Four Spirituals

The Civil War and Slavery In the decades leading up to the Civil War, it was legal for Africans to be purchased as property throughout the North and South. In the South, the laws were the most oppressive. It was illegal for enslaved people to learn how to read or write, and many were punished or killed when they tried to escape. In the North, while slavery was still legal, some of the conditions and attitudes toward enslaved people were less restrictive. Over time, the issue of whether to continue to keep slavery legal split the North and the South.

The Civil War and Slavery Despite their dire circumstances, many enslaved people were determined to fight for their freedom. Some disobeyed the laws and taught themselves to read and write. Spirituals that combined Christian hymns with traditional African music were written by enslaved people throughout this era. These spirituals expressed not only their religious faith but their desire for freedom.

Who Wrote the Spirituals? The spirituals came out of the oral tradition of African Americans enslaved in the South before the outbreak of the Civil War. These “sorrow songs,” as they were called, were created by anonymous artists and transmitted by word of mouth. As a result, several versions of the same spiritual may exist. According to the Library of Congress, more than six thousand spirituals have been documented.

Cultures Old and New African American spirituals combined the tunes and texts of Christian hymns with the rhythms, finger- snapping, clapping, and stamping of traditional African music. The spirituals allowed enslaved Africans to retain some of the culture of their homelands and forge a new culture while facing the hardships of captive life in the United States. Many spirituals followed a call-and-response pattern in which a leader sang the verses and was answered by a group of singers in a refrain. Refrain – a line or lines repeated in a song or poem. The singers often improvised the songs by changing words or adding new verses.

Cultures Old and New “Every tone [in the spirituals] was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains.” —Frederick Douglass Enslaved African Americans sang spirituals both in worship and while laboring in the field. The New York Tribune published “Go Down, Moses” after Reverend Lewis Lockwood heard African Americans singing it on September 3, 1861, and submitted the lyrics. Many of the songs have a dual meaning, expressing both religious faith and a hunger for freedom. Cultures Old and New

Encoded Messages Some spirituals served as encoded messages by which enslaved field workers, forbidden to speak to each other, could communicate practical information about escape plans. Slaves used these code words and phrases to secretly discuss heading for the North without tipping off their owners.

Encoded Messages Some typical code words included:  Egypt, referring to the South or the state of bondage  Pharaoh, referring to the slave master  Promised land, Canaan, or heaven, referring to the North or freedom  Station, referring to a place of safety  "The wind blows from the south today," the warning of slave bounty hunters nearby  “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” referring to the star at the end of the "drinking gourd“ (the big dipper) which is the north star. The path of the north star was the path to freedom.  Crossing the Jordan River, had a dual meaning: making a risky move or entering a new and better life.

Encoded Messages To communicate a message of hope, spirituals frequently recounted Bible stories about people liberated from oppression through divine intervention. The spiritual “Keep Your Hand on the Plow,” for example, tells the story of Paul and Silas, who were released from prison after God sent an earthquake to free them. Encoded Messages

Saved from Obscurity The spirituals were saved from obscurity after the Civil War by the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. To raise money for the school during a time of financial hardship, the small university choir sang spirituals to church groups around the country. The Jubilee Singers were soon in demand and eventually performed the spirituals for President Ulysses S. Grant and England's Queen Victoria. The spirituals became a part of American pop culture, paving the way for other musical forms including blues and jazz When Martin Luther King Jr. led the march in Washington, D.C., for civil rights in March 1963, he quoted from the spiritual “Free at Last”: “You can hinder me here, but you can't hinder me there.”

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot h?v=Thz1zDAytzU&index=2&list= RDkjBZEMkmwYA h?v=IAs4L9AKUKk h?v=pfz1-iyvaNE

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home, Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home. I looked over Jordan and what did I see, 5 Coming for to carry me home? A band of angels coming after me, Coming for to carry me home. If you get there before I do, Coming for to carry me home, 10 Tell all my friends I'm coming too; Coming for to carry me home. I'm sometimes up, I'm sometimes down, Coming for to carry me home, But still my soul feels heavenly bound; 15 Coming for to carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home, Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home. 20

Go Down, Moses h?v=M_p_WRgVDNU h?v=coxxiLq6C0o

Go Down, Moses Go down, Moses, 'Way down in Egypt's land; Tell ole Pharaoh Let my people go. When Israel was in Egypt's land, 5 Let my people go; Oppressed so hard they could not stand, Let my people go. Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said, Let my people go; 10 Let them come out with Egypt's spoil, Let my people go. The Lord told Moses what to do, Let my people go; To lead the children of Israel thro', 15 Let my people go. When they had reached the other shore, Let my people go; They sang a song of triumph o'er. Let my people go. 20 Go down, Moses, 'Way down in Egypt's land; Tell ole Pharaoh Let my people go.

Keep Your Hand On The Plow (Hold On) h?v=TfvLZjofEXA&index=10&list= RDkjBZEMkmwYA

Keep Your Hand On The Plow (Hold On) Hold on Hold on Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. Hold on Hold on 5 Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. Heard the voice of Jesus say Come unto me, I am the way. Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. When my way gets dark as night, 10 I know the lord will be my light, Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. Hold on Hold on Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. 15 You can talk about me much as you please the more you talk, gonna stay on my knees. Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. When I get to heaven, gonna sing and shout Be nobody there to put me out. 20 Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. I know my robe's gonna fit me well, I tried it on at the gates of Hell. Keep your hand on the plow, hold on. Hold on 25 Hold on Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.

Follow The Drinking Gourd

When the sun comes back and the first quail calls, Follow the drinking gourd, For the old man is a-waitin‘ for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd. Follow the drinking gourd, Follow the drinking gourd, For the old man is a-waitin‘ for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd. The riverbank will make a very good road, The dead trees show you the way, Left foot, peg foot travelin' on Follow the drinking gourd. Repeat Refrain (Chorus) The river ends between two hills Follow the drinking gourd. There's another river on the other side, Follow the drinking gourd Where the little river meets the great big river Follow the drinking gourd. For the old man is a-waitin‘ for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd.