"Swing Low Sweet Chariot," "Go Down Moses," and "Keep Your Hands on the Plow"

The three African American hymnals “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” “Go Down Moses,” and “Keep Your Hands on the Plow” that we were required to read for this blog were sang by African American slaves while they were working in the fields. These songs were a very important part of the slave’s culture because that was basically all they had for themselves at a time where they were, for the most part, not even considered humans.

“Swing Low Sweet Chariot” is a very religious song that is about the slaves wishing that the chariot of God would “swing low” and carry them home (“Swing Low” 2). This is a very hopeful song because it talked about being free and going “home,” which would be one of the only things that I would want if I were a slave. This song also shows how the African American slaves adopted the American culture; they spoke English and they had been converted to Christians to the point where they wrote their own hymnals. “Go Down Moses” was a hymnal that related the struggle of the Israelites while they were enslaved in Egypt to how they themselves were being enslaved by the United States. This is similar to “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” because it is hopeful because they are hoping some day that someone will be their “Moses” and tell the United States government to “Let their people go” (“Go Down” 4). “Keep Your Hand on the Plow” is a hymnal turning the plow, a symbol of their enslavement and forced labor, into a symbol of religious strength.

These “field songs” show a similarity to Thoreau’s philosophy because while they are just songs, they are a sort of defiance against their “owners” because no matter what, they would not take away their voice and their spirit. I think this is similar to Thoreau’s philosophy because in works like “Civil Disobedience,” he talks of peaceful protests instead of violent revolutions. They are also similar to Emerson’s philosophy because these are Christian songs and Emerson himself was a Christian.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." - NetHymnal. Web. 10 Feb. 2012

"Go down Moses Lyrics." SoundTrack Lyrics Web. 10 Feb. 2012. 

"Keep Your Hands On The Plow." GospelSongLyrics.org Web. 10 Feb. 2012.