Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes Part 4

A rich variety of references to scriptural characters is seen in the majority of the negro spirituals, both of the past and of the present. The negro portrays the conduct of heroes in the past with imaginative skill.

Their songs are often running-stories of scripture, in which the effort is made to include as many characters as possible and at the same time draw conclusions which have suitable morals, but these songs may be better studied in the examples that follow. Some of the typical references to the Scriptures will show the average interpretation given them by the negroes.

O, sisters, can't you help me sing, For Moses' sister did help him.

Where wus Ezekiel when de church fell down?

Down in de valley wid his head hung down.

Ezekiel said he spied de train a comin', He got on board an' she never stop runnin'.

G.o.d made Adam an' Adam wus first, G.o.d made Adam out o' the dust o' the earth.

Well G.o.d show Noah de rainbow sign, No more water but fire nex' time.

Mose live till he got old, Buried in de mountain so I'm told.

Mary wept and Martha mourned, Jesus Christ laid de corner stone.

Mary wore the golden chain, Every link was in Jesus' name.

Judas was a deceitful man-- Well he betrayed the innercent lam'.

John wrote a letter an' he wrote it in haste, If yer want to go to heaven, you better make haste.

John declar he saw a man, Wid seben lamps in his right han'.

The negroes wonder "wher's sister Mary, Martha, Brudder Moses, brudder Daniel (and the others) gone." So, too, "Sister Hannah, Hagar, brudder Moses" and the rest "took dey seat." And again, "Wondah whar good ole Daniel, doubtin' Thomas, sinkin' Peter" and others. Moses "smote de water"

and the negro says:

I want to go where Moses trod, For Moses gone to de house o' G.o.d.

Peter is commanded again and again to "go ring dem bells"; "Daddy Peter go to Jesus", "Fisherman Peter out at sea", the latter perhaps being the origin of "sinkin' Peter." Elijah is one of the favorites of the Old Testament. "Elijah gwine ride in de chariot in de mornin'", and Isaiah who "mounted on de wheel o' time" is a kindred character to Ezekiel and Elijah. Jacob's ladder and struggle is vivid enough to be sung. "I'm gwine climb up Jacob's ladder"; "Rastlin' Jacob, let me go." "Jacob tremblin' on a limb." Noah's victory is the common theme. "Dey call Brudder Noah a foolish man", but that makes no difference for "de Lord tole Noah fer to build him ark", and "de ole ark a moverin." The negro remarks characteristically: "G.o.d placed Adam in de garden, 'was 'bout de cool o'

day." Gabriel is proverbial and the att.i.tude of the singer is always ready "fer to hear Gabriel blow his horn." "Don't you hear Gabriel's trumpet in de mornin'"? "Little David play on de harp" has been a s.h.i.+ning example for many another "David" who loved to blow on his harp. "Father Abraham sittin' down side o' de holy Lamb", is almost synonymous with Christ.

Prominent among the clear impressions made by the Scriptures is that of the delivery of Daniel, the Hebrew children and Jonah. However, one must read the songs in order to get the full significance of the references.

Although the negro bases everything in his religion upon the Bible, and his songs and sermons and exhortations abound in quotations from the "Holy word", he has comparatively little to say of the Bible itself as a book.

He thinks sometimes that it is a "c.u.mpa.s.s" and also bases his convictions on the truth of the Bible. He asks "How do you know? For my Bible hit tell me so."

For in dat Bible you will see.

Jesus died fer you an' me.

Matthew, Mark, Luke an' John Tell me where my Master's gone.

Go read de fifth of Matthew An' read de chapter through, It is de guide to Christians An' tell 'em what to do.

Now take yo' Bible an' read it through, An' ev'y word you fin' is true.

As the Bible is the _compa.s.s_, so sometimes the Holy Ghost is thought of as the _pilot_. The Holy Ghost is too vague for the negroes to fathom and is not tangible enough for their imaginations. But he says: "If this ain't de holy Ghost I don't know", but goes little further.

Just as the negro expects to talk and walk with G.o.d and Jesus, so he looks forward to seeing the angels in Heaven. He wants to see them with their white robes and hear them sing; he even says they mourn. "Bright angels hoverin' on de water by de light", are but a part of the angel band which he hopes to join. "Join de hebben wid de angels" is his watchword and by it he sees in his child-like fancy all the beauties of ideal creatures.

I'm gwine to keep a climbin' high, Till I meet dem angels in de sky.

Dem pooty angels I shall see-- Why doan de debbil let a me be?

O when I git to heaven goin' sit an' tell, Three archangels gwine er ring dem bells.

Two white angels come a walkin' down, Long white robes an' starry crown.

What's dat yonder dat I see?

Big tall angel comin' after me.

The negro makes a terrible picture of the day of judgment. For him it means everything that could possibly happen at the end of the world. It is the destruction of the sinner and the glory of the righteous. Nor does he hesitate to affirm that the Christian in heaven will shout amen to the sinner's d.a.m.nation. The sinner will see his mother and friends in heaven while he is doomed to h.e.l.l. It serves as a warning theme for the song more than it indicates reality of thought. But here is a part of his picture:

My Lord what a morning when de stars begin to fall, You'll see de worl' on fire, You'll see de moon a bleedin' an'

De moon will turn to blood, Den you'll see de elements a meltin', You'll see de stars a fallin', O yes, de stars in de elements a fallin', An' de moon drips way in blood, When G.o.d goin' call dem childuns from de distant lan', Den you see de coffins bustin', Den you see de bones a creepin', Den you see po' sinner risin', Den you hear de tombstones crackin', An' you see de graves a bustin', h.e.l.l an' seas gwine give up their daid, Den you see de forked lightenin', Den you hear de rollin' thunder, Earth shall reel an' totter, h.e.l.l shall be uncapped, De dragon be loosed, Don't you hear them sinners cryin'?

