Thats true, it did come from black folk your right! But nowadays its sang and played for folks of all races to enjoy, but overall it has a very Southern History and origin.
To those people calling this man an Uncle Tom, I would say that singing, resurrecting the instruments of the slaves, and demonstrating that all of those people who suffered under slavery were people, with art and culture and songs, is NOT a disservice to them. It makes them real, so mankind can realize the evils of the past and never repeat them. To see a man with different skin from your own allows you to believe he does not suffer as you would. But when you hear his words, listen to what his instrument sounded like and how he used it to sing about his life, you can no longer persist in that safe delusion of difference. We are the same, and that realization helps people to understand the evils of the things men do to one another.
Not even remotely the same thing. You see, when you have a child, nobody makes your child work the field at the age of 3. Nobody will sell your child to the farm next door. Nobody will sell your wife to a stranger at auction. Nobody can beat you for leaving your home and going somewhere else. Nobody rapes your wife because she's their property. So, it's KIND OF different.
@@loilt5091 nope. The only reason its attributed to African heritage was because they had an instrument that used animal skin. I love how all of a sudden africans were the real Egyptians, Moors, and True Israelites, invented everything but didn’t even know what a wheel was before being brought to the new world. Lmao.
I've been playing 3-finger (Bluegrass) and old-time clawhammer banjo for over 40 years now but I never had the guts to strike out on a fretless gourd banjo. You have to be a VERY competent musician to make one of those sound good and Cedric truly excels in that department. Thanks for posting that gem, Cedric!
@@MrDeaconEarl right on... it's the media that wants to put everyone in boxes and "ethnic groups" leave us alone, we all get along and take care of one another. Peace to y'all
Just love it, Cedric. The 19th century was a very difficult time for black folks so it makes sense that the string instruments and stringed instrument music from this era have largely been shunned by black folks in the second half of the 20th century up til now. I think it takes a lot of courage to explore the works from this era. You, The Carolina Chocolate Drops and Rhiannon Giddens are trailblazers. Not an easy place to be. Thank you for learning and sharing your rendition of this tune. Deeply appreciated.
I transcribed the lyrics for a song analysis I'm going to do. Thank you Cedric Watson for showing me beautiful music like this. Here are the lyrics for those interested: Oh, go dig a hole in the meadow Go dig a hole in the ground Go dig a hole in the meadow And let me lay darlin’ Cori down The last time I saw darlin’ Cori At the edge of the deep blue sea Forty-four around her And a banjo on her knee Wake up, wake up darlin’ Cori How can you sleep so sound? Revenue officers are coming He's gonna burn your still house down Go way, go way darlin’ Cori And bring to me my gun I ain't no man for trouble But trouble has just begun I ain't no man for trouble But I'll die before i run The last time I saw darlin’ Cori Had a forty-four in her hand I killed that revenue officer If he leaves here with my man It crossed the deep blue ocean It crossed the deep blue sea Bring to me darlin’ Cori Wherever she may be Go way, go way darlin’ Cori Which your hanging around my bed The whisky done ruined my body Pretty women gon’ ruin my head
I LOVE the mellow sound of a gourd banjo. So much nicer than the twanginess of the modern banjo. No wonder country and bluegrass went that way stylistically with voices, too.
Wonderful! It's nice to see someone playing a gourd banjo clawhamner style. The original way it was created! In Africa. It's a Shane people don't know the history of the instrument but yes people.... The banjo is from Africa.
I know it's been a while, but this news story from Jamaica just came out today, about Jeff Menzies, traditional banjo maker and historian in Jamaica. th-cam.com/video/FWBB4UUULhM/w-d-xo.html
The predecessor instruments to Banjos can be traced to Africa however many key elements that seperate say a Kora from a Banjo such as tuning pegs or the fingerboard style came from European instruments, the earliest origins of what we could call Banjos are from slaves in the Caribbean.
