11
Dinah's Wedding Day 11
I'm Off for Charleston 10
Old Folks at Home 10
Mary Blane 10
A Life by the Galley Fire 10
Buffalo Gals 10
Lucinda Snow 10
Nelly Was a Lady 10

way for minstrelsy and are remembered as being among the most famous
minstrel songs are not on this list of early hits. Songs such as "Jim Crow,"
"Old Zip Coon," "My Long-Tailed Blue," "Clare de Kitchen," and
"Coal Black Rose" became popular on their own before 1843, before the
existence of the full minstrel show as a vehicle. These songs did not dis-
appear after 1843, but they certainly were not performed as often as the
newer hits. Nearly ah1 of the prominent minstrel troupes created much of
their own new material, including songs; some of these songs remained
identified with only one group, while others became more widely performed.
Although table 6 and the succeeding tables will be used as a basis for dis-
cussing the songs, what they say about the relative popularity of particular
songs should be taken with a grain of saltnot because the sample of playbills
from which the lists were derived is unrepresentative, but because of the
problem of multiple texts and multiple tunes.
Every one of the songs in these tables can be found in several printed
editions, with tunes that vary from one another slightly. But some of the
82 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

Table 6 Minstrel Show Hits, 1843-1847 (47 programs)

Percentage of Programs
Song Title in Which Song Appeared

Miss Lucy Long 55

Old Dan Tucker 49
Railroad Overture 47
Boatman Dance 40
Miss Lucy Neal 34
Fine Old Colored Gentleman 26
Old Joe 23
Ole Jaw Bone 23
Buffalo Gals 23
Old Grey Goose 23
I'm Going ober de Mountain 23
Dandy Jim from Caroline 21
A Life by the Galley Fire 19
Old Tar River 19
Ole Bull and Old Dan Tucker 19
Twill Neber Do to Gib It Up So 17
Where Did You Come From 17
Mary Blane 15
Who's Dat Knocking? 15
In de Wild Raccoon Track 15
Cynthia Sue 15
Old Aunt Sally 15
Walk Along John 15

songs even have several distinctly different tunes. For instance, I have
found two tunes each for "Buffalo Gals" and "Mary Blane," and four for
"Miss Lucy Neal," and each of these exists in minor variants.
With texts, not only does one find many slight verbal variants and
additional new verses, but also entirely different sets of verses. "Old Joe,"
"Ole Jaw Bone," "I'm Going Ober de Mountain," "Miss Lucy Neal," and
"Old Tar River" all have at least two different texts; whiJe "Old Dan
Tucker," "Dandy Jim from Caroline," "Buffalo Gals," and "Mary
Blane" have at least four different texts. This is less of a problem in the
second half of the decade, but it never quite disappears. Interestingly, this
phenomenon of early minstrel show songs makes them analogous, in print
and performance, to folk songs in oral tradition, where one of the
hallmarks of traditionality is variance of text and tune.
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 83

Interesting though it might be, the phenomenon presents a practical

problem to the scholar: in looking at the programs, it is hard to know which
version was heard for some of these titles. This is not a large problem when
the basic meanings or effects of the different texts or tunes of a song are
similar, as they usually are. In a few cases, however, one text may be comic
while another is sentimental or tragic.
This observation suggests that the most useful way to study these songs is
to categorize them according to the type of song, and to see which types
were the most frequently performed. Table 7 presents a rough taxonomy of
the types of minstrel songs for the early years. Note that the category
Parodies really cuts across the other categories, and titles listed there are
also listed above. Some other titles are also listed twice because of different
versions of the song.
The most obvious thing about the list in table 7 is that the songs are
overwhelmingly comic; only three are not. But rather than merely calling
them comic, I would like to put them in a slightly different perspective by
calling them "antisentimental." If one looks at the songs published in the
1820s and 1830s, one sees a vast, dreary expanse of sentimental songs, with
an occasional "Coal Black Rose." But in 1843 a flood of antisentimental,
comic minstrel songs began. There had been comic songs before, of course,
but next to the earthy minstrel songs they look pretty effete. And not only
the texts were antisentimental. The tunes were based on, or imitated, lively
rural dance music, and the performance style was most definitely
antisentimental. This, it seems to me, was the main part of the appeal of
minstrel songs at first: they were new and different, earthy and "exotic" at
the same time, and comic and antisentimental.
This appeal had its negative side, of course. The early minstrel songs, at
best, poked gentle fun at blacks, but more often heavy ridicule was involved.
The minstrel show and its songs created stereotypes of blacks that have
plagued American society ever since. Many of the songs discussed below
contain material that ought to make a modern American very uncomfort-
able or even cringe. But this is no reason not to study minstrel songs
seriously. On the other hand, I want to make clear that I do not share or
approve of their negative attitudes toward blacks.
In order to give some idea of the type of song the categories in table 7
represent, I will present and discuss a typical example from each. First, a
comic love song, "Miss Lucy Long," which was unquestionably the most
popular song of the first minstrel decade. This fact would suggest
something about the lack of musical sophistication of minstrel audiences,
because the tune is extremely simple and repetitive, though quite lively.
(Such lack of sophistication is also suggested by the fact that most playbills
include a note requesting that "gentlemen" not stamp their feet in time to
the music and not call out for the repetition of pieces.)
Table 7 Minstrel Song Types, 1843-1847

