Follow the Drinkin' Gourd

''The enslaved women also used cultural practices to resist their oppression. There is evidence that suggest the women would lead one of the most fundamental forms of verbal expression: the song''3. They would use this and make quite a spectacle using statements about themselves, or heaping ridicule about their masters. This greatly annoyed and angered all the planters which only encouraged them to do it more. ‘Slave songs such as “Steal Away”, “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd”, and many others were utilized to convey hidden messages by slaves relaying important information about routes and times and dates for planned escapes, meetings, and directions to freedom''4. The dress and body was also manipulated in an effort to alter the social representation and relations of power. During rebellions the slaves often used clothing to ridicule and mock their masters.…

your grandmother and I worked and worked until we could no longer keep our eyes open. Even though we always did what we were told and never got in trouble, there were many small children who dawdled instead of worked. In result, we all were punished for it. I remember those kids like it was yesterday because they exacerbated me so much. Two years later, your grandmother and I had heard of this thing called an underground railroad, where slaves were able to escape!” I told them excitedly. “Yay!…

The African-American folk song, “Follow the Drinking Gourd” was composed in order to provide runaway slaves the directions needed to reach the free states. This folk song provided instructions on how to avoid the white man on their journey, meaning how to avoid capture, being returned to slavery, and potential death; the verses in the song tell the slaves when to move and what to look for. In the H.B. Parks version of “Follow the Drinking Gourd”, he tells runaways: “When the sun come back, when…

in the south used spirituals for multiple purposes. The songs in part served to relieve the slaves from boredom during long days in the fields and were a boost to morale. More importantly, however, the songs allowed slaves to communicate forbidden messages without alerting the slave-owners. The songs often sounded like nothing more than biblical analogues, about Moses and others, but they actually held valuable information for slaves who were looking to escape. For example, the song Follow the…