[Sheet Music]: Ching A Ring Chaw African-Americana,Music

First edition. Folio. Single bifolium making four pages. Notched and worn along the spine from once being bound within a volume, foxing throughout, some light internal offsetting, and some edgewear including a small tear towards the bottom of the fold on the front cover, still a very good and complete copy. For voice and piano, written in dialect with a total of 11 verses. Also published under the title, "Sambo's Address to his Bred'ren," published by Thomas Birch. This is not the cleaned-up Aaron Copland version from his 1952 song set *Old American Songs*, this is the original minstrel song, estimated by the Library of Congress to have been published around 1833. The lyrics, written in full phonetic dialect, revolve around the yearning for a better life. Though the overall sentiment of the lyrics might have rang true to many African-Americans, the dialect, combined with the word choice and the overall framing of the piece, resulted in a song that is offensive and demeaning. Copland, in rewriting the piece, chose to keep the sentiment, the yearning for a better life, but set out to purge the lyrics of their minstrel origins, saying of his version, "I did not want to take any chance of it being construed as racist" (nmphil.org). Just as notable as the lyrical content, are the six illustrations displayed on the front cover showing African-Americans both as laborers busy at their tasks, as well as attending a dance and strolling about town while dressed to the nines. *OCLC* locates five holdings. An uncommon and striking piece of American music history.