Okay, so now I know that Rock and Roll originated from Black African Music. But I still don’t understand how Rock and Roll is related to the Second Coming of Christ.
Initially, slaves used songs and music to boost their overall morale and spirits. Their songs were crucial to getting
them through the day. Singing was a source of inspiration and motivation. During times of stressful labor and strenuous situations, they would break out in song to lift their inner spirits. Singing songs helped pass the time and lifted the spirits of distraught workers. What began as a way to bolster spirits and provide hope and strength, turned into an intricate, creative and innovative way to communicate with each other. Songs were a part of the slaves
daily lives that served as a survival tactic, as well as a means of coded
communication.
Preachers were hired by slave owners to preach
the gospel to their slaves to give them enough religious instruction to keep
them in line and prevent them from uprising. The slaves knew
many stories of the Bible. Many were ministered to by Christian missionaries
before they were forcefully deported to America. When they arrived in
America they were permitted and encouraged to attend church services so they
would be converted to Christianity and become better slaves. Conversion also served as a deterrent to eliminate African religions from
flourishing in the United States.
Some plantation owners forced the slaves to attend
church services to hear the message of Christianity, a message that religious leaders carefully and skillfully tailored
to justify slavery. They often used Ephesians 6:5-7; 1 Peter 2:18; Colossians 3:22 and Titus 2:9 to twist the Bible in support of slavery. The slaves became educated in the verses of the Bible and they
knew the biblical stories of Jesus because they heard preaching from the
pulpit. Also, many slave owners read the Bible to their slaves. They heard
stories from both the Old and the New Testaments. They also learned the hymns that
were sung at the church services.
Many of the captured slaves
were Muslims who could read and write and were well acquainted with the Koran,
a holy book that contains references and events that are also found in
the Bible, but with variations. Ten to twenty percent of the captured slaves
were Muslim. Among them were scholars, teachers and leaders. They were educated in
Koranic schools in Africa and could read and write Arabic. While working on the
plantations they would write messages to each other
in the sand.
The slaves became very hungry
for the word of God. They would often slip away at night, into secluded areas
to be taught to read Scripture by slaves who were literate. They were moved
to hold their own religious meetings out of disgust of their masters’
preachers. When they began to sing the song Steal
Away To Jesus that meant there was going to be a secret religious meeting that night
where they gathered to sing, pray, and worship God. They were more in tune with what Jesus
and the Bible taught than the ministers who preached to them because they took
the Bible to heart. In actuality, the preachers were freeing the
masters’ slaves by educating them and teaching them the Bible. The slaves no
doubt heard about how the redeeming blood of Jesus could set them free.
The slaves were so set on freedom that they acted upon what the Bible taught
and set their sights upon pursuing their freedom through Jesus. The
Bible, Jesus and Scripture became their ticket to freedom. The slaves became
Christians. They gave their lives over to Jesus, making Him the Lord and
Master of their lives. Jesus was the slaves’ answer to freedom. Jesus was their
precious Shepherd who watched over them and guarded their souls. They knew
they were under His care, even though their present situations were very
unpleasant and unjust. Not all slaves became Christians, but the doctrines,
symbols, and vision of life preached by Christianity were all familiar to them.
The reason slave owners hired
preachers to teach the Bible and Scripture to their slaves, was originally for
the purpose of keeping them from rebelling. The thought was that if the
slaves were given enough religious instruction and taught about God and Jesus,
they would soon submit to authority and not create any uprising. That,
however, seemed to have backfired on the masters because the slaves listened
very intently to what they were being taught about Jesus and the Bible. They
learned they could depend on Jesus for their very freedom. By becoming
Christians and giving their lives over to Jesus and making Him the Lord and Master
of their lives, they knew He could deliver to them what they prayed for. And
the slaves prayed to and worshiped Jesus.
Slaves soon began to take phrases from the Bible and other
holy books, and snatches from hymns and songs of inspiration to create their own lyrical songs and tunes.
Many of the songs they created and sang contained references to God, Jesus, Mary, Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Jerusalem,
Judgment, Prayer, the Resurrection, Heaven, Jordan, the angels Gabriel and Michael,
Paul, Silas, and even Satan. They knew the miracles of Jesus, the laws of God, prayer
and sin. They were well versed in stories from the Bible and referenced them in their songs.
Their knowledge of the holy was reflected in their songs. They sang the songs they created while working in the fields.
