Can anyone help?
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From: Robert Edward Murray [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wed 03/06/2009 1:14 PM
To: Marika Sherwood
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The 'Black version' of 'Nelly Bly'
Dear Ms. Sherwood,
I am an independent researcher into the relationship between black and white
musical cultures and was wondering if you had any information about the
representation of black speech. This pertains particularly to popular songs
before the twentieth century.
Quite by chance I came across an example of this in one of the 'Broadsheet
Ballads' on display from the collection at the Bodleian Library
(http://bodley24.bodley.ox.ac.uk <http://bodley24.bodley.ox.ac.uk/> ). An
old English folk-tune called 'Nelly Bly' was given a 'negro' setting as a
companion piece for a song (a bit like a 'A Side' of an old single)
expressing support for the British Army fighting in the Crimean war. That
would date it c. 1851.
This is doubtless a fanciful representation of how blacks spoke on the
southern plantations, but where the source of information came from is
unclear, as the (presumably) white composer would probably not have had any
direct contact with slaves if he was plying his trade in England (although
if it was in the north, where many broadsheet ballads were published, there
would have been some contact between the exporters and importers of cotton
because of the textile industry).
If you could direct me to any studies of representations of black speech (or
indeeed, black song) or have any ideas yourself about this curiosity, i
would be most grateful.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Murray
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Sent: Thu 04/06/2009 9:16 AM
Dear Ms. Sherwood,
Further to my message yesterday, I should point out that, of course, the
song 'Nelly Bly' is an American classic, written by Stephen Foster, in 1850.
The lyrics come in to two versions - one white and the black - presumably,
because it was meant to be performed in minstrel shows, as well as more
respectable 'parlour music'.
That still leaves the mystery of how the 'black' version was imported to
England, especially when the lyrics would have been comparatively harder to
understand by people who were meant to actually sing them!
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