Although it was thought by African American history students that slaves in Africa sing many folk songs. To get through the working day, Africans could come up with a song about any topic. Slavery on plantations helps slaves sing better. According to Black Culture and Black Consciousness of Lawrence W. Levine, a former slave stated that music was a part of every slave’s daily lives. Singing together makes the task easier. Without music, it would have been difficult to escape slavery. A certain rhyme is evident in the way that cotton is picked and sung. Slave songs allowed each slave to express their feelings without being judged. Songs allowed slaves to express their emotions and those of masters and others. Slave songs allowed slaves to be themselves and express their feelings towards one another through song. The Ashanti high priest described the psychological side of salvesong. He said “…man should be free to express their thoughts and feelings to their neighbor. People can become hurtful if they aren’t allowed to tell their leaders or neighbors how they feel.
Slave songs require a leader. The leader would sing the first line, and then the slaves would sing the chorus. There is a chorus, then there’s a solo and a short chorus. Then comes the longer chorus. Their surroundings were the best way to determine what they would sing. The slaves knew the lyrics to one line. They would also sing lines from the environment around them. They could make up songs about any topic. “Some of these were full witticisms, and a lucky hit always attracted a thundering chorus 7. Sometimes, the slaves would sing songs mocking their master or mistress. They would use words they didn’t understand to sing. This is absurd for the outsiders. The singers are the ones who understand the meaning of the words. There are several types of slave song. They sing the same song no matter what it is. Slave songs do not care about rhythm or how many words are in a line. The song just flows together. To make their day easier, slaves wrote songs about the work they do. They would sing songs such as this one about the slaves who were cutting down trees. These songs aren’t written down before being delivered to an audience. While they were cutting the trees, the leader would create a rhythm. This type of song allows everyone to chop simultaneously and creates a bond between slaves. Sometimes songs are formed by how they sing about something. Songs reflect the culture of enslaving people, revealing how close each person is to another and what their jokes are. They socialize only with one another and can only understand the songs if they are all in the same group. +African American slaves didn’t limit their faith to one time or place. They believe they can reach God in any situation. They praise the god of slavery who they believe will save them. They saw the cosmos as one, but they also saw God, nature, and man. The world of the slaves is one in which everyone comes together with no hatred. The world is peaceful to them when they consider God without pain or suffering. They see Anglo-Black people coming together to celebrate life. The spirituality of the African American is very different from that of Anglo American believers. Anglo Americans see Christianity as a means of controlling society. They didn’t believe there was any higher being. The bible was used as a weapon by the slaves to read the Bible and believe what they said. Because God is watching them, they can give instructions to the slaves in church. Example “Q: What commandment has God given to servants regarding obedience to masters? A servant “obeys all orders of their master…fearing God” (45. They used the word God against the slaves they owned and made up words that weren’t in scripture. They didn’t worship God on the worship day and thanked him for everything, but they did use it as a day of worshiping God.
