Originally called “Sorrow Songs,” they were composed by African slaves whose names we will never know. With hidden stories and meanings, what we call “Spirituals” today are songs of suffering, survival, and hope.
How do we survive when the worst happens?
Through these songs, faith was transmitted as the stories of the Bible became the metaphor for another struggle, hidden messages, and instilling hope. Spirituals became anthems of the Civil Rights movement and led to gospel, jazz, blues, and hip-hop. They still speak to cultures around the world with universal messages.
In his interview from 2003 with Krista Tippett, Joe Carter (1949 – 2006) gives us the history of “The Spiritual” and the hidden meanings:
I think what we’re talking about is human suffering, and how do we survive when the worst happens? What are the mechanisms? And I think that African Americans have shown the world, and other peoples have done it, too. Other peoples are doing it all the time, and it’s the same process. It doesn’t matter who the people are. It doesn’t matter whether the song is an actual song of notes and music or whether it’s the spirit of a people expressed in some other way, but you’ll find — for example, when I sing these songs, I can sing “Motherless Child” in Siberia; they know what it means. They’ve been through hell. I can go to Scotland and Ireland and Wales and sing these. They understand the sentiment.
…. So the songs have become symbolic… of that universal quest for freedom … and that part of us that says, “I will not be defeated.”
“Sorrow Songs” with their message of survival and hope, transcend into “The Spirituals.”
Listen to Joe Carter on the history of “The Spiritual” in his interview with Krista Tippett’s On Being
Joe Carter Sings “Motherless Child”
Joe Carter Sings the Spirituals
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