Possum-La

Audio file
Date recorded: October 6, 1961
Contributor(s): Performer: Jones, Bessie; Recordist: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s):
Genre: dance song, game song
Culture: African American, Southern U.S.
Setting: Alan Lomax's apartment, 3rd Street
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T984
Track Number: 1
Archive ID: T984R01
Note: John. A and Alan Lomax recorded a version of Possum-La for the Library of Congress in 1937, sung by an African American girl from Alabama, conjecturing that the phrase may have come from the French 'pas-ma-la', a dance pass. Nevertheless, Jones' version is about a possum in a tree eating persimmons and dropping the seeds on the ground.
Belongs to: New York City 10/61
About the session: The tenth of 21 recording sessions with Bessie Jones.
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