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Interview with Doc Barnes Part 1, Athens, Georgia, 1983 May 3

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@ Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Rosenbaum, Art

Description

Part one of a two-part recording. Art Rosenbaum interviews Doc Barnes in Athens, Georgia. Rosenbaum asks Barnes from whom he learned the slavery-era lyrics to "Raise the Ruckus Tonight." Barnes says that he learned it from Wheel Huff and Jessie Huff, his uncle and his first cousin. They lived near the intersection of Barnett Shoals and College Station. They farmed for a man named Flanagan. Jessie's brother Wheel and Jessie's wife Alice played guitar together. They played blues, never church music. Growing up, Barnes spent a lot of time with his Aunt, who nursed him when he was a baby when his mother was gone. His mother also nursed his cousin when his Aunt was gone. Rosenbaum asks Barnes about work songs, and Barnes says that they were sang for consolation. You might work alone, picking cotton in a field, as his uncle did, and so you sang to keep yourself company. His uncle sang "John Henry," and "Raise the Ruckus" tonight with the slavery-era lyrics. Barnes repeats the lyrics. Barnes resists singing the song because he now "works for God." Barnes explains that a slave couldn't speak out against his master, or express feelings, so lyrics were developed for songs such as these to communicate these feelings in a veiled way. The meaning would be understood by other slaves, but not by the master.

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia