I don t want to steal your freedom lyrics code#
For example, it is said that the song " Wade in the Water" was code to get in the water to throw the scent of dogs off when they were being chased by Pattyrollers (Slave Patrols). Nevertheless, while these songs may have been coded to express slaves' disdain of their oppressed lives, they in some cases served a dual purpose for the Underground Railroad. Song was an early form of resistance, in which slaves would express both the sorrow from oppression and the joy to come in the next world, as these songs deeply pulled from Christian traditions. During the Middle Passage slaves would use song to communicate with one another to find family, other community members, or to tell what community they came from. First off, singing and songs have always been part of the Black experience.
![i don t want to steal your freedom lyrics i don t want to steal your freedom lyrics](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/01/f7/db/01f7db8ebf284451a09349d7932e519e.jpg)
Now I know where your mind may be heading, but before we go to deep down that road, I want to clarify some things. This signifies that slaves not only didn't give up hope but were still yearning for freedom. What I however want you to take away from that song and other Negro Spirituals is how often the theme of going somewhere or transformation is used. We can speculate that what they were trying to hear was the call to run away either physically or to die, ending their torment. When this song is sung at funerals you can usually hear the bone weary tired spirt that is reaching out yearning to be free. When sung you can hear the singer begging those around them to be quiet so that they can hear. Like many Negro Spirituals, the song was purported to be a coded song that would alert others that someone was attempting to run away to the north. Sounds like Jesus, Jesus is calling my name! (r3) That said, I want to share with you that song (To hear me badly sing it, see below): When my mother passed away, she indicated that she wanted one of these traditional songs sung at her funeral, a wish we honored. Many of these songs have a very sad tone to them and have often been used as part of funeral rites.
![i don t want to steal your freedom lyrics i don t want to steal your freedom lyrics](https://images.lookhuman.com/render/standard/2912966827948000/3600-white-md-t-did-someone-say-freedom.jpg)
Spiritual songs have been said to be the first kind of music that was native to American soil, and like Soul Food, these songs have been passed down for generations and their legacy built upon by other Black Americans and influenced other musical genres such as Jazz. It's like in that moment you feel every single second of oppression yet at the same time the hope and dream of a better future. It's something like a deep sleeping wary beast is awakened somewhere inside. I don’t know if I can explain the feeling that some of us with slave ancestry feel when we hear music like that. I appreciated that they tried to keep the essence of slave music and used lyrics composed by Harriet Tubman herself in pivotal scenes in the movie, like when she first ran away. While I watched the movie, I found myself very moved by the musical choices made. I won’t go into why it took me so long to watch it, that is…complicated, but it happened last night. I finally broke down and watched Harriet last night.