Secret Messages: Songs of the Underground Railroad

Today I am going to be writing about the songs of the underground railroad and what they mean. The underground railroad was a secret network of safe houses from the south to the north of America to free slaves. The network would be no use if no one could find it. Because most slaves would not know how to read or write they had to find another way to spread the message. They would do this by coding their words into song. The slaves would pass the songs by word of mouth to spread the secret messages. These songs became a large part of the journey to freedom.  

This is one of the songs that was used in the underground railroad:

Follow the drinkin' gourd 


When the Sun comes back
And the first quail calls
Follow the drinking gourd,
For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinking gourd
The riverbank makes a very good road.
The dead trees will show you the way.
Left foot, peg foot, traveling on,
Follow the drinking gourd.
The river ends between two hills
Follow the drinking gourd.
There’s another river on the other side
Follow the drinking gourd.

When the great big river meets the little river
Follow the drinking gourd.
For the old man is a-waiting for to carry to freedom
If you follow the drinking gourd.

The line "The dead trees will show you the way" means to follow the dead trees on the Tombigbee river and the line "Left foot, peg foot, travelling on" means follow the trees with a foot marked on them. The drinking gourd is the name the slaves had for the constellation we know as the big dipper which always appears in the north, so the line "Follow the drinking gourd" is telling the slaves to head north. (“Pathways to Freedom | Secrets: Signs and Symbols | Follow the Drinking Gourd” (Pathways to Freedom | Secrets: Signs and Symbols | Follow the Drinking Gourd), accessed January 30, 2017)

Another song that was used to alert the slaves to danger was "Wade in the Water." This song was used to tell the slaves to get off the road and walk in the water so that the slavecatchers' dogs wouldn't be able to smell them.  You can listen to Wade in the Water here.