Origins of the Spirituals
“...Most of the time they [Spirituals] had their start in the fervent heat of a backwoods religious meeting. Slaves gathered secretly to encourage one another and to cry out to God for freedom. This activity was against the law, and they knew that a severe beating or even death could face them if they were caught. But the joy and peace that they received from heaven in these meetings made it worth the risk they faced here on earth. The atmosphere in midst of the woods was always charged with emotion. As they mourned their wretched existence, songs would develop spontaneously -- psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. In time, these melodies were memorized and passed along from plantation to plantation.
...‘No, no, no!’ their black preachers told them, ’you are not slaves, you are the apple of God's eye, made in His very own image.’ They learned that it was through a good and benevolent God, who heard the cry of the Hebrew slaves, that freedom came. They realized that they were not inferior to the white man, just as the Hebrews were not inferior to the Egyptians.
The spirituals attested to this and proclaimed the goodness of this God and His ultimate triumph over evil. They would taste freedom, they believed, across the Jordan River of death - and some sweet day in the here and now. Looking forward to that day of freedom, the slaves sang of the ‘Deep River,’ with its mighty waters flowing into distant horizons. As the embers glowed in the fire, in the heart of the forest they would sing:
Deep river -- my home is over Jordan,
Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.
Oh, don't you want to go to that Gospel feast,
That promised land where all is peace?
Walk into heaven, and take a seat,
And cast my crown at Jesus feet.
Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.”
~Article by Craig von Buseck
...‘No, no, no!’ their black preachers told them, ’you are not slaves, you are the apple of God's eye, made in His very own image.’ They learned that it was through a good and benevolent God, who heard the cry of the Hebrew slaves, that freedom came. They realized that they were not inferior to the white man, just as the Hebrews were not inferior to the Egyptians.
The spirituals attested to this and proclaimed the goodness of this God and His ultimate triumph over evil. They would taste freedom, they believed, across the Jordan River of death - and some sweet day in the here and now. Looking forward to that day of freedom, the slaves sang of the ‘Deep River,’ with its mighty waters flowing into distant horizons. As the embers glowed in the fire, in the heart of the forest they would sing:
Deep river -- my home is over Jordan,
Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.
Oh, don't you want to go to that Gospel feast,
That promised land where all is peace?
Walk into heaven, and take a seat,
And cast my crown at Jesus feet.
Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.”
~Article by Craig von Buseck
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