Spirituals and work melodies, established in both the servitude time and the West African social orders from which most African-American slaves were initially taken, gave social food to African Americans amidst exceptional racial persecution. They originally came to be esteemed by northern white crowds in the late-nineteenth century. Afterward, folklorists started gathering (and at last chronicle) customary southern music. John and Alan Lomax recorded southern performers (African-American, white, and Mexican-American) for the Library of Congress. They recorded “Long John,” a work tune, sung by a man distinguished as “Lightning” and a gathering of his kindred dark convicts at Darrington State Prison Farm in Texas in 1934. Dark detainees working in packs to break shakes and clear marshes depended on the rehashed rhythms and serenades of work tunes (starting in the constrained group work of bondage) to establish the tone for their aggregate work. “Long John” blended strict and common concerns, including the idea of effective departure from servitude, a profoundly felt want of the two slaves and detainees.