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Ellison uses the motif of music to illustrate the progression of the narrator's character from blind servant to self-aware individual, representing the struggles that the black people must endure in order to realize and express their true identity.

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The song, which used to have a derogatory connotation, as it referenced slaves, now carries a different meaning for the narrator. He shows an evolving character within himself as the song transforms into one of resilience and power for the African-Americans. As they sing the song, "they had touched upon something deeper than protest, or religion; though now images of all church meetings of my life welled up within me with much suppressed and forgotten anger" (453). Instead of referring to the past with contempt and disgust, the narrator speaks of it as empowering. He speaks of his past now with reverence. As the song once was a reference to their inferiority, in the current moment it represents their long-term fight for equality and against white supremacy. Their ability to change the meaning behind the song demonstrates their growing power, and their reluctance to fall in the shadows of the whites. It explains their progression as a society against slavery.

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Throughout the novel, several references to birds are made by the author, typically to symbolize the narrator, or the manipulated individual in general. In this song, the abused robin is a clear representation of the abused black individual. The feathers - which express each bird's unique beauty and which are also necessary to fly - are stripped away, just like how the history and pride of black men and women are stripped away by society. The narrator's questioning of the song also provides further insight into the extremely harsh treatment by whites: "What had he done" challenges the legitimacy of the concept of white supremacy, and "why had we sung of his fate" confronts the cruelty of using their pain as entertainment (e.g. the whites loved Trueblood's incestuous story) (194). Furthermore, Ellison employs this "childhood song" to reveal the almost brainwashing that black individuals suffer through, made oblivious to the suffering of their own people.

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Ellison uses the narrator's passion for jazz - specifically the famous Louis Armstrong's piece - to symbolize the need for individuality and complexity. Jazz is a free-form, improvisational genre of music. The artist does not conform themselves to notes on their sheet music but rather plays whatever comes to their mind, making it a true expression of the individual. In the same way, the narrator - after finally realizing his repeated experiences with victimization by society - strives "to [stand] out clearly from all the rest" and to express his true identity, rather than one that powerful whites and even blacks may attempt to impose upon him (9). In this song, Armstrong even sings, "My only sin is in my skin"; at the conclusion of the book, the narrator declares that he "must shake off the old skin" (580). Thus, his transformation from blind machine to self-aware human being is finished - a symbolic metamorphosis that Ellison hopes will inspire his readers to similarly stay true to their unique selves.

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This scene beings with a sense of normality until the narrator observes the rigidness and anguish of the singer. While she sings an ordinary church song, she also expresses much more than the meaning of the lyrics. The demeanor of her performance reveals an unnatural, manipulated presence. Instead of coming from within, the girl's singing reflects the imprisonment of her identity by whites. After her performance, "the white guests exchanged smiles of approval" (117). The girl sings in order to achieve acceptance rather than to express herself. The narrator's observation ultimately leads him to discover the controlling presence of whites in the lives of blacks. The social pressures presented by whites urge blacks to live their lives according to the judgement and standards of white society. The narrator himself is a victim of this social pressure. He is blind to this underlying force in the lives of blacks because he is so accustomed to conforming to white society. However, the black individual must identify this problem and respond by emphasizing his/her own identity.

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No more auction block for me
No more, no more
No more auction block for me
Many thousand gone

No more peck of corn for me
No more, no more
No more peck of corn for me
Many thousand gone

No more driver’s lash for me
No more, no more
No more drivers’ lash for me
Many thousand gone

No more pint of salt for me
No more, no more
No more pint of salt for me
Many thousand gone

No more hundred lash for me
No more, no more
No more hundred lash for me
Many thousand gone

No more mistress call for me
No more, no more
No more mistress call for me
Many thousand gone

No more children stole from me
No more, no more
No more children stole from me
Many thousand gone

No more slavery chains for me
No more, no more
No more slavery chains for me
Many thousand gone

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Cold empty bed, springs hard as lead
Feels like ol' Ned wished I was dead
What did I do to be so black and blue

Even the mouse ran from my house
They laugh at you and scorn you too
What did I do to be so black and blue

I'm white inside but that don't help my case
'Cause I can't hide what is in my face

How would it end, ain't got a friend
My only sin is in my skin
What did I do to be so black and blue

How would it end, ain't got a friend
My only sin is in my skin
What did I do to be so black and blue

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O well they picked poor Robin clean

O well they picked poor Robin clean

Well they tied poor Robin to a stump

Lawd, they picked all the feathers round from Robin's rump

Well they picked poor Robin clean

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"The unheard sounds came through, and each melodic line existed of itself, stood out clearly from all the rest, said its piece, and waited patiently for the other voices to speak" (8-9).

"I must shake off the old skin and come up for breath... having tried to give pattern to the chaos which lives within the pattern of your certainties, I must come out, I must emerge" (580-581).

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"What had he done and who had tied him and why had they plucked him and why had we sung of his fate? It was for a laugh, for a laugh, all the kids had laughed and laughed..." (194).

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"It was a song from the past, the past of the campus and the still earlier past of home... Something deep had shaken the crowd, and the old man and the man with the horn had done it. They had touched upon something deeper than protest, or religion; though now images of all church meetings of my life welled up within me with much suppressed and forgotten anger... It was not the words, for they were the same old slave-borne words; it was as though he'd changed the emotion beneath the words while yet the old longing, resigned, transcendent emotion still sounded above..." (452-453).

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"Gradually she increased its volume, until at times the voice seemed to become a disembodied force that sought to enter her, to violate her, shaking her, rocking her rhythmically, as though it had become the source of her being, rather than the fluid web of her own creation" (116).