Transcript slavery info - WCU Music Tech Standards Class

Just From the Kitchen Lyrics
(as adapted by Bessie Jones and collected/edited by Alan Lomax)
Just from the kitchen, shoo – lie – loo,
With a handful of biscuits, shoo – lie – loo,
Oh, (Miss Mary)(Mister Johnny), shoo – lie –loo,
Fly-a-way over yonder, shoo – lie – loo.
The words mean more than we
might think they do:
• Taken from “Step it Down: Games, Plays,
Songs and Stories from the AfroAmerican Heritage” by Bessie Jones and
Bess Lomax Hawes:
– “On one occasion she described this as an
‘after-slavery play’:...He’s so glad – he’s free
and got his own bread so he fly away over
yonder…He’s so glad he got freedom food!...”
What do you know about slavery?
But why?
• Slavery was a deeply engrained part of
human life throughout history.
• Once the New World had been discovered,
the Spanish and Portuguese needed more
man power to mine the gold (Central and
South America) and tend to the crops
(North America). The Native Americans
were not enough.
• Bringing over servants from Africa was a
cheap source of manpower.
A Few Important Facts
• The slave trade in North America lasted between
about 1600-1770.
• A total of about 500,000 slaves were brought to
North America - much less than the 12 or 13
million taken to Central and South America.
• Slavery was only allowed in the southern
colonies of the United States for many reasons,
but mostly because it did not fit with the views of
the Quaker and Puritan religions of the northern
colonies.
• The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1,
1863 freed all slaves and lawfully ended the
practice of slavery in the United States.
Let’s listen to an original
recording!
• Just From the Kitchen