 Image by derivative work: Louis Waweru Talk
Ursa_Major_and_Ursa_Minor_Constellations.jpg: Alex Zelenko, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 |
The Drinking Gourd SingersFollow the Drinkin' Gourd Follow the Drinkin' Gourd African American folk song Follow the Drinking Gourd is an African-American folk song first published in 1928. The "drinking gourd" is another name for the Big Dipper asterism. Folklore has it that enslaved people in the United States used it as a point of reference so they would not get lost during their journey of escape to the North and to freedom.[1][2] According to legend, the song was used by a conductor of the Underground Railroad, called Peg Leg Joe, to guide some fugitive slaves, and many of the lyrics are simply cartographic directions to advise the runaways on their escape route. While the song may possibly refer to some lost fragment… (Source: Wikipedia)
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