Spirituals: Coded Language to Plan Escape or Clandestine Meetings
The great African American author and preacher Miles Mark Fisher was the greatest proponent of the theory that virtually every spiritual was a veiled reference to escaping to freedom. Some of Fisher's supporting examples, such as "Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees," seem obvious in retrospect. The Christian act of communion is tied neither to the solar calendar nor does it have a directional mandate, so Fisher believes that in the lines:
Lyrics
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun
Oh Lord, have mercy on me
the phrase "with my face to the rising sun" is probably a coded signal for a secret meeting of the "African cult" (Fisher 1968, 29). Fisher's similar interpretations of other spirituals depend on detailed knowledge of both when and where specific spirituals were composed-information that most scholars maintain is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain.
However, certain spirituals do appear to have multiple meanings. Both Fisher and Earl Conrad suggest that the legendary Harriet Tubman may have authored "Go Down, Moses," which soon became her "special" song:
Lyrics
Dark and thorny is de pathway
Where de pilgrim makes his ways;
But beyond dis vale of sorrow
Lie de fields of endless days.
Supposedly, when slaves heard this spiritual, they were to begin preparations for leaving immediately. Tubman is also supposed to have promoted the spiritual " Wade in the Water " to demonstrate how to throw bloodhounds off the scent (Conrad 1942, 305). Watch the videos below for a good visual, dramatization, and interpretation of the classical spiritual "Wade in the Water."
WADE IN THE WATER - OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY AEOLIANS
For [the slaves] the 'troubled waters' meant the ups and downs, the vicissitudes of life. Within the context of the 'troubled' waters of life there are healing waters, because God is in the midst of the turmoil. Do not shrink from moving confidently out into the choppy seas. Wade in the water, because God is troubling the water.
Howard Thurman
Another spiritual that makes reference to water is "Foller de Drinkin' Gou'd." Lovell makes mention that this spiritual "was a musical and poetic map of one line in the network of the Underground Railroad" (Lovell, 1972, 196). The reference here to the Underground Railroad according to Rebecca Lynn Raber, should be understood to simply mean "an intricate network of escape routes, safe houses, coded language, and secret information, stretching from Mexico north to Canada.
"Workers on the Underground Railroad could be any color or social status, Abolitionist, free, or fugitive, and they could provide a variety of services to the cause. This included sharing the location of secret meeting points, hosting fugitives, or by offering supplies" (Raber 2018, 9). Raber continues to state that "although there were several famous figures of the Underground Railroad-Levi Coffin (1798-1897), Thomas Garrett (1789-1871), and Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)-perhaps the most notorious was Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913), the Grand Conductor. Tubman was a "fugitive, and a friend of the fugitive." She is credited with having assisted over 300 escapees in their quest for freedom (Raber 2018, 10-11).
Levi Coffin (1798-1897)
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)
Thomas Garrett (1789-1871)
Howard Thurman
For [the slaves] the 'troubled waters' meant the ups and downs, the vicissitudes of life. Within the context of the 'troubled' waters of life there are healing waters, because God is in the midst of the turmoil. Do not shrink from moving confidently out into the choppy seas. Wade in the water, because God is troubling the water.
Go Down, Moses
Dark and thorny is de pathway
Where de pilgrim makes his ways;
But beyond dis vale of sorrow
Lie de fields of endless days.