The Darkey's Dream, Characteristic Barn Dance, (1889).

[Joshuajlawn]

Why can't people watch a bloody video and leave racism out of it for crying out loud. Just because it has "darkey" in the title 1. doesn't make any body a racist, 2 isn't a bid deal.

I think people need to get over themselves and stop thinking so highly of themselves that nobody can make a joke or say anything they don't like or think is "racist"! Sorry Oldcermona, I just had to say this, it gets old!

[MrDLWheeler]

The word is epithet. Cool clip though.

[snapjackson78]

"You oughta call this Ragtime Dream like John Hartford did." -Losintheholler

I AGREE.

[LostintheHoller]

You oughta call this Ragtime Dream like John Hartford did.

[AcidRoninisCool]

@LostintheHoller to deny history is to deny what we are fundamentally. Changing the title of a song will not change the past, learn from history or be doomed to repeat it my friend.

[LostintheHoller]

@AcidRoninisCool You have a good point, but folk music evolves and changes for a reason. Your case may be different for these videos but in general I think taking the racism out of our folk music will do more good than harm. That said, I do really enjoy your music that you put up here.

[Cuffie08]

@LostintheHoller 1. This isn't folk music. We re-create the songs of the 19th century so and so forth to be exactly like they sounded, known to the best of our ability. We don't do any hoakey lyrics to Old Dan tucker like alot of these "folk" singers do. We're living historians, not folk singers/childrens pop up book characters. Therefore, we play our music jsut like it was back then, living the history, and preserving it. The sad reality of some of this kind of music is that it was "racist".

[Cuffie08]

@LostintheHoller 2. We're not racists by any means, just historians that bring the music to life, just as it was, and composed/written. So that people in the 21st century can somewhat take a step back in time and see/hear what the popular music was like.

[Khalilullah]

@LostintheHoller If you take the content from the music, then it isn't folk music anymore...jeebus, why can't we just let reality be what it is, and stop trying to censor everything? When they airbrushed the cigarette out of Robert Johnson's mouth in the photograph, I wanted to kick a liberal in the bollocks, and I vote democrat!

[LostintheHoller]

@Khalilullah I left this thread alone because I concede to what cuffie said, although quite arrogantly, that they are living historians. Your comment about folk music just plain doesn't make sense. I'm not saying we should censor the past but maybe just refrain from romanticizing it in the present. People should be well read about the dark history of this country. If these folks were to paint themselves in Black Face before making the video would that be ok too?

[Khalilullah]

@LostintheHoller Nobody is romanticising it; the song's name is what it is, so what? If people can't hear the word 'darkie', in an obviously historical context, then they need to get some therapy. Robert Downey did a blackface role in a film and nobody uttered a peep. If the song is Darkie's dream, or 'Run nigger run', that's the name of the song; to change that censors history, and we all lose.Like taking the animal fat out of Oreos 'for our own good'...oops, now they taste terrible.

[Wishuey]

Brilliant, as usual!

[motozulli]

awesome

[RideswithChuck]

Wow! Does this bring back memories of my youth. Thomas Edison had just invented what he was calling,"The next big thing." He felt like celebrating so he stopped by and we went out on the town. We were doing some serious bar hopping when we came upon these guys playing in one of the saloons. You could see the glow of the new day when Tom and I stumbled home, Old Cremona's music still bouncing around in our heads.

Tom started muttering about why there was no way to ever hear this music again.

[s6824s]

More please!

[edisonphonographfan]

great if you could play darkies awakening and post it i would be greatly happy thanks

jonathan