Robeson Changes

There's an ol' man called de Mississippi;
That's the ol' man I don't like to be!
What does he care if the world's got troubles?
What does he care if the land ain't free..
Ol' Man River,
That Ol' Man River
He mus' know sumpin' But don't say nuthin',
He jes' keeps rollin',
He keeps on rollin' along.
He don't plant taters,
He don't plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants 'em
Is soon forgotten,
But Ol' Man River,
He jes' keeps rollin' along
You an' me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin' an' racked wid pain -
Tote that barge and
You show a little grit and
You lands in jail...
But I keeps laffin' instead of cyrin'
I must keep fightin';
Until I'm dyin'
And Ol' Man River,
He just keeps rollin' along

More info on the revised version:

The Everett Collection, Inc.

Paul Robeson

American actor Paul Robeson appears in ”Showboat,” in 1936.

Paul Robeson at FestivalRobeson attended the cultural festival of the Southern Negro Youth Congress held at Tuskegee Institute in 1942.

(© MS Encarta)

More info on Paul Robeson:

May 31, 2003 -- When composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II teamed up in the mid-1920s to write Show Boat, a groundbreaking musical about life along the Mississippi River, they created one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs of the 20th century -- "Ol' Man River." This week marks the 75th anniversary of the most enduring recording of the song -- rendered by the actor, singer and civil rights icon Paul Robeson.

Kern and Hammerstein wrote "Ol' Man River" with Robeson in mind, says Murray Horowitz, director of the American Film Institute Silver Theater and Cultural Center. Despite the racism prevalent at the time, the African-American actor had managed to create a sensation on the stage with his 1925 performance in Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones. Robeson's success was a mirror of the determined defiance in the face of oppressive circumstances expressed in the song.

But by the time Show Boat premiered in December 1927, Robeson was committed to other projects and unable to participate. He did go on to star in the 1928 London production of the musical, and in June of that year, he released his recording of "Ol' Man River." Sung in Robeson's rich, distinctive baritone, it has become for many the definitive version of the song.

Horowitz says that a strong part of the song's appeal lies in its insistent rhythm. "The pulse is like the pulse of the river itself," he told NPR's Scott Simon in a recent interview. Sung by the character Joe, an African-American laborer in the Deep South, the song's lyrics ("I'm tired of living and scared of dying/ But ol' man river, he just keeps rolling along") are an expression both of hope and despair, Horowitz says.

"As in the best of musical theater works, what's happening in the music tells you something different than what's happening in the lyric," he says. "Because even though the lyric is somewhat despairing, the music is absolutely exultant in the end. And so even though the character Joe is being realistic about his prospects, something inside him is still aspiring, still triumphant. And I think that's one of the things that makes it a big hit."

Though "Ol' Man River" became Robeson's signature tune, he wasn't the first famous crooner to record the song. In April 1928, a young Bing Crosby released an up-tempo version, recorded with bandleader Paul Whiteman, that became a chart-topper. Others who have recorded the standard include Tony Bennett (in the 1960s) and Frank Sinatra (in the 1940s). In fact, Nancy Sinatra has called it her favorite recording of her late father's voice.

In Depth

April 9, 2003: NPR's Tavis Smiley's talks with St. Clair Bourne about his documentary, 'Paul Robeson: Here I Stand.'

May 21, 2002: Smiley speaks with Paul Robeson Jr. about his father's legacy.

May 8, 1999: Listen to Elizabeth Blair's Peabody Award-winning NPR documentary, 'I Must Keep Fightin': The Art of Paul Robeson.'

April 13, 1998: 'Talk of the Nation' celebrates the 100th anniversary of Robeson's birth.

April 5, 1998: Neal Rauch profiles Robeson's life and work.

 

Other Resources

The Mississippi quarter, the fifth and last quarter of 2002 and 20th in the series, showcases the beauty and elegance of the state flower, combining the blossoms and leaves of two magnolias with the inscription "The Magnolia State."

The magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol, is strongly associated with the South, where the flower became enormously popular after it was introduced from Asia. This association became strong enough that Mississippi adopted it as the state flower in 1952.

In 1900, when Mississippi schoolchildren were asked to vote for a state flower, they selected the magnolia over a group that included cape jasmine, yellow jasmine and cotton. The selection remained unofficial, however, as the legislature did not act on the result. A similar election for state tree in 1935 gave the magnolia a landslide victory, one that was made official on April 1, 1938. On February 26, 1952, the Mississippi legislature finally adopted the magnolia as the state flower, opposed by only one vote.

In response to the United States Mint's request for design concepts for the Mississippi quarter, Governor Ronnie Musgrove submitted three concepts on June 22, 2000, a Magnolia flower with a branch, a Mockingbird and "Mississippi - The Magnolia State."

The United States Mint provided Governor Musgrove with three candidate designs from which he chose "The Magnolia State" on July 3, 2001.