Anonymous – "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down, Moses," "Keep Your Hand on the Plow"

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Go Down, Moses", and "Keep Your Hand on the Plow" are all songs sang by slaves while they would work in the fields or on the plantations. All of these songs were kind of like a hope for the slaves to keep moving and to keep faith in being free.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" says,

"Refrain:

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?
Coming for to carry me home,
A band of angels coming after me,
Coming for to carry me home.

If you get there before I do,
Coming for to carry me home,
Tell all my friends I’m coming, too.
Coming for to carry me home.

I’m sometimes up and sometimes down,
Coming for to carry me home,
But still my soul feels heavenly bound,
Coming for to carry me home.

The brightest day that I can say,
Coming for to carry me home,
When Jesus washed my sins away,
Coming for to carry me home" ("Swing").

This song resembles Realism because the slaves use the song to resemble their lives by using religion and emotions. The slaves had long terrible days working in the fields and on the plantations, so they needed something to keep them going, and to keep their eyes set on the horizon.

"Go Down, Moses" says,

"When Israel was in Egypt's Land,
Let my people go,
Opressed so hard they could not stand,
Let my people go.

Chorus
Go down, Moses,
Way down in Egypt's Land.
Tell ol' Pharoah,
Let my people go.

Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said,
Let my people go,
If not, I'll smite your first-born dead,
Let my people go.

No more shall they in bondage toil,
Let my people go,
Let them come out with Egypt's spoil,
Let my people go.

The Lord told Moses what to do,
Let my people go,
To lead the Hebrew children through,
Let my people go.

O come along Moses, you'll not get lost,
Let my people go,
Stretch out your rod and come across,
Let my people go.

As Israel stood by the waterside,
Let my people go,
At God's command it did divide,
Let my people go.

When they reached the other shore,
Let my people go,
They sang a song of triumph o'er,
Let my people go.

Pharaoh said he'd go across,
Let my people go,
But Pharaoh and his host were lost,
Let my people go.

Jordan shall stand up like a wall,
Let my people go,
And the walls of Jericho shall fall,
Let my people go.

Your foes shall not before you stand,
Let my people go,
And you'll possess fair Canaan's land,
Let my people go.

O let us all from bondage flee,
Let my people go,
And let us all in Christ be free,
Let my people go.

We need not always weep and mourn,
Let my people go,
And wear these slavery chains forlorn,
Let my people go" ("Go").

"Go Down, Moses" also helped the slaves to get through tough times. The song talks about the biblical figure, Moses, who leads his people from slavery in Egypt to across the water and to freedom. There are a lot of obstacles that Moses and his followers have to go through like killing a lamb and putting the blood of it on their door so that the Holy Spirit does not come in and kill their first born son. This song resembles the slaves' lives because the slaves also have to go through a lot every day, and they hopefully make their way towards freedom.

"Keep Your Hands on the Plow" says,

"Got my hands on the gospel plow
Wouldn't take nothin' for my journey now
Keep your hands on that plow, hold on.

Refrain:
Hold on, hold on
Keep your hands on that plow, hold on.

Took Paul and Silas, put 'em in the jail
Had no one to go their bail
Keep your hands on that plow, hold on.

Refrain

Paul and Silas, they begin to shout
Jail doors opened and they walked out
Keep your hands on the plow, hold on.

Refrain

Peter was so nice and neat
Wouldn't let Jesus wash his feet
Keep your hands on that plow, hold on.

Refrain

Jesus said, "If I wash them not
You'll have no father in this lot."
Keep your hands on that plow, hold on.

Refrain

Peter got anxious and he said
Wash my feet my hands and head."
Keep your hands on that plow, hold on.

Refrain

Mary had three links of chain
Ev'ry link had Jesus' name
Keep your hands on that plow, hold on.

Refrain" ("Keep").

"Keep Your Hands on the Plow", like the other two songs, resembles the slaves lives because they had to keep moving on no matter what happened. In all of these songs, the slaves are resembled by biblical figures who have to go through obstacles to obtain their goals. These songs reflect religion a lot because they are all religious songs, and they talk about Jesus and Moses and other biblical figures. These songs represent society during the time period that they were sung because they were sung by the slaves who worked in the fields and on the plantations all day. The slaves sang the songs to make them feel better, comfortable, not scared, and to help them get through whatever grinding task they had to perform. These songs kind of have a psychological part to them because the slaves sang them to help them get their minds off of what they were really doing.

These songs resemble Realism because the slaves sang them like they were their real lives. They put themselves in the positions of the main characters of the songs, which makes the songs seem like they are real which is what Realism basically is.




Works Cited:

"Go Down, Moses." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 346. Print.

"Keep Your Hand on the Plow." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 347. Print.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 348. Print.