African American chain gang | work songs and spirituals (1929) [restored video and audio]

This film was made in Augusta, Georgia, which lies on the border with South Carolina. March 18th, 1929. The workers appear to be in the process of smoothing out a road. The first song, “Build Right on that Shore” can be classified as a spiritual. The second song “Waterboy, Run” is a work song, used to keep rhythm and entertain the workers just as sailors would sing sea shanties onboard a ship.

This kind of music was more popular during the nineteenth century, when it was performed by slaves to accompany their labor. Most of the authentic recordings that exist of African American work songs (including those made by John and Alan Lomax) were recorded in prisons; this is because prisons were isolated from the popular music trends of the outside world, so the old songs were preserved.

Here are some films made in the 1960s showing more prison work songs: https://www.folkstreams.net/films/afr... https://www.folkstreams.net/films/par...

It is this kind of traditional African American folk music that gave rise to blues, jazz, rock n roll, and arguably most of modern popular music (“Build Right on that Shore” even uses the twelve-bar blues chord sequence!).

If anyone has any information about the two songs, I’d love to hear it. All I know is that “Build Right on that Shore” is Roud 16441.

I added artificial color with an automatic online tool, and improved the audio to remove background noise.

0:00 Digging

0:52 “Build Right on that Shore” (spiritual)

I’m gonna build (I’m gonna build)
Right on that shore (build right on that shore)
I’m gonna build (build right on that shore)
Right on that shore (build right on that shore)
I’m gonna build for my Jesus, Lordy
For my Jesus evermore

[following verses replace “build” with “die”/“pray”]


2:58 Food

5:09 “Waterboy, Run” (work song)

When you see me, Lord I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run
When steam I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run, waterboy run

When you see me, Lord I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run, oh lord, waterboy run
When steam I’ma strike fire
Tell me, waterboy run, lord waterboy run

6:05 Water


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