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Send us Fan MailDid these apparently incoherent songs mean anything to you?I did not, when a slave, understand the deep meaning of these songs. These songs told a tale of woe which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension; they were tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains. The hearing of those wild notes always depressed my spirit, and filled me with ineffable sadness. I have frequently found myself in tears while hearing them. To those songs I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I can never get rid of that conception. Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds.”I don't know how to express this, but it seems that our society feels that singing among slaves proved that they were happy. Is that true?Support the showThank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.