Always before, though, there had been joy in their work songs and celebrations.
Corn, however, was a very common subject of work songs on a typical plantation.
At least the inmates on chain gangs got to make up their own work songs.
His most recent work songs are mostly stories about ordinary life in South Africa.
"I did a little searching, especially of work songs."
The music that formed as a result became a combination of the original African work songs and references to slave culture.
There, the work song led to a call-and-response vocal arrangement.
The program will trace the evolution of the blues from early black work songs to contemporary classics.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are very few examples of work songs linked to cotton picking.
Rhythms of work songs can serve to synchronize physical movement in a group or gang.