Love
Comic
Miss Lucy Long
Miss Lucy Neal
Old Joe
Buffalo Gals
I'm Going ober de Mountain Sentimental/ Tragic
Miss Lucy Neal
Mary Blane
Cynthia Sue
Other Scenes of "Black" Life Comic
De Boatmen's Dance
Old Grey Goose
Life by the Galley Fire
Old Tar River
Ole Bull and Ole Dan Tucker
Twill Neber Do to Gib It Up So
Old Aunt Sally Nonsense
De Ole Jaw Bone
I'm Going ober de Mountain
Old Tar River
Where Did You Come From
Who's Dat Knocking "Character" SongsComic
Old Dan Tucker
The Fine Old Colored Gentleman
Old Joe
Dandy Jim from Caroline Parodies
Operatic
Popular Songs
The Fine Old Colored Gentleman
A Life by the Galley Fire
Railroad Overture

84
Early Minstrel Show M usic, 1843 -1852 85

Miss Lucy Long

1. I've come again to see you,

I'll sing another song,
Jist listen to my story,
It isn't very long.
Chorus: Oh take your time Miss Lucy,
Take your time Miss Lucy Long.
2. Miss Lucy, she is handsome,
And Miss Lucy, she is tall;
To see her dance Cachuca,
Is death to Niggers all.
3. Oh! Miss Lucy's teeth is grinning,
Just like an ear ob corn,
And her eyes dey look so winning,
Oh! I would I'd ne'er been born.
4. I axed her for to marry
Myself de toder day,
She said she'd rather tarry,
So I let her hab her way.
5. If she makes a scolding wife,
As sure as she was born,
I'll tote her down to Georgia,
And trade her off for corn.
6. My Mamma's got de tisic,
And my Daddy's got de gout:
Good morning, Mister Physick!
Does your mother know you're out.14

This text, which seems to have been the most widespread early version,
verges on being a nonsense song but is held together by the focus on Miss
Lucy and her lover. The focus, however, is strictly a comic one, playing
especially on exaggerated physical characteristics and foolish behavior.
Other texts of "Miss Lucy Long" are similar to this in tone and intent, as
are the other songs listed in this category.
The next category, Sentimental/Tragic, is one that figures largely in
Charles Hamm's chapter on minstrel songs in his recent book Yesterdays,
wherein he discusses "Mary Blane" and "Miss Lucy Neal" as the earliest
examples.15 The love relationship is treated, on the whole, sentimentally
rather than comically; the black characters are portrayed sympathetically,
and, while not all songs that might fit into this category end tragically, the
three listed in table 7 do.
Both versions of "Miss Lucy Neal" are about the separation of mates by
the slave system, though one of them is also three-quarters a standard comic
love song. Below is the text of the more sentimental version, though even
86 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

this one has a verse or two whose intent is comic. But certainly the end of
the song is sympathetic to the slave situation.

