Search - Kim & Reggie Harris :: Steal Away - Songs of the Underground Railroad

Before the Civil War, when a slave?s every action was monitored by his "owners," songs became a powerful and vital form of private communication and expression on Southern plantations. Emotions and information that a slave could never plainly voice could be sung in coded spirituals and folk songs. When daring slaves sought a path to freedom in the North on the so-called Underground Railroad, actually a series of travel routes and safehouses, these songs became tools to transmit information and advice about escape plans, to assert defiance, inspire runaways, and express fear and elation at the harrowing journey ahead. On "Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad," veteran folk duo Kim and Reggie Harris capture the power, spirit and messages of these encrypted songs in a rich and moving collection of largely traditional material. This album, the core of an ongoing series of workshops and presentations for students, teachers and families by the Harrises, has become an important educational tool and is stocked in many libraries and museums around the country. The CD?s booklet includes informative, detailed liner notes and the lyrics to its 16 selections, shedding light on their hidden or inherent meanings: "Wade in the Water" reminded runaways to follow rivers and streams for direction, cover, and food; "Follow the Drinking Gourd" taught slaves to use the Big Dipper to find the North Star as a celestial signpost to freedom; "Let Us Break Bread Together" signaled secret planning meetings. Other traditional songs here such as "Oh Freedom," "Now Let Me Fly," "Free at Last," and "No More Auction Block for Me" require no decoding. These standards are joined by three contemporary songs ? "Harriet Tubman," a tribute to the escaped slave who became one of the most famous Underground Railroad "conductors"; "Ain?t I a Woman," a musical arrangement of a famous speech by Sojourner Truth, a 19th century crusader dedicated to slavery?s abolition and women?s rights; and the Harrises? own "Heaven is Less than Fair," based on narrative accounts of escaped slaves about their flight to freedom and the loved ones they left behind. The Harrises present these songs with simple grace, using yearning harmonies and acoustic guitar accompaniment to convey the melancholy of slavery, the glimmerings of hope for a better life, and the joy of achieving a hard-won freedom.