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I thought it was crazy that the songs that the slaves sang had all sorts of hidden meanings. I never would have looked it up if we hadn't touched on it in class, so I'm glad we did. It's amazing the meaning they get from songs that sound so normal. I never would have picked out the hidden meanings if it weren't for the explanations on the songs. All of the information I found on this topic was great and I would love to learn more about individual songs and what they meant.

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"Wade in the Water" Sheet Music

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Slaves wading in the water trying to escape to the North without being caught

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“Pathways to Freedom | Secrets: Signs and Symbols | Music.” Pathways to Freedom: Maryland and the Underground Railroad, 2018, pathways.thinkport.org/secrets/music2.cfm.

Berry, Kenyatta. “Singing in Slavery: Songs of Survival, Songs of Freedom.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 2018, www.pbs.org/mercy-street/blogs/mercy-street-revealed/songs-of-survival-and-songs-of-freedom-during-slavery/.

“Slavery and the Making of America . The Slave Experience: Education, Arts, & Culture | PBS.” Legendary Violinists. Fritz Kreisler, www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/education/feature.html.

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One example of a song with a helpful hidden meaning is "Wade in the Water." This song was sung by Harriet Tubman to tell escaping slaves to stay off the trails and get in the water so that the dogs wouldn't sniff them out when people went looking for them.

Another example is the song "Steal Away." This song sent signals to other slaves to tell of their plans to escape, sometimes giving directions to the North.

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Although slave masters thought the songs that were sung by the slaves were just to pass the time, they also had very helpful hidden meanings. The songs were used to communicate from group to group carrying secret messages or codes. Some words in the songs had an underlying meaning that gave other slaves an important message.

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The purpose for singing songs in the field was to keep the slaves occupied with something other than thinking of the work they were doing. Some songs that were sung were also used to help remember their history or important events that happened. In addition to that, all of the songs that were sung were used to express their emotions.

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When Africans were brought to America, they brought their love and culture of music with them. There were three main types of songs that were sung by slaves throughout the day. The first was religious songs. These songs were inspired by their Christian beliefs and/or African traditions. The second is work songs. These songs were sung while slaves were working in the fields. Someone would sing something and the others would sing something in reply. The last type of song were the recreational songs. The slaves would sing, dance, and play instruments in their free time together.