Massa’s in de Cold Cold Ground

Massa’s in de Cold Cold Ground

United States

U.S. South

antebellum South

time: 19th century

slavery

genre: minstrel

genre: pop

This minstrel song can be used to teach about minstrelsy and antebellum Southern attitudes towards slavery. It was such a popular genre that it effectively was a type of pop music. In the song, the enslaved are mourning the loss of a deceased slave owner. Controversial by today's standards, it very much represented what some northern Americans' understanding of slavery was. Though slavery within the northeastern states ended a few decades into the 19th century, they still had robust ties to the practice and the antebellum South was widely romanticized. The song is unique as it was written by a northern-born and raised composer, not uncommon within the genre.

composer: Stephen Foster

1852

This song is an example of minstrel songs, their relationship to the pop music of the 19th century and could be used to teach about minstrelsy and some Americans' pre-Civil War attitudes towards slavery. It was such a popular genre that it effectively was a type of pop music. In the song, the slaves are mourning the loss of a deceased slave owner. Controversial by today's standards, it very much represented what some northern Americans' understanding of slavery was. Though slavery within the northeastern states ended a few decades in the 19th century, they still had robust ties to the practice and the image of the Antebellum South was a widely circulated romanticization. The song is unique as it was written by a northern-born and raised composer, not an uncommon sight within the genre.

English

genre: minstrels

genre: pop

United States

Root, Deane L. "Foster, Stephen Collins." In The Grove Dictionary of American Music. : Oxford University Press, 2013. https://www-oxfordreference-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780195314281.001.0001/acref-9780195314281-e-2944.

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