SmithsonianFolkwaysRecordings, Jul 22, 2015
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube sound file of Leadbetter singing the African American folk song "Bring Me Little Water Sylvie" and a YouTube video of the African American vocal "Sweet Honey In The Rock" sing that song.
The lyrics for that song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Leadbelly and thanks to Sweet Honey In The Rock for their musical legacies.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/tik-tok-harmonizes-with-james-charles.html for the closely related 2021 pancocojams post entitled T"ik Tok Harmonizes With James Charles - "Bring Me Little Water, Silvy" And A Video Of High School Choir Doing Body Patting While Singing "Bring Me Little Water", Silvy"."
EXAMPLE #2:
Mark Sydow, September 26, 2013
Recorded in foyer of Sydney's spectacular art deco State Theatre for Australian TV during 1990 Australian tour. Sweet Honey in the Rock was founded in 1973 by Bernice Johnson Reagon, who was teaching a vocal workshop with the Washington, D.C. Black Repertory Company. Reagon retired from the group in 2004. The name of the group was derived from a song, based on Psalm 81:16, which tells of a land so rich that when rocks were cracked open, honey flowed from them. Johnson has said that this first song in which four women blended their voices was so powerful, that there was no question what the name of the group should be. The ensemble's most powerful messages are proclaimed through an enormous catalog of songs addressing the world's woes. They are currently occupied with immigration injustices, congressional greed and lack of compassion for hurting citizens, the environmental imbalance, racial issues and women's issues. Group Members in this video: Bernice Johnson Reagon, Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil, Evelyn Maria Harris.
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Notice that the women wear kente cloth stoles. Kente cloth is a type of traditional cloth from Ghana and the Ivory Coast, West Africa. Kente cloth has become a symbol of the beauty of African culture for Black people in the United States and elsewhere in the African Diaspora since at least the mid 1970s.
INFORMATION ABOUT LEADBELLY AND THE SONG "BRING ME LITTLE WATER SYLVIE
From https://www.colburnschool.edu/colburn-city-sings/learn-to-sing/bring-little-water-sylvie-part-ii/#:~:text=Colburn%20teaching%20artist%20Leeav%20and,in%20these%20two%2Dpart%20lessons.&text=%E2%80%8BThe%20earliest%20known%20performance,Ledbetter%2C%20known%20as%20Lead%20Belly.
"The earliest known performance of Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie dates back to 1936, and was popularized by American folk musician Huddie Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly. Lead Belly was a great musician of the 20th century for the songs that he wrote, discovered, and shared, and for his skills on the guitar (which gave him the nickname “King of the 12-String Guitar”). His music influenced many famous musicians such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, The Beatles, Bob Dylan.
It’s possible that Lead Belly may have based Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie on a traditional American song, or it’s possible that he may have written the song himself. When performing this song, Lead Belly would often tell his audiences that the song was about his uncle Bob Ledbetter, who worked out on the fields plowing the soil. When he got thirsty, he would call for his wife, Sylvie, to bring him some water."...
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Excerpt #2
From http://www.debisimons.com/bring-me-a-little-water-sylvie/ "Who’s Sylvie, and Why Is She Carrying Water?"
April 30, 2019 by debisimons
...."Leadbelly’s Uncle Bob Ledbetter had a wife named
Silvy. When he was out plowing with his mules he would often holler for Silvie
to bring him some water. After a long time this holler developed into a little
song. When Leadbelly performed outside of the South, he often taught the
audience the background of his songs so the audience would understand.
Audiences from New York often had little concept of the rural South. (Source:
FolkSongIndex.com; follow the link if you’d like to read the whole article
which details how Ledbetter would present the song to Northern audiences.)
Here’s the thing, though: most sources, including something called “The Traditional Ballad Index,” list the song as anonymous, probably a work song from the slave plantations. It’s not hard to imagine that a savvy performer would think that his audience would like the song better if it had a personal story attached. I’m just a-sayin’! No copyrights were harmed in this process. (On further thought I realized that it’s perfectly possible that Huddie’s uncle did indeed sing the song to his wife even if he didn’t really make it up to being with, and that Huddie thought he was giving an accurate portrayal of its origin.)"...
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LYRICS: BRING ME LITTLE WATER, SLYVIE
Won't you bring a little water Sylvie
Won't you bring a little water now
Won't you bring a little water Sylvie
Lord, ev'ry little once in a while
Well do you love me Sylvie
Oh do you love me now
Oh do you love me Sylvie
Yeah! ev'ry little once in a while
Well bring a little water Sylvie
Won't you bring a little water now
Won't you bring a little water Sylvie
Lord, ev'ry little once in a while
Won't you bring a little water Sylvie
Won't you bring a little water now
Won't you bring a little water Sylvie
Lord, ev'ry little once in a while
C'mon an' prove it to me Sylvie
Prove it to me now
Won't you prove it to me Sylvie
Yeah! ev'ry little once in a while
Well bring a little water Sylvie
Won't you bring a little water now
Won't you bring a little water Sylvie
Lord, ev'ry little once in a while
https://genius.com/Lead-belly-bring-me-a-little-water-silvy-sylvie-lyrics
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