In DuBois’s “The Sorrow Songs,” he emphasizes that these are songs that have roots of pain. They truly sang, touching deep into their souls. Their purpose for singing was that they were enslaved, and had to go through countless hardships and injustices to their people. They also sang songs pertaining to their belief in God and hoped to be free one day, regardless if it was through death or not. Singing was a form of mental therapy for them, and through singing, they were able to free their minds and souls. Although they fought in countless wars, worked, and took care of many children, they were not being appreciated and were not seen as equal.

“Roll, Jordan, Roll” is the song that stood out the most in this chapter. This song was mainly about finally reaching heaven, and truly being free from everything. The songs that they sang were passed down from their ancestors, and they continued to pass it on to the younger generation, which is why it holds so much value. To this day, people still sing it. This shows that this song does reflect people’s beliefs about being free from all their problems, and finally reaching god.