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I feel like these documents really helped illuminate the lives of the slaves they described. They were eye opening for me, especially when considering the social and environmental conditions that these people lived in. It was like they were a window into the tough lives of slaves, especially female ones.

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Slaves often sang songs about forgiveness and how they’d go to heaven when they died instead of songs with more Old Testament references to he wrath of God. In this song specifically, though the song itself is an Old Testament reference about how Jerusalem backslid, there is no reference to the Old Testament outside of the title line which shows how slave songs tended more towards forgiveness and love. This may have been to hide their discontentment from their masters and the reason that many thought slaves want because they were happy. Slave songs often had a very upbeat tune, and when slaves took these to the north, they combined the upbeat gospel feel of their songs and the blues scale feel along with the improvisational ideas to create jazz. The strangeness of many jazz chords prompted still more creative composers to continue developing more ideas in music theory. That opened up our music scene to all of the genres we see today.

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This assignment taught me that slave songs contributed to a slave’s life in a variety of ways. The most important of these was in helping to develop a sense of identity. First, singing was an African tradition, and its preservation likely gave slaves a sense of — if not cultural identity — then at least solidarity. The rhythm of certain songs fit physical work well and could help slaves coordinate their movements. At the same time, slave songs allowed them to express their emotions (as we saw in the clip from 12 Years a Slave) and even to communicate. Common uses for slave songs included providing hope/inspiration, indicating a slave was planning to escape, requesting aid, or relaying instructions.

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I researched “Michael Row the Boat Ashore”. This song talks about several archangels, and it places an emphasis on family; the speaker seems to be looking for their family. It is a heavily spiritual song, and similar to other slave songs, it mentions the River Jordan and uses it symbolically as an escape from slavery. The point seems to be that slaves could ultimately live a good life in heaven if they are spiritually good. The tone seems hopeful, and white observation of it suggests that it was sung as a working song. It was thus likely not always a happy song. However, when the masters of islands abandoned them due to the Union blockade, the newly freed slaves were singing this song. This suggests that it could’ve been viewed as more upbeat, perhaps not sung at funerals and such. It is hard to know these things for sure because the song was not noticed until close to the start of the Civil War. It likely existed before then, but whites did not pay a lot of attention to the slaves and what they were singing.

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This song was known as a "coded song" because the lyrics had an underlying meaning that the slave owners could not recognize. The chorus referred to the Underground Railroad, which took the slaves "home" to the free states of the North. This is similar to modern musical forms that have an underlying meaning behind its lyrics. From my research I learned that slave songs were a method of communication used by slaves to talk about the idea of freedom without getting caught by slave owners.

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This song connects the Biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites to freedom to the struggle of slaves in the South. Slaveholders are compared to the pharaoh of Egypt, and the slaves are compared to the Israelites. This song showed the strong influence of Christianity on slaves and how the slaves looked to God and the Bible for spiritual guidance. Unlike some other slave songs, “Go Down, Moses” uses violent language to show the anger of slaves towards their masters and was used as a signal during a slave rebellion in 1822. However, it also showcased the optimism of slaves despite their daily hardships, as its lyrics implied that slaves were prophesied to be freed.

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One thing that was very clear from my research was that slave songs took a lot from the Bible. In Go Down Moses, obviously, the song describes the escape of the Israelites from Egypt by Moses, and equating themselves with the story. I also learned that slave songs were essential when slaves tried to send messages to each other without being caught. Harriet Tubman apparently used the song to signal slaves that she was here to rescue them.

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Follow the Drinking Gourd represents slave songs well and had deep meaning. The song helped slaves navigate their way north. In addition, the song captures the slave culture well - the hardships.

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This song had many different underlying meanings in it. For example, it could have indicated escape via the underground railroad, or escape on god's chariot to heaven. This is similar to modern music forms because it has an underlying meaning to it and tries to convey a strong message. Research of this song along with Frederick Douglass' insight indicates that all slave songs were created out of sadness and catharsis.

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This song cleverly conceals many clues for slaves escaping the south. The song emphasizes a connection to god and gives hope to slaves. Specific references to things like the river Jordan actually serve to remind slaves to wade in water to mask their scent.

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Wade in the Water was a song used by the conductors of the Underground Railroad to remind the slaves to go into bodies of water to lose their scent from the bloodhounds of the manhunters. It has a reference to the Jordan River where the Israelites crossed to get to freedom, drawing a parallel to slaves going into the water to get to their freedom.

