A major theme of this story from W. D. Myers is the traditional role and modern demise of storytelling. The nine-year-old narrator and an older friend Macon are enthralled by his dying grandfather’s stories. The title refers to both the stories (which Grandpa Jeremiah refers to as the songs of my people) and the music composed by Macon while listening to them. There is an implication that through the power of music (especially the blues) some of these threatened stories/songs can live on. Themes: storytelling, change, family and community unity, death, music.
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