A former slave and "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, Tubman said that she used spirituals such as "Go Down Moses" to signal slaves that she was in the area, and would help any who wanted to escape.
Paul RobesonGo Down Moses / ArtistPaul Leroy Robeson was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, athlete, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances. In 1915, Robeson won an academic scholarship to Rutgers College. Wikipedia
"Go Down, Moses" is an African American spiritual. A famous arrangement of this spiritual was composed by Henry Burleigh and sung by some of the most prominent singers of the twentieth-century, including Roland Hayes. American composer Florence Price also made a prominent arrangement of this spiritual.
The idea that Moses should go “down” refers to the fact that slavery was rampant in the southern colonial states of America, and Egypt represents those slave states. The song then becomes a call to abolitionists to take up the slaves' cause and go south to help end slavery.
In the U.S., many of them will sing an African-American spiritual. “Go Down Moses“ is believed to have been written around 1800 by slaves inspired by the biblical story of the Jews' liberation from slavery in Egypt. How the song became part of Passover is a story of cultures with parallel and intersecting histories.Apr 19, 2019
At God's command it did divide, When they had reached the other shore, They let the song of triumph soar. This new setting of the traditional spiritual Go Down, Moses uses ostinatos and pulsing rhythms to build a sense of musical urgency.
The original sheet music, available at the Library of Congress website, has the year 1861 handwritten on the front, and on the fifth page informs that "This Song has been sung for about nine years by the Slaves of Virginia."
For example, Harriet Tubman used the song “Wade in the Water” to tell escaping slaves to get off the trail and into the water to make sure the dogs slavecatchers used couldn't sniff out their trail. People walking through water did not leave a scent trail that dogs could follow.
Harriet Tubman is called “The Moses of Her People” because like Moses she helped people escape from slavery. Harriet is well known as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Using a network of abolitionists and free people of color, she guided hundreds of slaves to freedom in the North and Canada.Feb 6, 2017
Why does Harriet Tubman plan the escapes for Saturday night? She wants to gain more time before being pursued.
the slavemasterIn the song “Israel” represents the African-American slaves while “Egypt” and “Pharaoh” represent the slavemaster. Going “down” to Egypt is derived from the Biblical origin; Moses was up on the mountain of God when God commanded him to go to Egypt (Exodus 3:1-12).Jul 25, 2016
This as well as other Moses songs directly reflects enslaved people's longing for freedom. For many enslaved people, Moses was representative of the brave “conductors” of the Underground Railroad, such as Harriet Tubman, that guided enslaved people to freedom.Mar 20, 2018