Three Spirituals - Analysis

"Swing Low Sweet Chariot," "Go Down Moses" and "Keep Your Hand on the Plow" are all three African American spiritual songs. The songs were all from the time period before the Civil War, where the African Americans were enslaved. The songs were spread by word of mouth, so no author is specifically cited ("Three Spirituals" 344). The spirituals incorporated religious aspects, such as "the text of Christian hymns" ("Three Spirituals 344). The main purpose of the spiritual songs was to hide a hidden message in the lyrics.

"Swing Low Sweet Chariot" refers to the freedom of the slaves. It uses a biblical representation to hide the meaning from the slave masters. The poem contains a line that reads "I looked over Jordan and what did I see" ("Swing Low" 346). That line refers to the enslaved Jews, in the Bible, crossing the Jordan River on their way to freedom. The enslaved Africans were peering into the North in search of their freedom. Since Thoreau and Emerson were both transcendentalists, it is obvious that they were influences to the author(s) of the song. Transcendentalism includes a "belief in the presence of God in nature" (Quinn). This song relates religion into the lives of the enslaved Africans in their search for freedom. "Go Down, Moses" is once again another reference to the Bible, comparing the enslaved African Americans to the enslaved Hebrews. The line "Let my people go" is repeated many times throughout the song ("Go Down" 347). Thoreau believed that the people had a right to speak out against the government in times of unjust ruling, such as slavery. He voiced his opinions in his essay "Civil Disobedience." The song would have been written by a person who thought that the unjust government needed to be stopped. "Keep Your Hand on the Plow" is a song that tells the slaves to hold on and keep their faith, and that their freedom will come soon ("Keep" 348). The biblical reference refers to two apostles that were imprisoned and God sent an earthquake to set them free ("Keep" 348). Thoreau found himself in jail and was set free by another person in his essay "Civil Disobedience."

"Go Down, Moses." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 347. Print.

"Keep Your Hands on the Plow." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 348. Print.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 6. Print.

"Three Spirituals." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 344-345. Print.


Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook by Walter Harding: pp. 131-173 (New York University Press, 1959). © 1959 by New York University Press. Quoted as "Thoreau's Ideas" in Harold Bloom, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCHDT05&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 10, 2012).