Banjo Song by Rev. J. A. Myers (1909)
CD 4, track 10
Today’s reveal: Rev. J. A. Myers, second tenor of the Fisk University Jubilee Quartet, recites the verse of African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) on a 1909 recording. Originally published in 1895, the poem is “Banjo Song,” an intimate portrait of a world-weary old slave taking solace from the music of his banjo pulled down from the wall of his rustic cabin.
