The musical influences on mining families in the bituminous coal fields of Southern Appalachia are greatly varied. And Southern West Virginia, with its great inheritance of Polish, Hungarian, Welsh, African-Americans, Irish, English, Scottish, Kanawha, Mingo, Sioux, Slavic, Jewish, and Italian peoples is no exception. Each of these populations carried and still carry a number of music and singing traditions which, over time adapt to new social and natural environs. There is so much to explore in relation to these traditions, and their influences in protest music in the coal fields, that it’s hard to know where to begin. There are many tributaries and creeks to explore, all of which eventually link back to the one great river of shared musical experience. Over the next few months Blair Pathways will be wading through the waters of these different folkways and we are excited to have allies like you along to get your feet wet!
Today I look to African-American gospel hymns as an influence in mining protest music…
From the mid-1800s onward, coal operators in Southern Appalachia had kept a practice of sending African-American and white recruiters into the Deep South in order to help bring black families to work in Appalachian coal camps. Quite often, these recruiters would advertise to local communities by renting out church space to preach their particular gospel of decent paying jobs and safe conditions. In these situations the black recruiters were the most visible emissaries, with white recruiters staying mostly in the background. Oftentimes, company-controlled black preachers would play the recruitment role on these visits.
Many thousands of African-Americans immigrated to southern West Virginia in the post-civil war era. They brought with them gospel, spiritual, blues, shape-note and lining-out psalm traditions amongst others. In their new environs, the church was often a much more mediated social space. If the preacher did not speak to the attitude of the company, then he was quite often fired or worse. Oftentimes, during strikes, camp churches were shut down, and group singing in of itself was outlawed. Coal bosses recognized the power of both religious practice and its music forms very well indeed. But, of course, so did mining families and labor organizers.
A hymn tune sung often in West Virginia during the early 20th century reads like this:
“You can tell the world about this,
You can tell the nation about that,
Tell ’em what Jesus has done,
Tell ’em that the Comforter has come,
And He brought joy, great joy to my soul.
Well, He took my feet out of the miry clay, yes, He did,
And He placed them on the rock to stay, yes, He did.
Well, you know, my Lord done just what He said, yes, He did,
He healed the sick and He raised the dead, yes, He did.”
Other verses follow. This song is often called “You Can Tell the World About This,” and numerous variations exist. Through the work of field collectors such as George Korson (to which anyone who is a fan of mining music owes a great deal) we know that at least two variations on this hymn were re-envisioned as pro-union songs.
The first version was created as early as 1930, and was sung by striking miners of Scott’s Run, Monongalia, WV. It was created by a miner named Sam Johnson, who was recorded by Korson in 1930. The song is commonly called “We Done Quit.”
“You can tell the coal operators ’bout this,
You can tell the company we done quit,
Tell ’em what the non-union have done,
Tell ’em that the panic have come
An’ it brought sorrows, ah ‘clare, unto my home.”
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The first verse describes an unfair situation, one which presumable helped lead to a strike situation. The check weighman is telling the miner that he will be docked in pay for bringing up unusable slate instead of coal. Often times check weighmen were encouraged by their bosses to conclude that a miner had brought up more slate than coal, so that the miner would be payed less for his day’s work.
“Went up on the top house to see ’bout my weight,
Yes I did, my Lordy, yes I did.
De check weighman said they dock me for slate,
Yes he did, my Lordy, yes he did.”
The two last verses describe threats exchanged between a miner or organizer and the coal operators. The organizer tells the operators to sign a contract (presumably created by the miners) and a coal operator refuses, saying “Befo’ he sign de contract dey’d all be dead.”
The second song to utilize “I Can Tell the World” was written by Gus Joiner and sung by the United Four Quartet of Barrackville, WV. Unlike Sam’s version, Gus Joiner’s version keeps three lines of the chorus intact, and maintains a celebratory tone throughout the song.
“I can tell the world ’bout this,
I can tell the nations I been blessed,
Tell ’em what John Lewis has done,
Tell ’em that the union has come,
An’ it brought joy, great joy, unto my soul.
It moved the fences from round the camps
Yes it did, my lord, yes it did.
An’ did away with the bulls-eye lamps,
Yes it did, my Lord, yes it did.
It increased my wages an’ shortened workin’ hours,
Yes it did, my Lord, yes it did.
An’ stopped me from eating that Red Cross Flour,
Yes it did, my Lord, yes it did.”
Since the song was recorded in 1940, it is likely that Gus Joiner was referencing the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, which long-time United Mine Workers of America president John L. Lewis had helped to bring to fruition in partnership with Franklin D. Roosevelt. The act guaranteed the right to organize and prohibited unfair labor practices, launching the UMWA into a revival after over a decade of low membership.
Unlike English mining ballads or modern folk song, the structure of gospel and spiritual hymnody provides ample opportunity to interject new words, often-times made up on the spot. Songs originating in these traditions such as “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” and “Staid on Freedom” were used more frequently than any other song type on the March to Blair Mountain in June of 2011. We can learn a lot from these singing structures as forms of motivation, organization and inspiration in settings varying from spiritual meetings to direct actions. “I Can Tell the World About This” was largely transformed from a song about what God has done for the faithful into what a united group of people can do for themselves. But in either scenario, creativity in mind and spirit is a key element to keep the song going, and to keep faith strong.
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