Roll, Jordan, Roll

It is proof that the human soul in an oppressed condition will definitely rebel. Sooner or later, small or large scale, soft over the frontal, will inevitably cause resistance.

Roll, Jordan, Roll is one of them, very popular because it directly touches the spirituality of its victims, namely black slaves in America. Many works emerged after being inspired by the atrocities of the slavery era. Various book titles have been published with versions and ways of expressing the writing style according to the reasoning of the authors. Many songs with various genres have been published as an expression of resistance to the deprivation of human rights and humanity.

One of his most popular books is "Roll, Jordan, roll - the world the slaves made by Eugene D. Genovese" -- a Bancroft Prize winner -- challenging conventional views of slaves by explaining the various forms of resistance to dehumanization that developed in slave society. Instead of emphasizing the cruelty and degradation of slavery, historian Eugene Genovese investigates how slaves forced their owners to acknowledge their humanity through culture, music, and religion. Not just passive victims, the slaves in this report actively engage with the cultural paternalism of the slave owners in a way that supports their dignity and aspirations for freedom. Roll, Jordan, Roll covers a wide variety of subjects, from slave marriages and funerals, to language, food, clothing, and slave labor, and places special emphasis on religion as a major battleground for psychological control and a paradoxical source of spiritual power. Showing keen insight into the minds of slaves and slave owners, Roll, Jordan, Roll is a testament to the strength of the human spirit under conditions of extreme oppression.

An in-depth, erudite and detailed analysis of Negro slavery. It covers an incredible range of topics and offers fresh insights on almost every page... the author's great gift is his ability to penetrate the minds of slaves and masters, revealing not only how they perceive themselves and each other, but also how their perceptions are contradictory. interact.

Likewise, expressions in the form of songs, music, videos/films. For example, "Roll, Jordan", composed by enslaved African Americans, was developed from a song written by Isaac Watts in the 18th century that became popular among slaves in the United States during the 19th century. Intended as a coded message to flee, by the end of the American Civil War, it was well known throughout much of the eastern United States. In the 19th century, it helped inspire blues music.
The song known as "Roll, Jordan, Roll" may have come from the hymn "There's a Land of Pure Pleasure" written by Isaac Watts in the 18th century. It was introduced to the United States in the early 19th century, in states such as Kentucky and Virginia, as part of the Second Great Awakening, and was often sung at camp gatherings.

The song soon became popular among the slaves. According to Ann Powers of NPR, it became "a prime example of slave claims and subverting the Christian message to express their own needs and send their own message". The Jordan River of the song becomes a coded message for escape, reminiscent of the Mississippi or Ohio Rivers, both of which lead to a slave-free northern United States and thus freedom.

The song was collected and arranged by Lucy McKim in 1862. That same year, she sent a letter with several recordings of her trip to the Isle of St. Helena to Dwight's Journal of Music, where the song was published in 1863. American war journalist Charles Carleton Coffin, who heard a performance of the song in Blythewood, South Carolina, in 1863, described "Roll, Jordan, Roll" as a favorite song, with many versions to be found. as "one of the most famous and noblest" of the Black spiritualists.

[Verse 1]
My brother, you ought to have been there
Yes, my Lord
A-sitting in the kingdom
To see ol' Jordan roll

[Chorus]
Roll Jordan roll
Roll Jordan roll
Oh, I want to get to heaven when I die
To hear ol' Jordan roll

[Verse 2]
My mother, you ought to have been there (ooh)
Yes, my Lord
A-sitting in the kingdom
To see ol' Jordan roll, ooh

[Chorus]
Roll Jordan roll (Roll Jordan roll)
Roll Jordan roll, oh
I want to get to heaven when I die
To hear ol' Jordan roll
Oh, I want to get to heaven when I die
To see ol' Jordan roll
[Chorus]
Roll Jordan roll
Roll Jordan roll
I want to get to heaven when I die
To hear ol' Jordan roll

Roll Jordan roll
Roll Jordan roll
Oh, I want to get to heaven when I die
To hear ol' Jordan roll

source : en.wikipedia, genius, goodreads