Secret messages most slaves could not read or write, so they used the art of music to convey secret messages and warnings involving the underground rail road. The songs were usually spiritual so the slave owners didn’t suspect anything. Some of these songs you’ve grown up with are actually ‘freedom songs’. Follow the drinking gourd Steal away Wade in the water Swing low sweet chariot The gospel train’s a comin’

Follow the drinking gourd Wade in the water Harriet Tubman sang this spiritual song to slaves as a warning. In the song she tells them to travel by water or along the riverbanks to avoid being tracked by the bloodhounds. Follow the drinking gourd There was an old man named ‘Peg Legged Joe’ who worked odd jobs in the south. Each plantation he’d go to he’d teach the slaves the words to this song. It was instructions on how to escape to the north. The ‘drinking gourd’ refers to the big dipper , ‘the old man’ means peg leg Joe, ‘the great big river’ represents the Ohio river, and ‘when the sun comes back’ is winter, when the slaves were supposed to start their journey. This song is the best represents the underground railroad.

Swing low, sweet chariot this song is most closely associated with Harriet Tubman. she sung this song to the slaves she helped escape. The “chariot” in the song represented the wagons used to transport fleeing slaves. And later on in the century it also represented railroad train. The gospel train’s a comin’ Slaves sung this song to tell other slaves that a group of men and women were planning escape to the underground railroad.

Songs of freedom. Follow the drinking gourd The gospel train’s a comin’ Wade in the water The Gospel train’s a’comin’ I hear it just at hand I hear the car wheel rumblin’ And rollin’ thro’ the land Chorus: Get on board little children Get on board little children Get on board little children There's room for many more I hear the train a’comin' She's comin' round the curve She's loosened all her steam and brakes And strainin' ev'ry nerve Chorus: The fare is cheap and all can go The rich and poor are there No second class aboard this train No difference in the fare When the Sun comes back And the first quail calls Follow the Drinking Gourd, For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom If you follow the Drinking Gourd The riverbank makes a very good road. The dead trees will show you the way. Left foot, peg foot, travelling on, Follow the Drinking Gourd. The river ends between two hills Follow the Drinking Gourd. There’s another river on the other side Follow the Drinking Gourd. When the great big river meets the little river Follow the Drinking Gourd. For the old man is a-waiting for to carry to freedom If you follow the Drinking Gourd. Wade in the water, Wade in the water children. Wade in the water God’s gonna trouble the water Who’s all those children all dressed in Red? God’s gonna trouble the water. Must be the ones that Moses led. God’s gonna trouble the water. What are those children all dressed in White? God’s gonna trouble the water. Must be the ones of the Israelites. God’s gonna trouble the water. Who are these children all dressed in Blue? God’s gonna trouble the water. Must be the ones that made it through. God’s gonna trouble the water.

 The credits  Songs of freedom. City of Owen sound, 2004. Web. 16 March 2010. The spirit of the sweetgrass. Nicole Seitz, 2007. Web. 16 March 2010 Got a song about it; wanna hear it? Ben Eastaugh and Chris Sternal-Johnson, 2007. web 16 March 2010. Rose, Ruth Starr. Paramour fine arts, inc. 2000. Web. 16 March 2010