Terpsichore In The Flat Creek Quarters, Pea Ridge
Pencil drawing showing a dance with African-American musicians and dancers with the following manuscript poem below:
‘Listen when I call de figgers! Watch de music es ye go!
Chassay forrard! (Now look at ‘em! some too fas’ & some too slow!)
Step but when I gibs de order; keep up eben wid de line;
Whats got in dem lazy niggers? Stop dat stringin’ out behin’!. . .
Steady now, an’ check de motion! Let de fiddler stop de chune!
I smell de possum froo de crack an supper’s givine to call us soon!
De white folks come in mighty handy, waltzin roun’ so nice & fine;
But when you comes to reg’lah dancing, niggers leabes ‘em way behin’!’
The curators of the site with the item indicate that this is from Arkansas; others have speculated that it is from Alabama.
Subjects: General - Dance and Culture, Southern / Appalachian / Four-couple squares
Tags: African-American, slave
Item Relations
| Item: The Slave Roots of Square Dancing | is related to | This Item |
| Item: Square Dance Calling: The African-American Connection | is related to | This Item |
Citation
Dublin Core
Title
Description
‘Listen when I call de figgers! Watch de music es ye go!
Chassay forrard! (Now look at ‘em! some too fas’ & some too slow!)
Step but when I gibs de order; keep up eben wid de line;
Whats got in dem lazy niggers? Stop dat stringin’ out behin’!. . .
Steady now, an’ check de motion! Let de fiddler stop de chune!
I smell de possum froo de crack an supper’s givine to call us soon!
De white folks come in mighty handy, waltzin roun’ so nice & fine;
But when you comes to reg’lah dancing, niggers leabes ‘em way behin’!’
The curators of the site with the item indicate that this is from Arkansas; others have speculated that it is from Alabama.