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This song was heavy on biblical references. The event represented from the old testament of the bible is where God orders Moses to release the israelites from Egypt. In the song the israelites represents the African American slaves while Egypt represents the South and the Pharaoh represents the slave master.

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This slave song was about how a slave, John Henry, was working on the railroads and was a contest between his hammer and a steam-powered drilling machine. Ultimately, John Henry wins with his hammer, but he also dies doing so.

This ballad shows the extent to which slaves would work and the suffering they experienced.

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This is an interesting song, due to its derogatory caricature of high class white people. It can be seen as a subtle commentary about the cruel slaveholders, even though its meaning isn't mmediately clear. It also has the tune for Turkey in the Straw.

(Also its it's spelled with two o's , but it kept on autocorrecting to 🤬)

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"Juba Juba" helped bring traditional West African dance to the US by means of slaves. While the song itself solely discusses differences in living/work conditions, unlike others which give slaves escape instructions or hope, much of the value and historical significance of this song involves the preservation of culture. This song is proof of the survival of African culture despite the bonds of slavery across the Atlantic.

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This song was a good example of a coded slave song. "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" is a request for people from the north to come down to the south and help slaves escape through the underground railroad. It is still commonly sung today in churches and schools. I think it's interesting how it has persisted in black culture.

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This song was especially interesting because it was used by those in the Underground Railroad to warn escaping slaves about when bloodhounds and slave patrols were on their scent. Wading in the water would basically conceal their scent and make it harder for slaves to be caught.

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I found that that the slaves were much less hypocritical in the sense   of their Christian faith. In my song they referred to the slaves and the archangel Michael who would row them to freedom. Michael was often known to row the dead to heaven and through this the slaves felt that they would saved. I feel like this type of music has led to development of very meaningful and deep music such as soul music which is hard to identify with unless you could understand all the deep history and nuance behind the songs.

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1) By researching this song, I found that slave songs utilized repetition but could also have a more optimistic approach to going to Heaven. Steal Away to Jesus was very similar to the song Roll Jordan Roll because of the aspect of the want for freedom. The use of symbolism and biblical references is also a recurring theme through the songs.
2) Slave songs were a foundation to modern music such as blues and jazz for the general rhythm and feel of the music.
3) I found it interesting how slaves would express their feelings through the music that they sang and it was one of their only modes of expressing themselves.

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Something I found interesting about this song that wasn't mentioned in the discussion on Friday was the biblical references that came through across the three verses. In the first verse, the Israelites are referenced by name, then in the second, they are referenced as "the ones Moses led," and finally in the third they're referenced as "the ones that made it through." This reflects the biblical story of the Israelites who, led by Moses, were able to escape slavery, and also the hope of the slaves that they too would be free.

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This song is similar to others at the time because it depicts biblical figures that could potentially help the slaves. In this case it was Moses who freed the Israelites from the hold of the Egyptian pharaoh. The slaves sang this song in hope that someone in the likes of Moses would come down the Mississippi River to the Deep South to free the slaves.

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As many people mentioned from the discussion last class, the Drinking Gourd refers to the Big Dipper in this song's context. However, it was also a device used by slaves on the plantations. Therefore, slaveholders didn’t interfere with the slaves’ practice of singing on the plantations because they didn’t pay close attention to the slaves’ culture and lyrics. More specifically, slaveholders saw the songs as harmless and facilitators of fieldwork.

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I found many interesting references in this song. The slaves are singing about how Moses told the Egyptian pharaoh to let his people go, comparing the slaves' situation to the Israelites. The slaves are telling the white owners to let them go, just like how Moses said this to the pharaoh. 🌵🤔

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Sometimes I feel like a motherless child

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Sometimes I feel like a motherless child

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This song reflects on how slaves are often separated from their mother through slave trade or sometime throughout their slave life. It has a sorrowful tone and talks about how they're a "long way from home", speaking of mother Africa or Heaven.

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According to my extensive research on this slave song and its history, it is apparent that this is the most commonly sung song among the slaves, especially those who were Methodists. This notion of “kneeling” is a ritual of some sorts when they receive important elements at an altar. When they are waiting at the altar, they have the perfect opportunity to sing. Regarding this time period, it can be inferred that this song was sung when slaves were escaping using the Underground Railroad. Overall, this song has a sense of community and would provide the slaves with support with eachother.