Miss Lucy Neal

L Come listen to my story,

You cant tell how I feel;
Ise gwine to sing de lub I hab
For poor Miss Lucy Neal.
Chorus: O, poor Miss Lucy Neal,
Den O poor Lucy Neal,
Oh! if I had you by my side,
Oh! Den how good I'd feel.
2. She used to go out wid us,
To pick cotton in de field,
And dares where 1 first fell in love,
Wid my pretty Lucy Neal.
3. When I come to Danville,
I take my horn an blow,
An den you see Miss Lucy Neal,
Cum running to de door.
4. Miss Lucy dress'd in satin,
Its oh, she looked so sweet;
I nebber should hab known her,
I soon cognized her feet.
5. Oh! tell me dearest Sambo,
Where hab you been so long;
Dey say dat you hab lef me,
And cross de sea was gone.
6. I tole her dat it was not so,
An I'd leave her no more,
Oh den poor Lucy kiss me
An fell fainting on de floor.
7. Oh! dars de wite man comin,
To tear you from my side;
Stan back! you white slave dealer
She is my betrothed bride.
8. De poor nigger's fate is hard,
De white man's heart is stone,
Dey part poor nigga from his wife,
An brake up dare happy home.16

The case of "Mary Blane" is more complicated. The text that Charles
Hamrn discusses, probably the earliest, tells of Mary being taken away and
sold by the master. In another version she is stolen away by Indians;
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 87

another is just a sentimental courtship song without tragic ending; and in a

fourth variant the whole story takes place in Switzerland and seems to have
nothing to do with American slaves. It's almost as though the version
Hamm discusses was too sympathetic, leading to the creation of less
sympathetic versions. In the third song in the Sentimental/Tragic category,
"Cynthia Sue," a man laments that he is the one sold away from his mate.
But, going back to table 7, most of the really popular minstrel songs in this
period were comic. The rest of the categories need only brief commentary.
The general designation Other Scenes of "Black" Life is only intended to
indicate that these are not love songs; otherwise the subject matter can be
most anything, although it is usually something that relates to the supposed
domestic or work life of blacks. An example of the type is "De Boatmen's
Dance," a lively tune with two refrains, which does not overtly mention
blacks at all, although they did indeed function as river boatmen.

De Boatmen's Dance

Chorus: High row, de boatmen row,

Floatin down de river de Ohio.
1. De boatmen dance, de boatmen sing,
De boatmen up to ebry ting,
An when de boatmen gets on shore,
He spends his cash an works for more.
Chorus 2: Den dance de boatmen dance,
O dance de boatmen dance,
O dance all night till broad daylight,
An go home wid de gals in de morning.
2. I went on board de odder day,
To see what de boatmen had to say;
Dar I let my passion loose,
And dey cram me in de callaboose.
3. When de boatman blow his horn,
Look out old man your hog is gone;
He cotch my sheep, he cotch my shoat,
Den put em in a bag an toat em to de boat.
4. De boatman is a thrifty man,
Dars none can do as de boatman can;
1neber see a putty gal in my life,
But dat she was a boatman's wife.
5. When you go to de boatmen's ball,
Dance wid my wife, or dont dance at all;
Sky blue jacket an tarpaulin hat.
Look out my boys for de nine tail cat.17

While some of the verses of this song seem to mock the boatman, others
clearly convey a sense of pride in the occupation. Although this song
88 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

achieved wide popularity through the minstrel shows, it is probably one of

those that was at least partially "borrowed" for the shows from preexisting
oral tradition. Most of the other songs in this category deal more directly
with plantation life.
The next category, Nonsense, comprises songs with a series of uncon-
nected, comic verses, frequently featuring exaggeration or grotesquerie.
The fast-paced "De Ole Jaw Bone" is a good example of the type.

De Ole Jaw Bone

1. De Jaw Bone hung on de kitchen wall

Jaw Bone he is berry tall
De Jaw Bone ring Jaw Bone sing
Jaw Bone tell me ebry ting,
Chorus: Walk Jaw Bone wid your turkey too
Neber mind dat buger bu.
2. De lute string blue it will not do
I want a string to tie my shoe
A cotton string it will not do
A cotton string will break into
3. As I was cum from Tennessee
My hoss got mired up to his knee
I whipped him till 1 saw de blood
Den he hauled me out ob de mud
4. There was a little man he had a little hoss
Went to de riber couldn't get across
I fed my hors in de poplar troff
Ole cow died ob de hooppin coff
5. De niggers at de south dont dress berry well
Day walk about and try for to cut a swell
In de night day meet for to play
Dance all night until de next day
6. Jay Bird pon a swinging limb
Winked at me I winked at him
Cotcbed up a stone hit him on de shin
And dats de way we sucked him in.18