@@The_13th_Hussar I agree in part, but the early Banjo called the Banjar derived from the African instrument called the Akonting. The Akonting is the folk lute of the Jola people, found in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. The akonting is made with a long bamboo neck called a bangoe. The material for the neck, called ban julo in the Mandinka language, again gives Banjul. In this interpretation, Banjul became a sort of eponym for the Akonting as it crossed the Atlantic.
not bluegrass music, this would be old time folk. bluegrass is always preformed with a band and almost exclusivly with 3 finger style banjo on a resenator banjo
Hell I know this is half a decade late, but man I could not agree more! As many would have thought, modern music is even worse nowadays. Nothing but autotune and a bunch of entitled rich fucks singing about immoral shit. The good music (like bluegrass and real country and folk) is timeless. Us folks who enjoy real music will never stop listening to it nor stop playing, and then we pass it down through the generations so it will be enjoyed for all time.
Absolutely terrific. Gorgeous voice, smooth playing. Gives this wonderful old-timey song the justice it deserves, and what a nifty banjo. I believe that earliest banjos made from gourds.
Dark and beautiful. The sound of your gourd banjo creates a better picture than any movie director could hope to do. Thank you for sharing your music with us, sir.
There is a place a musicians goes within and plays that reaches deep inside. Bringing out a natural heart felt side to highs and lows in life. Music is just that,, The Expression Of Self. It's not taught or learned it just comes out. You pass your feelings on to others and this is what truly makes a musician stand out above others. You standing out there.
Beautifully played, and a wonderful sounding instrument. Cool song, also, and I could have left it at that, were it not for folks referring to it as a "slave" song. This is a song (though collected in North Carolina, originally) of the south, via the Appalachians all day long. In that way, it so transcends color. The fact that it has been recorded by Bill Monroe and Harry Belafonte alike testifies to this. The banjo truly carries with it a tradition that spans continents. From Ireland/Scotland, to the Appalachians, down through the deep south, to the Caribbean, it is an instrument that brings folks together.
Many cultures including some in Asia and Native American cultures have banjo-like instruments as well. It seems to be a pretty universal concept for a string instrument
Dear GOD That Was GREAT!!!!!!......The Best...Most Raw...Most Soulful Version Of Darlin Cory I Have Ever Heard Man.....Just Fuckin GREAT Man.............
I felt as if I had passed through a time portal, until I saw the Weber grill in the background! ;) A wonderful rendition, and at the end, those three profound chords! Wow.
Ay up Mr. Watson that's about as good as it gets! first time I heard this was by the late great Derrol Addams...all hail I could listen to you all day to, love to pick a few tunes with you but tis a mighty 6000 mile swim across the pond...keep picking dude!
I recently decided I want to play banjo. Before I do anything I research it a little bit. Start with its source, work my way up to modern day then start. I had no idea the banjo had an Africa/ Caribbean roots. I figured I would be learning all about how the Appalachians music was created. It was incredibly interesting to learn of the African roots of the instruments I will play to one day attract my wife.
Thanks for posting, Cedric...I was searching for a good bluesey version of this tune, and your version is so much more than I was expecting to find...fantastic !
Thank you sir, beautiful! Just a strange coincidence I guess that bluegrass player Doc WATSON also does a rendition of this song on one of his records (The Doc Watson Family 1994).
F*** the haters. I LOVE your music, I love your passion, and from one musician to another, keep going brother. Please post more, my family gets GREAT enjoyment watching you play and sing. God bless.
What a great song and the gourd banjo is very nicely made, really happy to see and hear you! People have been making musical instruments out of gourds since shortly after time began. Appreciating your channel.
Outstanding. Keep Old Time Country Music alive and well. The genre knows no color and it shines in the music of Leadbelly and others whose recordings we are very fortunate to have and enjoy.
Just picked mine up cause ever time I hear you play the kettle gourd, get my tears too flood my eyes. The art behind the African culture is beautiful and I'm so proud to be apart of the dysfunctional 2020 . AMD cant wait to let the ghost around me hear me playing it... I'm a habachi chef from va now working in wa , I wanna play that molly dear you play so through up lesson if u can
The akonting which it sounds the most like was not a griot instrument. It was played by anyone and in the rice fields in Africa just like banjo. Now the ngoni and xalam are griot instruments.
@@banko1808 People from the west coast of Africa were enslaved and brought to work the rice plantations in South Carolina because they knew how to grow rice. The Gullah are their descendants.
@@TheJeweledBird I am aware of the Ghulla people, they exist in my own family, And no, they are descended from those who were imported from the Bahamas to south Carolina.
