Inside the back of my minstrel banjo are pasted slips of paper with lists of song titles written on them. A glance at these helps me recall the music I'm prepared to play. The following are some of these songs. Each appears from time to time in my performances. The year in parenthesis is the earliest date of that song's publication that I know of. Click on the title of the song to see an image of its sheet music and a link to its lyrics. Click here for a note about these lyrics.

The Rose of Alabama (1846) is a comic love song in which the singer refers to his lover as his "sweet tobacco flower." Maybe he's singing about his love for a woman named Rose and for tobacco as well. Who knows?

Jim Crack Corn (or The Blue Tail Fly) (1843) is often attributed to Dan Emmett. It gives comic expression to a slave's ambivalence over the death of his Massa—his owner. Today we know this song as Jimmy Crack Corn, though with different lyrics.

De Boatmen's Dance (1843), also credited to Emmett, is a great and lively song that idealizes life on the Ohio River.

The Glendy Burk (1860) is another song of the river. Stephen Foster wrote it about an actual riverboat, the 400-ton "Glen D. Burke." A New Orleans politician of the same name owned this boat.

Lubly Fan Won't You Come Out Tonight? (1844) is the famous song by Cool White. When the Virginia Serenaders (White's band) performed this song around the country they somehow discovered that the audience liked it when the name of their city was substituted for the word Lubly, and "gals" for Fan. Eventually the song became known as "Buffalo Gals."

Dandy Jim of Caroline (1843) is a humorous boasting song written by Dan Emmett. It is the source of the term "Jim Dandy."

Jonny Booker (1840), performed early in the minstrel era by Joel Sweeney, bears the musical marks of the source of Sweeney's banjo style: an enslaved musician in his hometown of Appomattox, Virginia.

Keemo Kimo (1854) is one of the many American descendants of the English/Scottish song "Puddy and Mouse." Someone among the early minstrels located this version of the song in a South Carolina flax field and made it into an engaging call and response-style song.

Darling Nellie Gray (1856) is the tragic song about a slave who is sold by her owner and so separated from her beloved. Benjamin Hanby, author of the Christmas song "Up On The Housetop," wrote this tune based on a story he heard from a runaway slave.

Lucy Neal (1844) combines tragedy with a humorous love story. Here is a line from the second to the last verse: "Oh dere's the white man comin' to tear you from my side. Stand back you white slave dealer, she's my 'trothed bride!"

Walk Along John (1844) has a solid, driving beat sung by Cool White's Virginia Serenaders. In it John, the fifer's son, claims to "shake the dubble simonquivers, an' bust de banjo all to slivers."

De Camptown Races (1852) is Stephen Foster's comic ode to an impossible horserace held in a camptown. Each lap is punctuated by ladies singing, "Doo-dah!"

Hard Times Come Again No More (1854) certainly reflects the sadness and difficulty of Stephen Foster's own life. But suffering was near to everyone in those days.

Jenny Get Your Hoe Cake Done (1840) is another song unique to Joel Sweeney. Various animals—chickens, a hawk, a frog, and a goose—inhabit it. This indicates this song's origin is not only in the slave's quarters, but also more distantly in Africa.

I've found that people prefer to sit still for about forty-five minutes, no more. After this there must be an intermission or an ending. The above songs can fill this amount of time and more.

You'll notice that Emmett, Foster, White, and Sweeney appear in this list. They were prominent musicians, composers, and performers of the antebellum era and much of their music has stood the test of time. If you are interested, I can dedicate a single concert to the music of any one of these men. It's entertaining and illuminating.

Here are recordings of my singing of three songs using the original lyrics and tunes played on my minstrel banjo. To hear the song, click on the format you prefer.

Starting in the 1820's popular songs were published in various editions of sheet music. Click on the title of the song to see an image of its sheet music and a link to its lyrics.

Audiences get a kick out of this musical story about a man, his wife, and a crow:
Old King Crow
        Listen to this song
        Windows Media Player
        Mp3

This title tells what mid-nineteenth century music fans loved to hear:
Ring de Banjo!
        Listen to this song
        Windows Media Player
        Mp3

Davy Crockett and Mike Fink are legendary American braggarts. Another one is:
Old Dan Tucker
        Listen to this song
        Windows Media Player
        Mp3