The other songs in this category make no more sense than this one.
"Character" songs build their comic verses around the oddities of some
particular character, "Old Dan Tucker" being the most famous of those
listed in table 7. But since he is famous, look instead at the text of "The
Fine Old Colored Gentleman" as representative of the type. This has the
advantage of also presenting a typical parody song of the period, this one
being Dan Emmett's parody of the then popular song "Fine Old English
Gentleman." This song works particularly well as an unaccompanied glee
for four male voices throughout, at a stately pace.
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 89

The Fine Old Colored Gentleman

1. In Tennessee, as I've heard say, dere once did use to dwell

A fine old color'd gemman, and dis Nigger knowed him well;
Dey used to call him Sambo, or somefing near de same;
And de reason why dey call'd him so was because it was his name.
Chorus: For Sambo was a gemmen, One of de oldest kind.
2. His temper was very mild when he was let alone,
But when you get him dander up, he spunk to de back bone,
He whale de sugar off ye by double rule of three
And whip his wate in wildcats, when he got on a spree.
3. He had a good old banjo so well he kept it strung,
He used to sing the good old song, of "go it while you're young";
He sung so long and sung so loud, he scared the pigs and goats,
Because he took a pint of yeast to raise the highest notes.
4. When dis nigga stood upright and was'nt slantindicular
He measured about 'leven feet, he was'nt very partic'lar,
For he could jump, and run a race, an do a little hoppin,
And when he got a-goin fast the devil could'nt stop im.
5. OJd age came on, his teeth drop out, it made no odds to him,
He eat as many taters and he drank as many gin;
He swallowed two small rail roads wid a spoonful of ice cream,
And a locomotive bulgine while dey blowin off de steam.
6. One berry windy morning dis good old nigger died,
De niggers came from Oder states and loud for joy dey cried;
He layin down upon a bench as strait as any post,
De 'coons did roar, de 'possums howled when he guv up de ghost.19

Obviously, the only difference between this and a straight nonsense song is
that these verses all purport to be about one particular character. And as a
parody, this song makes fun not only of old black Sambo, but of the
English country gentleman who was the subject of the original song.
But a survey of minstrel "character" songs is not complete without one
about the black dandy-the proud, flashy dresser usually from the city but
sometimes found on the plantation who was mocked as counterpart to his
country bumpkin cousin, the plantation darkey, and who became a key
stereotype throughout the rest of the century and into ours. Here then is
"Dandy Jim from Caroline."

Dandy Jim from Caroline

1. I've often heard it said ob late,

Dat Souf Carolina was de state,
Whar a handsome nigga's bound to shine,
Like Dandy Jim from Caroline.
90 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

Chorus: For my ole massa tole me so,

I was de best looking nigga in de country, O,
I look in de glass an found 'twas so,
Just what massa tole me, O.
2. I drest myself from top to toe,
And down to Dinah I did go
Wid pentaloons strapped down behind,
Like Dandy Jim from Caroline.
3. De bull dog cleared me out ob de yard,
I tought I'd better leabe my card,
I tied it fast to a piece ob twine,
Signed "Dandy Jim from Caroline."
4. She got my card and wrote me a letter,
And ebery word she spelt de better,
For ebery word an ebery line,
Was Dandy Jim from Caroline.
5. Oh, beauty is but skin deep,
But wid Miss Dinah none compete,
She changed her name from lubly Dine,
To Mrs. Dandy Jim from Caroline.
6. And ebery little nig she had,
Was the berry image ob de dad,
Dar heels stick out three feet behind,
Like Dandy Jim from Caroline.
7. I took dem all to church one day,
An hab dem christened widout delay,
De preacher christened eight or nine,
Young Dandy Jims from Caroline.20

This song has a very attractive, lively tune, but the lyrics, unfortunately, are
racist.
Of the parodies of the bottom of table 7, I have already noted "The Fine
Old Colored Gentleman." "A Life by the Galley Fire" is a parody of
another popular song, "A Life on the Ocean Wave." And the "Railroad
Overture" was an extravaganza instrumental parody of a piece called "The
Railroad Galop." It was sometimes used as an opening overture but most
commonly appeared as the finale of the shows in the early period. I would
dearly love to find a score for this piece, but so far have been unable to. One
program described it as an "imitation of the slocomotive bullgine, dat at de
fust ob de beginning is very moderate, den as de steam rises, de power of de
circumvolution exaggerates itself into a can'tstopimization, and runs clar
ob de track" and explodes.21
By the second five years of the minstrel era, 1848-1852, the music sketched
out above was already beginning to change, in ways that I want to comment
on only briefly. Table 8 shows which songs appeared most often on the min-
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 89

The Fine Old Colored Gentleman

1. In Tennessee, as I've heard say, dere once did use to dwell

A fine old color'd gemman, and dis Nigger knowed him well;
Dey used to call him Sambo, or somefing near de same;
And de reason why dey call'd him so was because it was his name.
Chorus: For Sambo was a gemmen, One of de oldest kind.
2. His temper was very mild when he was let alone,
But when you get him dander up, he spunk to de back bone,
He whale de sugar off ye by double rule of three
And whip his wate in wildcats, when he got on a spree.
3. He had a good old banjo so well he kept it strung,
He used to sing the good old song, of "go it while you're young";
He sung so long and sung so loud, he scared the pigs and goats,
Because he took a pint of yeast to raise the highest notes.
6. When dis nigga stood upright and was'nt slantindicular
He measured about 'leven feet, he was'nt very partic'lar,
For he could jump, and run a race, an do a little hoppin,
And when he got a-goin fast the devil could'nt stop im.
7. OJd age came on, his teeth drop out, it made no odds to him,
He eat as many taters and he drank as many gin;
He swallowed two small rail roads wid a spoonful of ice cream,
And a locomotive bulgine while dey blowin off de steam.
6. One berry windy morning dis good old nigger died,
De niggers came from Oder states and loud for joy dey cried;
He layin down upon a bench as strait as any post,
De 'coons did roar, de 'possums howled when he guv up de ghost.19

Obviously, the only difference between this and a straight nonsense song is
that these verses all purport to be about one particular character. And as a
parody, this song makes fun not only of old black Sambo, but of the
English country gentleman who was the subject of the original song.
But a survey of minstrel "character" songs is not complete without one
about the black dandy-the proud, flashy dresser usually from the city but
sometimes found on the plantation who was mocked as counterpart to his
country bumpkin cousin, the plantation darkey, and who became a key
stereotype throughout the rest of the century and into ours. Here then is
"Dandy Jim from Caroline."

Dandy Jim from Caroline

1. I've often heard it said ob late,

Dat Souf Carolina was de state,
Whar a handsome nigga's bound to shine,
Like Dandy Jim from Caroline.
90 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

Chorus: For my ole massa tole me so,

I was de best looking nigga in de country, O,
I look in de glass an found 'twas so,
Just what massa tole me, O.
2. I drest myself from top to toe,
And down to Dinah I did go
Wid pentaloons strapped down behind,
Like Dandy Jim from Caroline.
3. De bull dog cleared me out ob de yard,
I tought I'd better leabe my card,
I tied it fast to a piece ob twine,
Signed "Dandy Jim from Caroline."
4. She got my card and wrote me a letter,
And ebery word she spelt de better,
For ebery word an ebery line,
Was Dandy Jim from Caroline.
5. Oh, beauty is but skin deep,
But wid Miss Dinah none compete,
She changed her name from lubly Dine,
To Mrs. Dandy Jim from Caroline.
8. And ebery little nig she had,
Was the berry image ob de dad,
Dar heels stick out three feet behind,
Like Dandy Jim from Caroline.
9. I took dem all to church one day,
An hab dem christened widout delay,
De preacher christened eight or nine,
Young Dandy Jims from Caroline.20

This song has a very attractive, lively tune, but the lyrics, unfortunately, are
racist.
Of the parodies of the bottom of table 7, I have already noted "The Fine
Old Colored Gentleman." "A Life by the Galley Fire" is a parody of
another popular song, "A Life on the Ocean Wave." And the "Railroad
Overture" was an extravaganza instrumental parody of a piece called "The
Railroad Galop." It was sometimes used as an opening overture but most
commonly appeared as the finale of the shows in the early period. I would
dearly love to find a score for this piece, but so far have been unable to. One
program described it as an "imitation of the slocomotive bullgine, dat at de
fust ob de beginning is very moderate, den as de steam rises, de power of de
circumvolution exaggerates itself into a can'tstopimization, and runs clar
ob de track" and explodes.21
By the second five years of the minstrel era, 1848-1852, the music sketched
out above was already beginning to change, in ways that I want to comment
on only briefly. Table 8 shows which songs appeared most often on the min-
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 91

Table 8 Minstrel Show Hits, 1848-1852 (104 Programs)