This is so cool!!! I've seen gourd banjos in museums before, but I've never actually heard one played. As a history buff, I've always wondered how much the modern banjo sounds like the original. Thank you so much for sharing your talent!
ORIGINS OF COUNTRY MUSIC RIGHT THERE. RURAL BLACK FOLK MUSIC.
Thats true, it did come from black folk your right! But nowadays its sang and played for folks of all races to enjoy, but overall it has a very Southern History and origin.
@@YourLocalR3NecK@YourLocalR3NecK I agree.
That’s right. Banjo West African origin
goes further back and to his original continent.
And Blues, and rocn and roll,...
To those people calling this man an Uncle Tom, I would say that singing, resurrecting the instruments of the slaves, and demonstrating that all of those people who suffered under slavery were people, with art and culture and songs, is NOT a disservice to them. It makes them real, so mankind can realize the evils of the past and never repeat them. To see a man with different skin from your own allows you to believe he does not suffer as you would. But when you hear his words, listen to what his instrument sounded like and how he used it to sing about his life, you can no longer persist in that safe delusion of difference. We are the same, and that realization helps people to understand the evils of the things men do to one another.
That was beautiful dude.
nerdsta23
I agree.
Bravo
I hate to say it, but since we signed over so much control to the banking sector we're all slaves now ...
Not even remotely the same thing. You see, when you have a child, nobody makes your child work the field at the age of 3. Nobody will sell your child to the farm next door. Nobody will sell your wife to a stranger at auction. Nobody can beat you for leaving your home and going somewhere else. Nobody rapes your wife because she's their property.
So, it's KIND OF different.
Appreciate this brother. This is our roots and we cannot forget it. It is what made us! Culture!
Beautiful👍🏻
The banjo came from Africa 🌍
🇨🇦
Are you kidding me lmao!!!!
@@AnnointedGamer
Homework time…that’s right, it came from Music City, Appalachia or the Ozarks 🤠
🇨🇦
@@loilt5091 nope. The only reason its attributed to African heritage was because they had an instrument that used animal skin. I love how all of a sudden africans were the real Egyptians, Moors, and True Israelites, invented everything but didn’t even know what a wheel was before being brought to the new world. Lmao.
@@loilt5091 what part of Africa is Ozark in btw?????
@@loilt5091 banjos were inspired by the mandolin and other chinese and japanese cultures prior to what you see on todays blackwashed internet.
I've been playing 3-finger (Bluegrass) and old-time clawhammer banjo for over 40 years now but I never had the guts to strike out on a fretless gourd banjo. You have to be a VERY competent musician to make one of those sound good and Cedric truly excels in that department. Thanks for posting that gem, Cedric!
he treats his flies alright....that's why they never bite!
I fucking love old timey mountain style music. So raw. It's like listening to the earth itself.
This is actually plantation (slave) style
I didn't realise that the Deep South was particularly mountainous. I must have missed them all!
To be fair, mountain music and plantation music are often hard to distinguish.
@@sethwilson970 to be fair, many a southern slave escaped to freedom in the mountains 😉
@@Africa1000 he's talking about the Appalachian mountains
Glad to see someone who looks like me also play the banjo. Thank you for such a beautiful piece, instrumentally and vocally.
There are a lot of us. More than you would think.
do not discriminate. Be nice.
@@siggesaltens2663 Who is discriminating?
@@MrDeaconEarl I know right??? Wtf???
@@MrDeaconEarl right on... it's the media that wants to put everyone in boxes and "ethnic groups" leave us alone, we all get along and take care of one another. Peace to y'all
Wow ! I didn't know musicians this good still existed. What a pure talent. This Cedric fellow is so wonderful to share his gifts with us.
Check out George Gibson, Clifton Hicks, Matt Kinman and John Haywood. Incredible musicians...
I love the sounds of that banjo.
That's not such a crazy idea.
Wait a Normal comment from you WTF!
Sonnie Presley
- I was sober for a couple hours
Akonting is the instruments actual name
This what the Blues, jazz, R & B and Rack Music is built apon...
This is AMAZING
This man is SO talented, as a musician, I am blown away
This is great! This is that Freedmen sound that undergirds many music genre's today! FIRE!
