A Brief History
“Negro spirituals are songs created by the Africans who were captured and brought to the United States to be sold into slavery. This stolen race was deprived of their languages, families, and cultures; yet, their masters could not take away their music.
“Over the years, these slaves and their descendants adopted Christianity, the religion of their masters. They re-shaped it into a deeply personal way of dealing with the oppression of their enslavement. Their songs, which were to become known as spirituals, reflected the slaves’ need to express their new faith:
“My people told stories, from Genesis to Revelation, with God’s faithful as the main characters. They knew about Adam and Eve in the Garden, about Moses and the Red Sea. They sang of the Hebrew children and Joshua at the battle of Jericho. They could tell you about Mary, Jesus, God, and the Devil. If you stood around long enough, you’d hear a song about the blind man seeing, God troubling the water, Ezekiel seeing a wheel, Jesus being crucified and raised from the dead. If slaves couldn’t read the Bible, they would memorize Biblical stories they heard and translate them into songs.” 1
1“The Gospel Truth about the Negro Spiritual” by Randye Jones
Wade in the Water
by Wallis Willis 1820-1880
Words: Traditional Music: Negro Spiritual
Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God’s a-gonna to trouble the water
See that host all dressed in white
God’s a-gonna to trouble the water
The leader looks like the Israelite
God’s a g-onna trouble the water
See that band all dressed in red
God’s a- gonna trouble the water
Looks like the band that Moses led
God’s a-gonna trouble the water
Look over yonder, what do you see?
God’s a-gonna to trouble the water
The Holy Ghost a-coming on me
God’s a-gonna to trouble the water
If you don’t believe I’ve been redeemed
God’s a-gonna to trouble the water
Just follow me down to the Jordan’s stream
God’s a-gonna to trouble the water
These Spirituals were sometimes used as communication tools during the years of the underground railroad, while trying to escape the bondage of their masters. Wade In Water was a signal to use the streams and rivers to travel, hampering the hounds’ ability to following their scent. References to Moses leading his people from their bondage in Egypt and crossing the “Jordan’s stream” a reference to crossing the Ohio river into the freedom of the northern states.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (1865)
by Wallis Willis 1820-1880
I looked over Jordan and what did I see
Comin’ for to carry me home
There was a band of angels, a-comin after me
Comin’ for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me home
I’m sometimes up, and I’m sometimes down
Comin’ for to carry me home
But I know my soul is heavenly bound
Comin’ for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me home
If you get there before I do
Comin’ for to carry me home
Tell all my friends that I’m a-comin’ too
Comin’ for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me home
And now they’re comin’ for to carry me home
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” was composed by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory in what is now Choctaw County, near the County seat of Hugo, Oklahoma sometime after 1865. He may have been inspired by the sight of the Red River, by which he was toiling, which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah’s being taken to heaven by a chariot (2 Kings 2:11). (Wikipedia)
In 1619 the first African slaves arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. Slavery continued until December 20, 1865, with the passing and ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States.
Through these torturous years, the African/African American people sang songs of faith while enduring the incredible pain, cruelty, and suffering of slavery. Let Us Break Bread Together, Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow, Go Tell It on the Mountain, Kum bay-ya, He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word, Were you There?, I Want Jesus to walk with Me, Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho, and This Little Light of Mine are just a few examples of the incredible body of music that inspired a people to freedom. Using voice, text, melody, harmony, rhythm and improvisation the African people continued to sing a message of hope and “freedom” through Jesus Christ the great deliverer.