Percentage of Programs
Song Title in Which Song Appeared

Virginia Rosebud 29
Miss Lucy Long 24
Stop Dat Knocking 23
Camptown Races 22
Phantom Chorus 22
Let's Be Gay IS
See, Sir, See 16
Dinah's Wedding Day 16
Old Folks at Home 15
I'm Off for Charleston 15
Nelly Was a Lady 14
Lucinda Snow 14
KatyDean 13
Nelly Bly 13
Old Jaw Bone 11
Commence Ye Darkies All 11
Gal from the South 10
Julius' Bride 10
Old Uncle Ned 10
Picayune Butler 10
Silver Shining Moon 10
Hard Times 9
Jenny Lane 9

strel programs of this five-year period. The first thing to notice about this
list is that, except for "Miss Lucy Long," the songs most frequently
performed in this period are different from those in the first half of the
decade. ("Old Jaw Bone" also appears on both lists, but the second version
is a distinctly different song from the first.) Not only were the individual
songs different, which is to be expected in a popular entertainment medium,
but the distribution of song types also changes somewhat, as a comparison
of table 9 with table 7 will show.
Starting at the bottom of table 9, notice the number of songs that are
operatic parodies (a category that again cuts across the others). "Virginia
Rosebud" is parodied from The Bronze Horse; "Stop Dat Knocking" is a
general parody of operatic style; "Phantom Chorus" is from Somnambula,
as is "See, Sir, See." "Let's Be Gay" comes from Massaniello, and
"Dinah's Wedding Day" is from Leonora.
The other main way in which table 9 differs from table 7 is in the increased
92 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

number of sentimental and tragic love songs and the concomitant decrease
in comic songs of all types; there are no real nonsense songs. New comic
songs continued to be popular, especially some of the operatic parodies, but
the sentimental mode is reestablishing itself.

Table 9 Minstrel Song Types, 1848-1852

Love
Comic
Miss Lucy Long
Stop Dat Knocking
Dinah's Wedding Day
I'm Off for Charleston
Lucinda Snow
Julius' Bride
Sentimental/ Tragic
Virginia Rosebud
See, Sir, See
Old Folks at Home
Nelly Was a Lady
Katy Dean
Nelly Bly
Old Jaw Bone
Silver Shining Moon
Jenny Lane
Other Scenes of "Black" Life
Comic
Camptown Races
Phantom Chorus
Let's Be Gay
Commence Ye Darkies All
Picayune Butler
Nonsense
"Character" Songs
Gal from the South (Comic)
Old Uncle Ned (Sentimental)
Parodies Operatic
The Virginia Rosebud
Stop Dat Knocking
Phantom Chorus
Let's Be Gay
See, Sir, See
Dinah's Wedding Day
Popular Songs
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 93

In songs in the Sentimental/Tragic category, the idea of love now

includes love of children and of home as well as "romantic" love. For
instance, "The Virginia Rosebud," the most popular minstrel song of this
period, is a tragic story of a black child being stolen away, done in dialect
and in full-blown burlesque Italian opera style. Charles Hamm quite rightly
says of it, "The whole thing is totally bizarre and totally American."22
But the most common story in these songs is of a black man grieving at
the death of his mate, with the black characters, especially the women,
given sympathetic treatment. In his discussion Hamm goes on to suggest
that this kind of minstrel song was so popular that it was widely imitated
outside of minstrelsy. He gives a whole list of songs about dead and dying
ladies, and comes to the conclusion that "there is not a black face in this
collection of lovely and beloved ladies, but their tales and tunes would have
been unimaginable without the plantation song of the minstrel stage."23
I disagree. I think the dying ladies were inevitable, with or without the
minstrel show, given the basically sentimental tenor of the times. The
minstrel show in its early years provided a brief respite from that senti-
mentality. But by the late 1840s sentimentality was already reasserting itself
in the songs in the shows, and by the late 1850s it had just about regained all
its lost territory, although other aspects of the shows remained comic.
Other changes were taking place as well. Musically, Hamm points out
that minstrel songs were becoming more sophisticated by the late 1840s.
"Their melodies . . . clearly imply more sophisticated harmonic, tonal
chord progressions. . . . Phrases, periods, and larger sections are regular,
symmetrical, and balanced in melody and harmony.24
These changes were also structural. Illustrations on the programs and
sheet music covers suggest that early minstrel troupes used two basic
costume types: formal, connoting northern dandies; and informal, repre-
senting southern plantation blacks (see figures 12 and 13). Fairly early in the
first decade it became common for companies to portray dandies in the first
half of the show and plantation darkies in the second. In the first five years
there was, despite the costume change, little difference in the material
performed in the two parts (see figure 9). In the second half of the decade,
the musical material in the northern dandy half of the show became more
refined, sophisticated, and sentimental, as noted above. This tendency
becomes even more intensified as more companies in the 1850s opened their
shows with a whiteface part.
Clayton Henderson, in his article on minstrelsy in the New Grove Dic-
tionary, sums up the trend by stating that in the early 1850s "the inclusion of
genteel-tradition music and of the olio began a movement away from the
primitive quality of early minstrelsy towards a more sophisticated and
standardized variety show."25 "Primitive" is a rather pejorative word to
apply to early minstrelsy, and what was moved away from in the 1850s is, to
me, most of what made the minstrel show a really fascinating phenomenon.
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 95