I'm learning the banjo because of you!! Inspiration. I'm 44 and excited about it!!! Keep on pickin, man.
Just love it, Cedric. The 19th century was a very difficult time for black folks so it makes sense that the string instruments and stringed instrument music from this era have largely been shunned by black folks in the second half of the 20th century up til now.
I think it takes a lot of courage to explore the works from this era. You, The Carolina Chocolate Drops and Rhiannon Giddens are trailblazers. Not an easy place to be. Thank you for learning and sharing your rendition of this tune. Deeply appreciated.
love the CCD too, great way to explore roots of music like blues and jazz
Man this is some of the greatest music I've ever heard. It sounds pure and authentic
CEDRIC MY MAN, SIMPLE...PURE AND RIGHTEOUS AS THE EARTH.
B
banjo bob.
DUDE. This is dope. That gourd sounds amazing.
I transcribed the lyrics for a song analysis I'm going to do. Thank you Cedric Watson for showing me beautiful music like this. Here are the lyrics for those interested:
Oh, go dig a hole in the meadow
Go dig a hole in the ground
Go dig a hole in the meadow
And let me lay darlin’ Cori down
The last time I saw darlin’ Cori
At the edge of the deep blue sea
Forty-four around her
And a banjo on her knee
Wake up, wake up darlin’ Cori
How can you sleep so sound?
Revenue officers are coming
He's gonna burn your still house down
Go way, go way darlin’ Cori
And bring to me my gun
I ain't no man for trouble
But trouble has just begun
I ain't no man for trouble
But I'll die before i run
The last time I saw darlin’ Cori
Had a forty-four in her hand
I killed that revenue officer
If he leaves here with my man
It crossed the deep blue ocean
It crossed the deep blue sea
Bring to me darlin’ Cori
Wherever she may be
Go way, go way darlin’ Cori
Which your hanging around my bed
The whisky done ruined my body
Pretty women gon’ ruin my head
I LOVE the mellow sound of a gourd banjo. So much nicer than the twanginess of the modern banjo. No wonder country and bluegrass went that way stylistically with voices, too.
I love both. The banjo is awesome regardless.
Just stumbled on this video, recommended to me by TH-cam. Wish this fella was still making music videos.
He still plays regularly in Lafayette Louisiana
Fantastic rendition. I'd only heard Pete Seeger's but how superb to watch Cedric's playing and singing. More verses too. Just great!
Wonderful! It's nice to see someone playing a gourd banjo clawhamner style. The original way it was created! In Africa. It's a Shane people don't know the history of the instrument but yes people.... The banjo is from Africa.
I know it's been a while, but this news story from Jamaica just came out today, about Jeff Menzies, traditional banjo maker and historian in Jamaica.
th-cam.com/video/FWBB4UUULhM/w-d-xo.html
The predecessor instruments to Banjos can be traced to Africa however many key elements that seperate say a Kora from a Banjo such as tuning pegs or the fingerboard style came from European instruments, the earliest origins of what we could call Banjos are from slaves in the Caribbean.
@@The_13th_Hussar this ole Kang ain't gonna listen to you, silly. Better put him in his place
@@The_13th_Hussar I agree in part, but the early Banjo called the Banjar derived from the African instrument called the Akonting. The Akonting is the folk lute of the Jola people, found in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa.
The akonting is made with a long bamboo neck called a bangoe. The material for the neck, called ban julo in the Mandinka language, again gives Banjul. In this interpretation, Banjul became a sort of eponym for the Akonting as it crossed the Atlantic.
Or we can all just appreciate a wonderful and authentic rendition of a great old-time song by a great musician who nails it !
This gives me chills. Absolutely beautiful work, man.
This is pure history, thanks for showing the truth of where the music comes from!!
Nicely done, brother.......the ancestral spirits must be pleased.
I love this bluegrass music. Real music.... I can't stand most music today... This is great. Thank you for sharing.
not bluegrass music, this would be old time folk. bluegrass is always preformed with a band and almost exclusivly with 3 finger style banjo on a resenator banjo
Hell I know this is half a decade late, but man I could not agree more! As many would have thought, modern music is even worse nowadays. Nothing but autotune and a bunch of entitled rich fucks singing about immoral shit. The good music (like bluegrass and real country and folk) is timeless. Us folks who enjoy real music will never stop listening to it nor stop playing, and then we pass it down through the generations so it will be enjoyed for all time.
