Spirituals and Gospel Music

Almost all the first Africans who arrived in the New World were slaves, who came from several regions of the African West Coast. Slavery was an important issue facing Churches, as slaves were allowed to meet for Christian services. Rural slaves used to stay after the regular worship services, in churches or in plantation “praise houses”, for singing and dancing. They also had meetings at secret places (“camp meetings” or “bush meetings”), where thousands gathered and listened to itinerant preachers. In these rural areas during the late 1700s, the precursors of todays spirituals were sung, mainly outside of churches. This spiritual seems appropriate as we approach Easter Week.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh!
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Oh!
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Oh!
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Oh!
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh!
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Were you there when they stone was rolled away?
Were you there when they stone was rolled away?
Oh!
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they stone was rolled away?

The lyrics of negro spirituals were tightly linked with the lives of their authors: who were slaves. While work songs dealt only with their daily life, spirituals were inspired by the message of Jesus Christ and the Good News (Gospel) of the Bible, “You can be saved”. They are different from hymns and psalms, because they were a way of sharing the hard conditions of being a slave. At church, of course, hymns and psalms were sung during services, but even some of them were transformed into songs of a typical African American form.

Many slaves in towns and in plantations tried to run to a "free country”, referred to in the songs as “my home” or “Sweet Canaan, the Promised Land”. This was on the Northern side of Ohio River, which they referred to as the “Jordan”. Some negro spirituals refer to the Underground Railroad, an organization for helping slaves to run away. Just after slavery was obolished in 1865, most African Americans did not want to remember the songs they had sung during the hard days of slavery. It meant that even when ordinary people sang negro spirituals, they were not proud to do so. In the 1890s, Holiness and Sanctified churches appeared, and the influence of African traditions was evident in these churches.

At the same time some composers began to arrange negro spirituals in a new way, similar to European classical music, but the historical meaning of these songs was put forward. This constant improvement of negro spirituals gave birth to another type of Christian music. Like the earlier work songs these were related to daily life, but they were also inspired by the Bible (mainly the Gospels). Thomas A. Dorsey, was the first to compose these new songs which he called Gospel songs, although others referred to them as “Dorseys”. He is considered to be the Father of Gospel music.