Spirituals
Ø Slavery in America began with the first European colonists and lasted until the 13th Amendment to The Constitution (1619-1865)
Ø Slaves were not permitted to be literate
Ø Slaves were allowed to attend religious revivals with their masters; slaves also held secret worship rites
Ø The spirituals slaves created used their language and African musical traditions
Ø The songs served two purposes: lift spirits and encourage hope and send signals to help slaves escape North.
Ø Allegorical meaning of songs: desire for physical freedom and happiness in Heaven
Ø Full of Biblical allusions, but with metaphorical meanings for the slaves (Biblical figures)
Maps of the Israeli’s Exodus
Background for “Go Down, Moses”
1. The Egyptians conquered the Israelis and enslaved them; this lasted hundreds of years.
2. Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, decreed that all Hebrew male children be executed.
3. Moses’ mother hid him for three months after his birth and then set him in a river; eventually, the Pharaoh’s daughter discovered Moses and cared for him
4. Later in Moses’ life, God spoke through a burning bush and told him to rescue his people from the Egyptians.
5. Moses demands that the Pharaoh, “let my people go”
6. The Pharaoh refuses and each refusal elicits a punishment from God: these punishments total ten before the Pharaoh agrees to free the Israelis.
7. The final punishment was for every first born to be killed; this is the origin of Passover
8. Moses leads his people out of Egypt, across the parted Red Sea, and into Canaan, the promised land of milk and honey
Spirituals
“Go Down, Moses”
1. Knowing the story of Moses, what is this spiritual literally saying?
2. Offer two specific biblical allusions from the song
3. Knowing that slaves created these songs, what is the allegorical meaning? Hint: the Biblical figures are metaphors for things/people in the slaves’ lives.
4. What is the purpose of this song/poem? What is the mood? The Tone? Think: how does Louis Armstrong’s performance support your answer?
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”
1. From a biblical standpoint, what is the song’s meaning? What is Jordan? What is coming for the speaker? Where is home?
2. The mood is strikingly different than in “Go Down, Moses”; explain how. Jordan features prominently as a barrier: what is its allegorical counterpart?