To some, the study of popular music may seem the very model of a trivial pursuit.
After all, BILLBOARD’s charts are often littered with flash-in-the-pan fashion fads and jejune novelties. In the pop domain, art can be eclipsed by P.R. and talent can be trumped by spin. For every Beatles there is a Pipkins, for every U2 a Right Said Fred, for every Michael Franti a Kevin Federline. It is a world where the forgettable and insubstantial frequently elbow their way to the front of the V.I.P. line, a world where the A-list is all too commonly dominated by the Z-grade.
Nevertheless, there is much to be learned about our nation in the study of popular song. Sometimes, like the shadows on Plato’s cavern wall, the hits of the day reflect the history and zeitgeist of the universe which spawned them.
Submitted for your consideration is the old baptismal hymn, “Wade in the Water” — a song that has been covered by literally hundreds of artists and which has crossed effortlessly from its gospel origin into the genres of rock, soul, jazz and easy listening.
For a song that is more than 150 years old, “Wade in the Water” has proven remarkably spry. In 1966, it was a hit for jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis. It has been dressed in blues by Big Mama Thornton and Dr. John… funkified by Billy Preston and Booker T. & the MGs… and folked up by Bob Dylan and Odetta.
As with other American negro spirituals (like “The Gospel Train” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”), “Wade in the Water” had a dual meaning for the slaves who sang it in the mid-19th century. Although it served as an accompaniment to baptism, the song’s lyrics were also codified instructions for black runaways seeking freedom via the so-called “Underground Railroad.” Until 1850, slaves fleeing the plantations of the south could find independence just north of the Macon-Dixon line. Gospel songs like “Follow the Drinking Gourd” reminded the runaways to steer north using the Big Dipper (the titular “Drinking Gourd”), while “Wade in the Water” exhorted them to evade the pursuing bloodhounds by running by night through streams and rivers.
Even the biblical locales mentioned in the song were encrypted references to specific checkpoints along the Railroad. For instance, in the song’s third lyric:
Jordan’s water is chilly and cold.
God’s gonna trouble the water.
It chills the body, but not the soul.
God’s gonna trouble the water.
Jordan represents the Ohio River, which slaves would cross on their way to one of southern Ohio’s several African-American settlements or further north to Canada.
It’s possible that some who sing “Wade in the Water” today are unaware of its Underground Railroad roots. Many have enjoyed the song for its spiritual message, timeless melody and rhythmic possibilities. But like other popular American hits, it also tells an important story about a part of our national history that must not be forgotten.
Please join us in this space when we discuss “Wade in the Water” again in future weeks.
Copyright©2007-2008 Craven Lovelace. All Rights Reserved.
