Many spirituals that begin with expressions of sadness and despair, songs that are often called “ sorrow songs³,” follow this same process of emotional transformation, reflecting both ends of the emotional continuum that begins with despair and ends with hope and joy. A few obvious examples serve to illustrate this dynamic:

As the above examples illustrate, the transformation process that is reflected in the songs’ lyrics is mediated in large part by the deep faith of the singers. However, there are additional elements that also aid in the transformation process. One significant factor is the very power of singing – regardless of lyrics – to facilitate changes in one’s emotional state. Historian and singer/activist Bernice Reagon has been one of the most articulate observers of this process, and its central importance in African-derived cultures. In one of the many workshops she conducted on congregational singing (and videotaped as part of a 1990 PBS program with Bill Moyers entitled “The Songs are Free”), Reagon had this to say about the role of singing in African American culture:

Reagon, in other words, emphasizes the very power of singing – any singing – to support the process of emotional transformation, something that the creators of the spirituals seemed to have understood almost intuitively, laying the ground work for this same process to be repeated in all later African American musics, including especially the blues. Both singers and listeners of the blues have always understood that people do not sing the blues in order to wallow in their sadness. They sing to get past the sadness, to celebrate life. The very same dynamic is evident in the spirituals. From this perspective, the very process of singing sets in motion the appearance of lyrics that reflect the emotional transformation that is supported by the act of singing. Within this framework, it is noteworthy that the progression of emotional content in the lyrics almost always flows from negative to positive (despair/distress to confidence/joy) rather than the other way around.

Of course, we also know that past interpretations of the lyrics of many of the spirituals as simply indicating a desire to escape from sadness by imagining life after death, are simply wrong. Undoubtedly, there were many times when singers did in fact get so tired and so worn down from the horrors of slave life that they welcomed death and the chance to escape to Heaven. However, it is also clear that on many occasions the “Heaven,” or “Jordan” references in the songs were symbolic references to freedom, with the associated confidence that freedom was not far off⁴.

Bernice Johnson Reagon notes an additional important function for singing in the African American tradition: the creation of community. In an interview⁵ with the Veterans of Hope Project at the Iliff School of Theology, Reagoing don commented on this additional aspect of singing within African American sacred communities:

As Reagon indicates in her comments, the communal nature of the culture that guided the thoughts, values and actions of enslaved Africans – as well as the generations of African American people that followed – was crucial in their survival and resilience. The songs they created, in turn, provided a powerful means of facilitating the creation of community and its associated communal support networks.