At the Trolley Stop jam in Dayton, we often play a song which we call Double Dixie or Dixie Twins. It's actually a medley of two Civil War songs: Dixie and the Battle of Jubilo, one from the South and one from the North.
Neither song is particularly correct politically. Musically, they are great songs, but within certain sectors of the African American community, for example, they may not be as well received (musician beware!). Dixie in particular is politically charged. I remember in college one of my classmates, an African American from Cleveland's east side, told the story of how his predominantly black high school had "Dixie" as its school fight song. He played in the marching band because he loved music, but they all hated the song. He had us howling with laughter as he recounted having to play that song at halftime and being booed by everybody in the stadium including their own parents. Finally, though, the students got together and petitioned the administration to change it and everyone was happy.
Dixie is still heard regularly among Old Time musicians, most often as an instrumental these days. Here's a nice version by Sam Gleaves and Jory Hutchens of Berea, KY.
DIXIE
It seems appropriate to follow Dixie with a Union song to kind of counterbalance it. The Battle of Jubilo (also "Year of Jubilo" or "Kingdom Coming") is often heard as an instrumental; for example, you may have heard it on Ken Burns documentary of the Civil War. This is a northern song, composed during the war by Henry C. Work, and like Dixie was originally sung in (false) dialect. The idea was that the Union army was scaring away all the southern slave owners, leaving behind the slaves to celebrate. Hillar Bergman knocks out a great version on fiddle here. However he is in the key of E, so if you would like to play it the Trolley Stop way, you will need to capo up on 7.
Neither song is particularly correct politically. Musically, they are great songs, but within certain sectors of the African American community, for example, they may not be as well received (musician beware!). Dixie in particular is politically charged. I remember in college one of my classmates, an African American from Cleveland's east side, told the story of how his predominantly black high school had "Dixie" as its school fight song. He played in the marching band because he loved music, but they all hated the song. He had us howling with laughter as he recounted having to play that song at halftime and being booed by everybody in the stadium including their own parents. Finally, though, the students got together and petitioned the administration to change it and everyone was happy.
Dixie is still heard regularly among Old Time musicians, most often as an instrumental these days. Here's a nice version by Sam Gleaves and Jory Hutchens of Berea, KY.
G - - - C - - -
G - - - D - G -
G - - - C - - -
G - - - D - G -
CHORUS
G - C - G - D -
G - C - G - D -
G - C - G - D G
G - C - G - D G
It seems appropriate to follow Dixie with a Union song to kind of counterbalance it. The Battle of Jubilo (also "Year of Jubilo" or "Kingdom Coming") is often heard as an instrumental; for example, you may have heard it on Ken Burns documentary of the Civil War. This is a northern song, composed during the war by Henry C. Work, and like Dixie was originally sung in (false) dialect. The idea was that the Union army was scaring away all the southern slave owners, leaving behind the slaves to celebrate. Hillar Bergman knocks out a great version on fiddle here. However he is in the key of E, so if you would like to play it the Trolley Stop way, you will need to capo up on 7.
BATTLE OF JUBILO (KINGDOM COMING)
G - - - G - D -
G - - - D - G -
G - - - G - D -
G - - - D - G -
CHORUS
C - - - G - D -
G - - - D - G -
C - - - G - D -
G - - - D - G -
Nice tunes and nicely played. Glad that North and South could be so easily united, musically at least; sounds as though they weren't so different anyway.
ReplyDelete