Wonderful voice! Incredible playing!
Absolutely terrific. Gorgeous voice, smooth playing. Gives this wonderful old-timey song the justice it deserves, and what a nifty banjo. I believe that earliest banjos made from gourds.
As few may know, rhe banjo originated in west africa. So hear a black voice behind the banjo is the best thing running right now. I love it.
Dark and beautiful. The sound of your gourd banjo creates a better picture than any movie director could hope to do. Thank you for sharing your music with us, sir.
There is a place a musicians goes within and plays that reaches deep inside. Bringing out a natural heart felt side to highs and lows in life. Music is just that,, The Expression Of Self. It's not taught or learned it just comes out. You pass your feelings on to others and this is what truly makes a musician stand out above others. You standing out there.
That’s folk music. Most decent music tells a story. Thanks for letting me in on your journey 👍.
Beautifully played, and a wonderful sounding instrument. Cool song, also, and I could have left it at that, were it not for folks referring to it as a "slave" song. This is a song (though collected in North Carolina, originally) of the south, via the Appalachians all day long. In that way, it so transcends color. The fact that it has been recorded by Bill Monroe and Harry Belafonte alike testifies to this. The banjo truly carries with it a tradition that spans continents. From Ireland/Scotland, to the Appalachians, down through the deep south, to the Caribbean, it is an instrument that brings folks together.
Many cultures including some in Asia and Native American cultures have banjo-like instruments as well. It seems to be a pretty universal concept for a string instrument
Yes, a very ancient instrument with middle-eastern origins
Some things I loved about this -
The relaxed swing of your banjo playing.
The environmental sound. Crickets?
Nice filming. Good angle and light.
Please come to Australia, love your work mate
Dear GOD That Was GREAT!!!!!!......The Best...Most Raw...Most Soulful Version Of Darlin Cory I Have Ever Heard Man.....Just Fuckin GREAT Man.............
brings back old music 👩🏿🌾
I felt as if I had passed through a time portal, until I saw the Weber grill in the background! ;)
A wonderful rendition, and at the end, those three profound chords!
Wow.
I listen to this everyday since I found it. Thanks for sharing.
Ay up Mr. Watson that's about as good as it gets! first time I heard this was by the late great Derrol Addams...all hail I could listen to you all day to, love to pick a few tunes with you but tis a mighty 6000 mile swim across the pond...keep picking dude!
Beautiful sound from that gourd banjo!
Thats beautiful
clear & simply put! best comment!
That’s one of the sweetest sounds I’ve heard
This is just amazing. Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia led me here. I am now a fan. Merry Christmas.
(~):}
I recently decided I want to play banjo. Before I do anything I research it a little bit. Start with its source, work my way up to modern day then start. I had no idea the banjo had an Africa/ Caribbean roots. I figured I would be learning all about how the Appalachians music was created. It was incredibly interesting to learn of the African roots of the instruments I will play to one day attract my wife.
Outstanding. I think I'll share this with my college classes.
Nice tone, and I love these minor-key ballads.
Thanks for posting, Cedric...I was searching for a good bluesey version of this tune, and your version is so much more than I was expecting to find...fantastic !
This is probably my favorite version of this song that I know of...I keep coming back to it.
This makes me wanna get a gourd banjo.
Love the banjo and this old song
I love this kind of music.
Thank you sir, beautiful! Just a strange coincidence I guess that bluegrass player Doc WATSON also does a rendition of this song on one of his records (The Doc Watson Family 1994).
American bluegrass soul music! thanks for posting that excellent video.
Cedric Watson thank you. You are better than good. You are great! Keep sing'n and pick'n.
Thank you Cedric, I really enjoyed that. Well played and very well sung.
F*** the haters. I LOVE your music, I love your passion, and from one musician to another, keep going brother. Please post more, my family gets GREAT enjoyment watching you play and sing. God bless.
Beautifully performed and the sound from the banjo is absolutely wonderful. Thank you for creating and sharing.
Everytime Iisten...its like I have just discovered the song..been going on numerous years and numerous listens
dude you are awesome, thats really deep in the blues *****
What a great song and the gourd banjo is very nicely made, really happy to see and hear you! People have been making musical instruments out of gourds since shortly after time began. Appreciating your channel.
This is one of my favorite old banjo tunes, your cover is beautiful!
Thanks Cedric. The heart of the blues is in your music.
Classy playing and great singing Cedric .. Great great stuff. Thanks for this , Yours guy
Outstanding. Keep Old Time Country Music alive and well. The genre knows no color and it shines in the music of Leadbelly and others whose recordings we are very fortunate to have and enjoy.
Country Music has black roots.
Just picked mine up cause ever time I hear you play the kettle gourd, get my tears too flood my eyes. The art behind the African culture is beautiful and I'm so proud to be apart of the dysfunctional 2020 . AMD cant wait to let the ghost around me hear me playing it... I'm a habachi chef from va now working in wa , I wanna play that molly dear you play so through up lesson if u can
I love 'Mountain Music'...this is great.
Great Job Cedric. One of the best I've heard. Put more stuff on here. I love it.
Banjo playing was great with singing. Thanks for posting.
Original Southern Banjo music.
African American banjo music you mean? Yes
@@banko1808 Black people are southern
tight symbols and tight account name too
@@banko1808 Are you saying Southerners can't be black?
@@thetitanian5544 beg to differ, I am not low class like that
this is absolutely divine.
This is so wonderful, thanks Cedric for bringing this music alive.
Downeast, Maine.
Thank you for sharing.
It's so cold here.
Thank you for warmth, cuz.🙏✌️♥️👊
Raw and I enjoy it . Thank you , Cedric . Greetings from Brazil .
Wise man, keepin the soul alive. You bring your roots pride brother.
7 people have no FUCKING CLUE what real music is. Unbelievable.
Mr Watson, you are the next national treasure.
❤gourd banjo and player
badass! I think it's the best version I've heard. the lyrics are better than I've ever heard for this song. well done!
Never listened to all the words until now. Very trippy imagery. Thanks for the clear rendition.
Best version I've found all around. Very well done.
Great old time music. Great job Cedric.
Absolutely wonderful! Thank you for sharing! Great vocal style!
I love listening to this, so pure
Excellent Performance.... Beautiful Banjo , Great Song.... Godspeed, DanO'
Great playing and singing, Cedric. I dig it.
sounds heavily like the instrument used by west african griots
sounds alot more similar to it than the present-day banjo does, for sure
The akonting which it sounds the most like was not a griot instrument. It was played by anyone and in the rice fields in Africa just like banjo. Now the ngoni and xalam are griot instruments.
@@jasminepearls1047 rice fields where in Africa? I'm confused because Africa is not a country, I at least want to know where you are talking about
@@banko1808 People from the west coast of Africa were enslaved and brought to work the rice plantations in South Carolina because they knew how to grow rice. The Gullah are their descendants.
@@TheJeweledBird I am aware of the Ghulla people, they exist in my own family, And no, they are descended from those who were imported from the Bahamas to south Carolina.
@@TheJeweledBird the ethnic group in which they hailed from were prominent rice farmers and producers
Cedric Watson, you are a stellar performer singer artist.
That banjo is great! Love the song and the sound. Thanks for sharing!
Really appreciate listening to your music up here in the Green Mountains of Vermont - thankful for TH-cam, and thanks for posting.
beautiful intonation to be playin clawhammer on a fretless banjo. you my friend, are one talented man. thank you for this.
It's a banjo, not a fretless banjo. There are banjos and then there are fretted banjos.
Brilliant playing has a real old time feel and rhythm thanks for the video
This is so cool!!! I've seen gourd banjos in museums before, but I've never actually heard one played. As a history buff, I've always wondered how much the modern banjo sounds like the original. Thank you so much for sharing your talent!
love this
Beautiful! Keep singing man, you are awesome!
Made me love the song again. Totally wonderful.
Great song! Soulful singing and I love love love the sound of your banjo!!!
I've had that song stuck in my head for a while now! love it!
Love the banjo - would love one.
Love the rendition, I think it was great.
Don't stop that was awesome.
Would love one... to appropriate and add to your collection of trinkets
@@banko1808 Racist
@@fastfishwater9787 thanks
What a beautiful sounding instrument. Lovely playing and singing, too, of course.