“While
on their way, they would make the dense old woods, for miles around, reverberate
with their wild songs, revealing at once the highest joy and the deepest
sadness.” (Douglass 57). I’ve always known that singing was something that
slaves did, but I never really thought about it until Frederick Douglass
started talking about it. I honestly thought it was something just to pass the
time away and maybe escape from their terrible situations. Maybe it was, but
Douglass does point out that these songs were means of communication. “This
they would sing, as a chorus, to words which to many would seem unmeaning
jargon, but which, nevertheless, were full of meaning to themselves.” (Douglass
57).
So how I see it is no one would
understand what you were saying unless they were in on it. Slave owners and
people in the North most likely didn’t understand the purposes of these and
misinterpreted them. Douglass even says, “The mere hearing of those songs would
do more to impress some minds with the horrible character of slavery” (57). The
overseers hearing the songs would see the exact opposite of what the slaves
were feeling. These songs probably sounded cheerful, but these people were
definitely not in a happy place in their lives. These songs often expressed
their true feeling and were one way that the slaves could actually express
themselves. “They [the songs] told a tale of woe which was then altogether
beyond my feeble comprehension, they were tones loud, long, and deep…”
(Douglass 57).
After reading this chapter from Douglass’ Narrative I went online and I searched
for some of these songs. I didn’t find too much, but there was one song that I
kept running into was “Wade in the Water.” It’s a song that some believe was a
way to communicate to escaping slaves. It was a way to tell them to get off the
trail and into water so that dogs couldn’t follow their scent trail. Apparently
it’s a debatable subject whether or not some of these songs were used to relay
information, but it makes complete senses to me if there was really no other
way to distribute this information without severe punishment.
From reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, I find the scene of which Sarah picked up in the beginning of the story, and I also see how she referred to song as being part of slaves’ agony and communication. Further reading on its matter informs myself that there are some misinterpretations to which we make and we don’t truly understand until it is actually examined in the story. Many important points are made from reading upon this topic.
ReplyDeleteOne of the texts reads, “I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake. Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears. At least, such is my experience. I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness. Crying for joy, and singing for joy, were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery” (Douglass 58). This implies myself that it was common for people to take that slaves were happy that they sang while they working, but it is actually completely backward; Douglass mentions slaves don't sing because they're happy, but they sing because they're sad.
Closely reading about this song, I can also take it as a possibility of communication in a way to escape from slavery as well. I can consider this textual analysis as informing slaves’ true sentiment towards slavery and perhaps their hope to free from their dehumanization. The text describes, “they would sometimes sing the most pathetic sentiment in the most rapturous tone, and the most rapturous sentiment in the most pathetic tone" (Douglass 57). This tells myself that hearing of those songs make transition from happy to sadness, and it essentially impart the terrors of slavery. At the end, I think the songs truly allowed Douglass to understand how dehumanizing and miserable slavery really was upon their consequence.
Hey Sarah I found that blog very interesting and wanted to look up more songs about the Underground Railroad. I came across three other songs called “Steal Away” and “Sweet Chariot”, and “Follow the Drinking Gourd”. The first song “Steal Away” is about a slave who is ready to run away. The references in this song seem very clear to me so I wonder why the slave owners did not catch the lyrics of the slaves saying “I ain’t got long to stay here.” The second song is “Sweet Chariot” it is also about slaves getting ready to escape. It is cueing the slave that there are people coming to help them escape “A band of angels coming after me.” Another song that I think a slave owner should catch on to the lyrics, “Coming for to carry me home.” The last song I found is called “Follow the Drinking Gourd.” It is a song about escaping to the North during the spring. Again I find it hard to believe that slave owners could not catch lyrics like “The riverbank makes a very good road. The dead trees will show you the way.” It is interesting hoe the slaves could sing these songs and pass them to others in order to escape their slave owner. The lyrics are very obvious, but maybe back then to the slave owners they could care less if the slaves sang songs as long as the work got done.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I loved your insight about the singing that Frederick Douglass mentions in his narrative. When reading this particular section of the book, I immediately thought of “Wade in the Water.” I sang, “Wade in the Water” with my choir in high school and we had a lot of fun discussing the seriousness of the song and how it possibly helped slaves escape slavery. The song to me sounded more like a warning of what could happen if you were not careful or safe when making an escape. I thought it was terrible that the slave owners recognized their singing as them being happy when in reality it was the extreme opposite. The songs became a way for slaves to unite and share their common goals of escaping slavery and achieving freedom, which Douglass of course brings up many times. This particular section about the singing intrigued me and I appreciated your thoughts on the subject.
ReplyDelete