One aspect of the early minstrel show and its music has been under-
valued, if not ignored, by all writers on the subject, with the exception of
Gary Engle.26 The subject probably deserves an entirely separate paper, but
I will introduce it here because I consider it essential to a cultural under-
standing of early minstrelsy.
Yes, the minstrel show cruelly mocked and denigrated black Americans in
a way that had long-term social consequences. But the sword of humor cut
the other direction as well. And the real essence of minstrelsy was burlesque,
not just in the playlets that Engle collects in his book, but in every aspect of
the show. The very presence of those comic, pseudoblack performers on
stage was a burlesque of all serious theatrical and concert performances.
Beyond this general principle, all sorts of specific burlesques were staged.
Burlesque lectures ("stump speeches") on topics of the day were regularly
presented. In the dance, ballet was burlesqued in innumerable "Ethiopian
Pas de Deux." When the polka craze finally came to America in 1844, it
was immediately parodied in the minstrel shows and became a standard act.
Individual celebrity dancers, such as Fanny Ellsler, also were parodied.
Turning to vocal music, first and foremost, over and over, the big minstrel
companies put on operatic burlesques. They burlesqued individual songs,
scenes from famous operas, and some companies put on complete blackface
burlesque operas, or pastiches of material from several operas, as in the
following program excerpt.

The audience are supposed not to understand the language of the Opera, as they
cannot understand that of the original.
To conclude with a Scene from the Italian Opera, Introducing Scenes from Norma,
Somnambula, Fra Diavolo, Lucy-Did-Lam-Her-More, Lucretia Borgia, Bohemian
Girl, Massaniello, Marble Bride, &c.
Leader and Conductor, (Bel-lin-nee,) ,,...,..,, ..... ,,, ........................... Sig. Bird-etti.
Prima Donna of the Troupe, (a la Lind,) ...........................Madame Lukeo Westeo.
Primo Buffo...,.,.............................................................................. Mons, Clarketti.
Primo Tenor ................................................................................. Mons. Cambelletti.
Dealers-Hooff .....................,....,,,.,. .................... :............ Mons. Lukeo Westeo. 27

The minstrel shows were performing these operatic burlesques very suc-
cessfully at a time when real opera was not a success in America. In addition,
individual popular songs, popular song types, popular singing groups
especially the Rainers and the Hutchinsonsand individual celebrities such
as Jenny Lind all were regularly burlesqued.
In instrumental music, touring foreign bands, such as the Germania Band,
were parodied. When touring Swiss bell ringers became a hit they were
burlesqued in acts called "The Cowbellogians. The most frequent
instrumental burlesque of all was Louis Antoine Jullien's "Monster
Concerts." Jullien, the famous European bandmaster, did not arrive in this
 96 The Musical in the Nineteenth Century

country for his successful tour until 1853, but American minstrel shows began
putting on burlesques of him and his concerts as early as 1849. One hard to
classify burlesque is that of the Black Shakers, which was devised in 1850 and
spread like wildfire among the minstrel companies.
Overall, the most frequent burlesques were musical: Italian opera, Rainer
Tyrolese singers, and Jullien concerts. The minstrel show in this period was
taking much of the mid-century musical world in America, especially any-
thing highbrow (with the apparent exception of religious music), and, so to
speak, turning it on its ear.

