Typical of the country singers of early American spiritual folk-songs is this group of their leaders in Winston County, Alabama. For over fifty years their Fourth of July singings have gone on uninterruptedly at Helicon, where this picture was taken in 1927.

The “big singings” take place at county seats and in even larger centers. Here the country folk join in song with those who, though they live in the cities, have grown up in the same rural musical tradition. The Alabama State Sacred Harp Singing Association was pictured in its 1929 summer session in the court house in Birmingham, Alabama.

Spiritual Folk-Songs
of Early America

Two Hundred and Fifty Tunes and Texts
With an Introduction and Notes

Collected and Edited
by
GEORGE PULLEN JACKSON

DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.
NEW YORK

Published in Canada by General Publishing Company, Ltd., 30 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario.

Published in the United Kingdom by Constable and Company, Ltd., 10 Orange Street, London W. C. 2.

This Dover edition, first published in 1964, is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the work first published by J. J. Augustin, Publisher, New York City, in 1937.

The publisher is grateful to the University of Virginia Library for furnishing a copy of the book for purposes of reproduction.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-8268

Manufactured in the United States of America

Dover Publications, Inc.
180 Varick Street
New York 14, N.Y.

TO THE MEMORY
OF MY WIFE
INEZ EMELINE WRIGHT JACKSON