They sang songs of their religious beliefs and the songs gave them hope and
inspiration. They took the bible stories and verses to heart and made them their
own. They made the religious stories
their own through the music we now know as Negro spirituals. The lyrics to their songs were taken from Christianity; their words were biblical, but their meanings were personal.
They learned that they could
sing the songs they created without any deterrence from their owners. The slave
owners did not stop the slaves from singing songs while they worked in the fields. This
gave the slaves the opportunity to talk to each other through the songs they
sang, because they were not permitted to speak to each other while they
worked in the fields. So, they sang songs with words to communicate with each
other. The seemingly innocent spirituals were more than songs of endurance and
beliefs.
Songs became a tool for communication between the slaves. They exchanged information through
coded phrases and messages contained in their songs. They communicated
secret messages through coded songs that they sang while working in the fields,
and also when they gathered together. The ‘happy music’ of the hard-working slaves eluded their owners.
Their owners
were completely unaware that the slaves were communicating with each
other through the lyrics contained in the songs they were singing.
It was crucial for the slaves to have a safe means to communicate with each other, and their songs provided that outlet. Their songs were often constructed while they were working and allowed them to communicate secret messages and information to each other. They would embed hidden or coded messages within the songs for the purpose of secret communication. Their songs provided a means of verbal communication understood only by them. Onlookers, outsiders, and their owners interpreted the songs on a literal level, while the real meaning of the songs carried hidden messages within the lyrics. Only the slaves were able to decipher the messages concealed within the lyrics of the songs. Through the words, refrains and call and response method, the slaves were able to communicate messages to each other in the songs. Coded communication within their songs was prevalent.
Imbedded messages in songs provided the slaves with warnings and advice. Codes imbedded in their songs instructed slaves that they could escape by following the secret messages in the songs. Songs became so elaborate and descriptive that they could actually provide exact directions on how to escape. Although many of the slaves could not read or write they were skilled and intelligent and hid their traits from their owners.
Two common types of coded spirituals were
signal songs and map songs. In a map song, the lyrics were actually contained
elements of a map that directed the slaves to significant points
of escape. The songs would use metaphors to symbolize the constellation of the
stars to guide individuals to freedom. For example, the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, (a map song)
gave guidance and contained a complete coded map with full details of how to
escape. The lyrics and coded messages are as follows:
Follow The Drinking Gourd - Written by Peg Leg Joe
| Lyrics | Meanings |
| Verse One - Suggests escaping in winter or spring and heading north to freedom | |
| When the sun comes back | Winter or Spring |
| And the first quail calls | Breeding season: it's time to escape |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| There the old man is awaiting for to carry you to freedom | Someone will be there to take you to freedom |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| Follow the drinking gourd, follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom | Someone will be there to take you to freedom |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| Verse Two - Describes how to follow the route from Mobile, Alabama north | |
| Now the riverbank will make a mighty good road | Keep close to the banks of the Tombigbee River |
| The dead trees will show you the way | Follow the clues left on dead trees |
| Left foot, peg foot travellin' on | Clues are marked with a left foot and a right circle |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| Follow the drinking gourd, follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom | Someone will be there to take you to freedom |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| Verse Three - Describes the route through northeastern Mississippi and into Tennessee | |
| Now the river ends between two hills | The Tombigbee River ends near Woodall Mountain and a neighboring lower hill |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| There's another river on the other side | the Tennessee River is on the other side of the two hills |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| Follow the drinking gourd, follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom | Someone will be there to take you to freedom |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| Verse Four - Describes the end of the route in Paducah, Kentucky | |
| When the great big river | When the Ohio River |
| Meets the little river | meets the Tennessee river, cross the river (The Tenn. & Ohio Rivers meet In Paducah, Kentucky) |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom | Someone will be waiting on the other side to take you to freedom |
| Follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| Follow the drinking gourd, follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
| For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom | Someone will be there to take you to freedom |
| Follow the drinking gourd, follow the drinking gourd | Follow the Big Dipper in the sky which points north |
MAP SONG
Follow The Drinking Gourd
Peg Leg Joe
|
Follow The Drinking Gourd
Peg Leg Joe
Follow The Drinking Gourd
Peg Leg Joe
|
In a signal song, a singer or
group of singers communicated in code that a certain event, such as an escape,
was planned. One such song, Wade in the
Water, explains to runaways how to escape from bloodhounds.
SIGNAL SONG
Wade in the Water
North of Queen
|
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