Notes

1. For discussions of the pre-1843 evolution of the show and evidence of how wide
spread, long-lived, and influential minstrelsy was, see Carl F. Wittke, Tambo and
Bones: A History of the American Minstrel Stage (Durham, N.C.: Duke University
Press, 1930); Hans Nathan, Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy
(Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1962); and Robert C. Toll, Blacking
Up; The Minstrel Show in Nineteenth-Century America (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1974).
2. As presented at the conference, this paper made use of 120 slides, 8 musical
examples on tape, and a live performance of a banjo solo to give a sense of the sound
of minstrel music of the 1840s in actual performance. Unfortunately, this goal cannot
be achieved on the printed page.
3. The data for all the tables in this essay come from actual minstrel show
programs, or playbills, 151 of them from the 1843-1853 period, representing a total
of fifty-six different companies. These playbills are located in the Harvard Theater
Collection, the New York Public Library Theater Collection, and the American
Antiquarian Society.
4. For a full discussion of this issue, see Robert B. Winans, "The Folk, the Stage,
and the Five-String Banjo in the Nineteenth Century," Journal of American
Folklore 89 (1976): 407-37.
5. Robert B. Winans, "Black Instrumental Music Traditions in the WPA Ex-
Slave Narratives," forthcoming in Black Music Research Newsletter.
6. Nathan, Dan Emmett, p. 128.
7. Ibid.
8. Tom Briggs, Briggs' Banjo Instructor (Boston; Ditson [1855]); "Hard Times"
can be heard on the New World Records album noted above.
9. Nathan, Dan Emmetl, pp. 191-208, who also discusses other features of early
banjo tunes.
10. On the New World Records recording, "Dr. Hekok's Jig," from Emmett's
manuscript, is played as an early violin solo. This is one of the tunes that Nathan
finds especially interesting. One good reason for performing it as a violin solo is the
fact that, as written, it is impossible to play on the banjo in the minstrel style.
11. Playbill, "Ethiopian Minstrels" [1845]; in Harvard Theater Collection.
12. Charles Hamm describes them as having "simple diatonic melodies sometimes
suggesting pentatonic scales," and "simple statement of melodic sections with no
Early Minstrel Show Music, 1843-1852 97

trace of sequence or development of melodic material" (Yesterdays: Popular Music

in America [New York: W. W. Norton, 1979], p. 138).
13. See, for instance, the sheet music cover of "Songs of the Virginia Serenaders"
(Boston, 1844), most accessible in Toll, Blacking Up, p. 39.
14. "Miss Lucy Long," composed by Billy Whitlock, of the Virginia Minstrels
(New York: James Hewitt, 1842); reprinted in S. Foster Damon's Series of Old
American Songs (Providence: Brown University Library, 1936).
15. Hamm, Yesterdays, pp. 136-37.
16. "Lucy Neal," words and music by J. P. Carter, of the Virginia Serenaders
(Boston: C. H. Keith, 1844); not the version reprinted in Damon, Old American
Songs, which is the main other variant.
17. "De Boatmen's Dance," by Dan Emmett, of the Virginia Minstrels (Boston:
C. H. Keith, 1843); reprinted in Damon, Old American Songs; and Nathan, Dan
Emmett, pp. 320-23.
18. "De Ole Jaw Bone," perhaps by Joel Walker Sweeney (Boston: Henry
Prentiss, 1840); reprinted in Nathan, Dan Emmett, pp. 464-65.
19. "The Fine Old Colored Gentleman," words by Dan Emmett, in Gumbo Chaff
[Elias Howe], Ethiopian Glee Book (Boston: Ditson, 1848), 1: 70-71; originally
published in 1843. I have omitted several verses to save space.
20. "Dandy Jim from Caroline," probably by Dan Emmett (Philadelphia: A.
Fiot, 1844); this seems to have been the most popular version. The earliest published
version (1843) is slightly different and is reprinted in Damon, Old American Songs.
See Nathan, Dan Emmett, p. 291, for a discussion of Emmett's probable authorship;
Nathan reprints a London (c. 1844) version, pp. 324-27.
21. Playbill, "Georgia Champions," 18 June [1845]; at Harvard Theater Collection.
22. Hamm, Yesterdays, p. 135.
23. Ibid., p. 139.
24. Ibid., pp. 138-39.
25. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: Macnullan, 1979).
26. Gary Engle touches on the subject in a few paragraphs at the end of his intro
duction to This Grotesque Essence: Plays from the American Minstrel Stage (Baton
Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978), pp. xxvii-xxviii,
27. Playbill, "West & Peel's Original Campbell Minstrels," 25 June 1851; at
American Antiquarian Society.