- According to Du Bois, the “sorrow songs” signify the pain, struggle, and resilience in the days of slavery. They are slave songs that are a symbolical message to all slaves. These songs will forever resonate with any person of color in America because oppression still exists among black people and these songs are their history. The “sorrow songs” contributed to so much sound and music we have today. Its melodies, phrases, stylistic tunes are imitated by a variety of artists, including those that are white. The songs are treasured because they are composed of voices of black ancestors in the time of slavery. They were at first were misinterpreted and misunderstood, but it’s now looked as a beautiful voicing of experience of one’s life and circumstances. The slaves sang as a cry of help to finally be liberated and be accepted as equal individuals and in their singing, they tell their story.
2. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot in my opinion is the most significant. It a song about crying out to being released from suffering and to be taken to heaven from all of this pain the slaves have endured. This song that was sang were those who were distressed wanting to get out of their current situation desperately.
