In our third episode, we explore yet another reason why you SHOULD NOT GO DOWN BY THE RIVER! We head back to North Carolina to sing and discuss the ballad of POOR OMIE WISE. Naomi Wise was just like any single mom wanting to have it all in the early 1800’s, that is, until she met John Lewis!
Source material: Naomi “Omie” Wise: Her Life, Death and Legend
By Hal E. Pugh and Eleanor Minnock-Pugh
Playlist of popular versions of the ballad including the first recorded version of Omie Wise by Vernon Dalhart!: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6myWyNwL7ZK0Wk3eTq4Cec?si=-0p_BoXNS5KWptr8_H7W5g (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6myWyNwL7ZK0Wk3eTq4Cec?si=-0p_BoXNS5KWptr8_H7W5g)
Thanks to Ted Olson and Ronald Roach, professors of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University for their help in research!