“When Israel was in Egypt's land: Let my people go,
Oppressed so hard they could not stand, Let my people go.
Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land
Tell old Pharaoh,
Let my people go.”
If you know the song, “Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore,” you know a spiritual
from that time. Think about the words, “River Jordan is deep and wide,
milk and honey on the other side.” That milk and honey meant more to a
slave than food. It meant hope for a better world – perhaps not in this
life, but in the next.
The Influence of Spirituals
Negro spirituals deeply influenced American music. They changed over
time and were the basis for gospel music, the blues, and jazz. The basic
structures of this kind of music are all taken from spirituals. Those
forms of music in turn influenced rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, soul, reggae, and
hip-hop. Musicians like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin or
Kanye West all built on the sound of Negro spirituals.
In fact, the earliest mention of rock ‘n’ roll comes from a spiritual
called “The Camp Meeting Jubilee,” which was recorded in 1916. It includes
the words, “We've been rocking and rolling in your arms,” which is a reference
to slaves being cradled in the arms of God.
