154:
578:
188:, and so it is always seen pretty close to the direction of true north. Hence, according to a popular myth, all slaves had to do was look for the Drinking Gourd and follow it to the North Star (Polaris) north to freedom. James Kelley has argued against the historicity of this interpretation in the
50:, to guide some fugitive slaves, and many of the lyrics are simply cartographic directions to advise the runaways on their escape route. While the song may possibly refer to some lost fragment of history, the origin and context remain a mystery.
128:
music and culture, Hays stated that he himself had heard parts of the song from an elderly black woman named Aunty Laura. Hays described the melody as coming from Aunty Laura, while the lyrics came from anthologies – probably the Parks version.
840:
141:
heard the song from an elderly street singer named John Woodum. These lyrics diverged greatly from the Parks and Hays versions and included no geographical information. Sparks later founded
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Hays "used to visit Negro churches and sit in the back pew, and he used to visit the homes of Negro farmers, soaking up the richest musical sounds and harmonies that have ever come our way."
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A more recent source challenges the claim that the song helped free anyone from slavery, as no pre-1910 reference to it has ever been found.
39:
in the United States used it as a point of reference so they would not get lost during their journey of escape to the North and to freedom.
761:
502:
447:
429:
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Kelley, James. Song, Story, or
History: Resisting Claims of a Coded Message in the African American Spiritual "Follow the Drinking Gourd".
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This version included the line "Think I heard the angels say, Stars in the heaven gonna show you the way," which would appear in the
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172:(α) and then extending it for five times the distance after Dubhe (α) to Polaris (
387:(The Muddy Road to Freedom: Follow the Drinking Gourd) Live at Fordham University
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Two of the stars in the Big Dipper line up very closely with and point to
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145:, with whom he recorded a version of the song based on Woodum's lyrics.
390:
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first published in 1928. The "drinking gourd" is another name for the
169:
93:
in 1928. (The cover spells the title "Foller de
Drinkin' Gou'd.")
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According to legend, the song was used by a conductor of the
841:
Harriet Tubman
Underground Railroad National Historical Park
233:
231:
229:
384:
The New
Christy Minstrels & Gene Clark-1963-Part lll
820:
727:
625:
585:
428:
858:Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center
869:The Railroad to Freedom: A Story of the Civil War
617:British Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem Chapel
846:Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park
406:
319:Follow the Drinking Gourd: A Cultural History
244:Follow the Drinking Gourd: A Cultural History
8:
828:National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
413:
399:
391:
89:to escape. The song was published by the
712:Ann Maria Jackson and her seven children
152:
225:
687:Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp
62:Texas Folklore Society and H. B. Parks
7:
982:Songs about the Underground Railroad
164:, is found by imagining a line from
77:, in the 1910s. Parks reported that
863:Underground Railroad Bicycle Route
654:The South Bend Fugitive Slave Case
595:List of Underground Railroad sites
14:
901:Freedom: The Underground Railroad
804:Songs of the Underground Railroad
735:Abolitionism in the United States
204:Songs of the Underground Railroad
69:was collected by H. B. Parks, an
987:African-American spiritual songs
810:The Underground Railroad Records
576:
612:Underground Railroad in Indiana
292:The Journal of Popular Culture
1:
342:version of the song, sung by
977:Songs about American slavery
948:Slavery in the United States
784:Reverse Underground Railroad
648:Kentucky raid in Cass County
321:. followthedrinkinggourd.org
246:. followthedrinkinggourd.org
265:"Follow the Drinking Gourd"
1003:
945:
750:African-American opponents
633:Emeline and Samuel Hawkins
294:41.2 (April 2008): 262–80.
269:Owen Sound's Black History
191:Journal of Popular Culture
16:African American folk song
943:
700:Oberlin–Wellington Rescue
574:
361:Follow the Drinkin' Gourd
143:The New Christy Minstrels
115:Follow the Drinkin' Gourd
67:Follow the Drinking Gourd
21:Follow the Drinking Gourd
933:The Underground Railroad
133:Randy Sparks/John Woodum
117:and published it in the
834:Harriet Tubman Memorial
35:. Folklore has it that
24:is an African-American
315:"What the Lyrics Mean"
177:
91:Texas Folklore Society
81:, an operative of the
972:Asterisms (astronomy)
893:The Quest for Freedom
558:Charles Turner Torrey
553:Harriet Beecher Stowe
518:Harriet Forten Purvis
340:New Christy Minstrels
156:
877:A Woman Called Moses
745:opponents of slavery
718:Thirteenth Amendment
680:Joshua Glover rescue
493:Laura Smith Haviland
422:Underground Railroad
83:Underground Railroad
44:Underground Railroad
885:Roots of Resistance
767:Fugitive slave laws
513:William Cooper Nell
888:(1989 documentary)
548:Calvin Ellis Stowe
468:Frederick Douglass
463:Richard Dillingham
240:"Collection Story"
178:
959:
958:
952:Slavery in Canada
936:(2021 miniseries)
904:(2013 board game)
880:(1978 miniseries)
673:Uncle Tom's Cabin
994:
920:(2016 TV series)
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438:William Brinkley
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186:circumpolar star
184:. Polaris is a
137:In 1955, singer
126:African-American
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37:enslaved people
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364:MP3 featuring
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354:External links
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344:Gayle Caldwell
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313:Joel Bresler.
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238:Joel Bresler.
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124:Familiar with
120:People's Songs
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799:Slave catcher
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453:Samuel Burris
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366:Roger McGuinn
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867:
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755:publications
740:Abolitionism
706:Tilly Escape
685:
671:
666:Jerry Rescue
639:
538:Gerrit Smith
498:David Hudson
382:
374:The Ronettes
370:Nedra Talley
359:
334:
323:. Retrieved
318:
308:
299:
291:
272:. Retrieved
268:
259:
248:. Retrieved
243:
189:
179:
139:Randy Sparks
136:
118:
114:
100:
73:and amateur
71:entomologist
66:
65:
52:
41:
20:
19:
18:
928:(2019 film)
917:Underground
912:(2016 film)
896:(1992 film)
872:(1932 book)
813:(1872 book)
792:lawn jockey
694:Dover Eight
690:(1856 book)
676:(1852 book)
528:John Rankin
508:Peg Leg Joe
458:Levi Coffin
209:Pete Seeger
111:The Weavers
79:Peg Leg Joe
48:Peg Leg Joe
966:Categories
946:See also:
448:Owen Brown
443:John Brown
325:2011-06-18
274:2011-06-18
250:2011-06-18
162:North Star
75:folklorist
30:Big Dipper
376:) at the
372:Ross (of
214:Songlines
122:Bulletin.
105:, of the
101:In 1947,
46:, called
26:folk song
836:(Boston)
788:Signals
642:incident
605:churches
378:Folk Den
198:See also
103:Lee Hays
97:Lee Hays
33:asterism
925:Harriet
821:Related
182:Polaris
168:(β) to
158:Polaris
149:Meaning
57:History
779:Quilts
728:Topics
720:(1865)
714:(1859)
708:(1856)
702:(1858)
696:(1857)
682:(1854)
668:(1851)
662:(1851)
656:(1849)
650:(1847)
644:(1848)
626:Events
600:houses
587:Places
430:People
160:, the
87:slaves
640:Pearl
220:Notes
170:Dubhe
166:Merak
950:and
772:1850
368:and
109:and
968::
317:.
283:^
267:.
242:.
228:^
194:.
176:).
414:e
407:t
400:v
346:.
328:.
277:.
253:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
