Description
Book SynopsisNever Without a Songfocuses on the centrality of folksong in the life of Jennie Devlin, a woman who worked for fourteen years as a 'bound-out girl,' or serving maid, along the New York-Pennsylvania border in the late 1800s. Largely ignored and unwanted, Devlin persevered through Dickensian misfortunes to find love and raise a family (often alone) in Philadelphia and Gloucester, New Jersey. Katharine Newman met Devlin in 1936 and compiled information about the older woman''s life and music. Half a century later, Newman returned to her collection in retirement, with her own perspective of age. The result is a unique biography of an American working-class woman, told with depth and candor. Newman also includes 'I Wish I''d Been Born a Boy,' 'James Bird,' 'Martha Decker,' 'My Grandmother''s Old Armchair,' and other pieces, both British and American, most with tunes.
Trade Review"It is a deeply moving story, with sensitive insights into the heart of a folk singer."--Alan Lomax, from the introduction
