When was oh freedom written

Songs are about many things, but ultimately their meaning may be found both in the originator of the song and in the identity of the singer who sings it.

Whenever I teach a class in hymnology, I ask students to share a hymn that speaks to them and tells us something about who they are. We sing about those parts of our lives that are meaningful to us, what most profoundly touches us. When experiencing congregational song, many of the readers of this column may imagine a hymn printed in a collection.

The artifact itself is somewhat objectified in this process and, unless we take the time, we do not look beyond the page at who gives us the song and what it meant in its original context. The two songs discussed in this column also speak to the identity of the original singers, but in a different way. These songs were transmitted directly in gatherings with others in similar circumstances of oppression, expressing the deepest hopes and aspirations of a people.

Some issues arise when encountering these songs in a twenty-first-century hymnal supplement. I will attempt to address them. Freedom is the theme of many African American spirituals. This is no surprise. Eileen Guenther, Professor of Church Music at Wesley Theological Seminary, has collected the writings of a wide range of African Americans on topics covered in the spirituals.

During all my slave life I never lost sight of freedom. It was always on my heart; it came to me like a solemn thought, and often circumstances much stimulate the desire to be free and raised great expectation of it.

We all understood it. Ambrose Headen p. If I had my life to live over again, I would die fighting rather than be a slave. Robert Falls p. Let me be free! Why am I a slave? I will run away. I will not stand it. I have only one life to lose. I had as well be killed running as die standing. It cannot be that I shall live and die a slave. Frederick Douglass p. While the spiritual seems to have its origins in the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, its message was still vibrant during the American Civil Rights Movement.

Folksinger Joan Baez b. Unlike the slaves in the United States who were brought from Africa, colonial occupation by the Dutch, beginning in , and British, beginning in , subjected the oppressed people in South Africa.

During the decades leading up to the liberation of Nelson Mandela from prison and his leadership as president , the freedom songs of South Africa helped spread the news of the struggle. Anders Nyberg b. His singers spread these songs in churches throughout Sweden following their return.

The appearance of Fjedur at the Budapest Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation assured that the songs would be disseminated around the world, increasing awareness of the anti-apartheid struggle in Europe and the United States. In the waning years of the apartheid struggle, CNN news reports often included a snippet of one of the freedom songs.

Finally, who should be singing these songs? Are they for everyone or a select group? For those of us who have not experienced oppression like the groups that gave us these songs, we may feel self-conscious about singing them.

After all, they are so integrally connected to the struggle and identity of particular peoples. I believe that such self-consciousness is a good thing. In a time when much discussion of cultural appropriation is taking place, it is healthy to pause and reflect on an issue that may should make us a bit uncomfortable.

All humans are in bondage in one form or another. It is interesting that in both cases noted above, these songs have come into the awareness of the broader world community through intermediary groups that were not a part of the originators of the songs. According to oral tradition "Oh Freedom" was used as a marching song by Blacks protesting the Atlanta race riots of Odetta made a recording in and it became an anthem of the Civil Rights movement of the 's.

Oh, Freedom - Wikipedia. The title there is "Before I'd be a Slave". The Nance Family seems to be the first artists who recorded this song in , with a different title "Sweet Freedom" and a slightly different musical setting. Nance was a singing-school teacher, who was living in Booneville, North Carolina. He first approached Art Satherley about recording his family at the American Record Corporation in Few of the records from their lengthy stay in New York City were ever released, and Nance was very interested in having more of his music available on record.

Now familiar with the system and having established a modest track record, Nance approached Brunswick and Gennett. Both companies decided to take a gamble and in quick succession the Nance Family had recordings out on Brunswick and on Gennett's subsidiaries, Champion and Superior.

Superior by Gennett 78rpm numerical listing discography. John Handcox - Wikipedia. Handcox, the Southern Tenant Farmers Honey - Google Boeken.

Decca in. Released on the album "Spirituals and Jubilees" on the Pilotone label.