The Government Camp song, sung by Mary Campbell and Margaret Treat, both 12 years old. Shafter FSA Camp, 1941.

Music of Government Camps

Farm Security Administration (FSA) Camps, like Weedpatch Camp in John Steinbeck’s the Grapes of Wrath were a far cry from the makeshift road side camps that so many were forced to live in while looking for work. While camps were often low on supplies, and government funding eventually ran out, music helped to bring joy to hard daily life.

Here is an example from the Library of Congress’ American Memory: Voices from the Dust Bowl – The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941.

The Government Camp song, sung by Mary Campbell and Margaret Treat, both 12 years old. Shafter FSA Camp, 1941.

When they were not working or looking for work, or tending to the civil and domestic operations of the camp, the migrants found time to engage in recreational activities. Singing and making music took place both in private living quarters and in public spaces. The music performed by the migrants came from a number of different sources. The majority of pieces belong to the Anglo-Celtic ballad tradition. Songs such as “Barbara Allen“, “The Brown Girl“, “Nine Little Devils“, “Father Rumble“, “Lloyd Bateman “, “Pretty Molly “, and “Little Mohee” all reflect this tradition. Gospel and popular music are other sources from which migrants took their inspiration. The minstrel stage, tin pan alley, early country, and cowboy music were all popular music sources that fed the performers’ repertoires. The works of the Carter Family, Jimmy Rodgers, and Gene Autry were particular favorites of the migrants. Although all the music in this collection gives us a sense of the informants’ cultural milieu, those pieces that document the migrant experience are especially poignant. Songs like Jack Bryant’s “Sunny Cal” and Mary Sullivan’s ballads “A Traveler’s Line” and “Sunny California” all speak of hardship, disappointment, and a deeply cherished wish to return home.

Men in recreation hall at Tulare FSA Camp, Visalia, California, 1940. Photo by Arthur Rothstein, Farm Security Administration.

In addition to songs and instrumental music, the migrants enjoyed dancing and play-party activities (singing games accompanied by dance-like movements). Included in this online presentation are square dance calls, such as “Soldier’s Joy” and “Sally Goodin“, and play-party rhymes like “Skip to My Lou” and “Old Joe Clark.” Newsletters produced by camp residents provided additional details about camp social life and recreational activities.

– Excerpted from The Migrant Experience. Library of Congress. American Memory: Voices from the Dust Bowl – The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941.