Homestead camp fire song

Pinder, nguba, goober, or more commonly known as peanut, is an edible kidney-shaped seed that made its way to America via Africa, South America, and the slave trade. As goober peas were primarily consumed by pigs it did not become a more regularly consumed American food until Civil War soldiers began to eat it.

Goober peas are made by boiling green or raw peanuts in water. Most peanut connoisseurs agree goobers served warm and salty are the most flavorful.

Goober peas are immortalized in the energetic, entertaining song “Goober Peas.” The tongue-in-cheek humor is evident in author Blackmar’s publication credit-nod to composer P. Nutt and lyricist A. Pinder. The upbeat words sound like a tribute to the tasty peanut. Instead, the lyrics are an ironic view on the lack of food available to the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Listen to the song in the video below as sung by one Homestead National Monuments volunteers during the 2010 summer campfire series. At the upcoming July 9, 2011 program Ron Rockenbach will discuss “The Common Soldier in the Civil War” with a music program by Noel Ditmars.

References

Cornelius, S. (2004). Music of the Civil War era American history through music. Westport, CN: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Nickels, C. (2010). Civil War humor. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.

Peanut. (2010, July 1). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition.

Mikles, N. (2011, March 16). Peanut primer: Roasted beats boiled for most Sooners. Tulsa World. Retrieved from http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectID=39&articleID=20110316_39_D1_ULNSai651461

William, L. (1998, Apr/May). Goobers, groundnuts and pindar peas. American Visions, 98, 13, 2. doi: 08849390.