Slave Songs of the United States

Originally published in 1867, this book is a collection of songs of African-American slaves. A few of the songs were written after emancipation, but all were inspired by slavery. The Wild, sad strains tell, as the sufferers themselves could, of crushed hopes, keen sorrow, and a dull, daily misery, which covered them as hopelessly as the fog from the rice swamps. On the other hand, the words breate a trusting faith in the life after, to which their eyes seem constantly turned.