Audio for Sound to Symbol chapter 3
- track 4: Dinah*
- track 5: Ida Red
- track 6: London Bridge
- track 7: Birch Tree
- track 8: Charlotte Town
- track 9: Canoe Song**
* Why “Dinah” is problematic
In the Old Testament, Dinah is an abused enslaved woman, so “Dinah” became a stereotypical woman’s slave name in the US.Why I use it anyway
It is an essential piece of the American Songbook, apparently uneraseable ever since it was adapted as a tag-on phrase to the chorus of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”. And while naming the cook in a song “Dinah” bears echoes of slaveholding culture, it is not explicitly and viciously racist. We are so far removed from the era of Dinah as a familiar name, many people will be unaware of any racial overtone until it is pointed out.At the same time, the history of racial representation in American song (including by Black artists) is deeply problematic! You need look no further than UVM’s Kakewalk tradition for a recent and famous example. It is good to be aware of the history, but we don’t need to cancel “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”.
** Why “Canoe Song” is problematic
This is a faux Native American song, written by Margaret Embers McGee, a white woman, in 1918.Why I use it anyway
It is a super clear and simple example of the most basic syncopation pattern, and already familiar to many people. Although it raises issues of ethnic appropriation and romanticization, like “Dinah”, it is not derogatory or mocking.