"Kum Ba Yah" are the Gullah words for "Come by here." The song comes from African-American singing traditions and is thought to have originated in the slave communities of South Carolina. "Kum Ba Yah" gained mainstream popularity during the American folk revival of the 1960s. Although the song was once highly politicized and was popular during the civil rights movement, nowadays, "Kum Ba Yah" is sung by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts around the country in a spirit of peace and acceptance.
The great American folk song "This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land" was written in 1940 by Woody Guthrie. Guthrie intended the song as one for the average American blue-collar worker who was humble and who toiled hard to make a living, yet who was also a proud inheritor of the splendors of the American wilderness. Guthrie included a pointed critique of capitalism in the song, which is omitted in the modern version sung around countless campfires.
As with the other African-American spiritual songs, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a famous camp song with no attributed author. The song originated on the plantations of the South and was brought north by runaway slaves. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a particularly good camp song, since it was created for communal singing and involves a call-and-response structure that creates a sense of community. Other famous songs in the spiritual tradition include "Go Down Moses" and "Wade in the Water."