Such a scene vividly told of at a revival and sung to the a.s.sociations of the moment is too much for the average negro; the sinner cries for mercy and turns to a Christian; the latter sings: "Fare you well po' sinner" and

A mighty sea of gla.s.s mingled wid fier, Good-bye, brother, I'm goin' higher.

Along with the scenes which are a.s.sociated with the resurrection and judgment go the sadder strains of the "mourners"; "weepin' mournin', cry'n'"--these will be much in evidence. A study of the songs that follow will give some idea of the emotional nature of the themes and music. The negroes sing sympathy. "Weepin' Mary, weep no mo'"--"Mary wept, Martha cried", why can't they too? "Now ain't dis hard trial and tribulation?" He sings often in his songs of hard times and trials. "When you see me," he says, "pity me." "n.o.body knows de trubble I seen" but "I boun' to leave dis worl'; Fare you well, dere's a better day comin'." His prayers are more pathetic than his songs; his appeals interpret the spirit of song and of wors.h.i.+p. But one would scarcely look for a more pathetic wail than that of the negro who sings

Sometimes I hangs my head an' cries, But Jesus goin' to wipe my weep'n' eyes.

If the negro loves to mourn and if his songs are full of sadness and pathos, he also loves to shout and vigorously defends the right to shout as much as he pleases. His songs have many "Hallelujahs" in them; many notes of victory may be read in the songs of his choice. They often sing, however, the songs which should be the most joyous in the same sad and plaintive tone of the sadder ones. They forget the words. In many, however, the shouting takes away any sadness and these livelier songs voice the light and sensuous emotions equally as well as the more serious ones tell of hards.h.i.+ps. The negro maintains that always and everywhere, "You'll hear the Christian shout." "De richest man I ever seed, his heart was fill wid Jesus an' Holy Ghost." "I got de glory in my soul" he says and

I real'y do b'lieve widout a doubt, Dat de church hab a mighty right to shout.

I tell you what I lak de bes', It is dem shoutin' Mefodes'.

If the negro's mother and sister and father and preacher and the others, as the songs put it, "died a shoutin'," why he is "goin' die shoutin'

too."

Gwine hab happy meetin', Gwine shout in hebben, Gwine shout an' nebber tire, O slap yo' han's chilluns, O pat yo' feets chilluns, I feels de spirit movin'

O now I'm gittin' happy.

Of true love and devotion to G.o.d one finds little definite and concrete expressions as compared with other themes. The negro is constantly affirming his love for "his Jesus" and offering his eternal allegiance in a general way. But in the average instance the testimony is subordinated to some special word or phrase which receives the greater part of the significance in the song. What does he mean when he asks: "Does yo' love continue true?" or when he insists: "I wants to know, does you love yo'

Jesus?" The negroes are often heard to say that they want to do something "for the Lord". In the same way they sing "I goin' to weep all I can for my Lord, I goin' pray all I can for my Lord, I goin' do all I can for my Lord." In each case the relation of the negro and his G.o.d are ideal and he conceives of his own deeds as being, not the practical every-day life, but as coming in the future when there will be nothing unpleasant about them.

It was doubted if the negro's ideas of G.o.d and Heaven and his relation to them were truly expressed in his songs. A series of experiments were made with negro children, wherein questions were answered by them at the time they were given, others being carried to their homes or teachers. Their ideas of h.e.l.l and heaven, G.o.d and the angels are almost identical. Perhaps some of them were gained from the songs; some of them were certainly not; all seemed to agree with each other and with those of the race in a remarkable way.

Nature contributes something to the negro spirituals. Certain parts of nature are symbolic and serve to convey the picture of a vivid imagination as nothing else can do. The wonders of G.o.d and the terrors of the judgment must be seen in their relation and effect upon the forces of nature.

Certain natural phenomena inspire awe and reverence; they add thus to the conception of his religious fear. Other references to nature convey, as they only could, pleasing features of life, hence of heaven and G.o.d. The negro refers to the "break o' day", the "settin' o' the sun", the "cool o'

de evenin'" and each is very expressive. Morning and evening are common; he prays in the evening perhaps; in the morning he is going to heaven. The hillside, the mountain and mountain top, the valley, signify and typify the experiences of the Christian of the past and present; the heavenly breeze comes from the valley. The negro sees a paradise and a wilderness, a suns.h.i.+ne and a storm. But

Dere's a tree in paradise, Christians call de tree ob life,

and he faithfully believes "I specs to eat de fruit off'n dat tree". The earth trembles and is jarred; the sky is "shook." The river is "chilly an'

cold, wide an' deep." The "rock" is better than the miry clay and "nebber mind de sun--see how she run." The stars, moon, and world fall, bleed, and burn. The thunder and the lightning are in the stormy cloud; Jesus may be, too. Satan is a snake in the gra.s.s and a hunting dog. Young lambs and "de sheep done know de road." The summer, spring, flowers and the field are mentioned. The negro wishes he had wings like Noah's dove. He is sometimes awed: