John Osler
Wikipedia - "Songs of the Underground Railroad were spiritual and work songs used during the early-to-mid 19th century in the United States to encourage and convey coded information to escaping slaves as they moved along the various Underground Railroad routes. As it was illegal in most slave states to teach slaves to read or write, songs were used to communicate messages and directions about when, where, and how to escape, and warned of dangers and obstacles along the route. One reportedly coded Underground Railroad song is 'Follow the Drinkin' Gourd'. The song's title is said to refer to the star formation (an asterism) known in America as the Big Dipper and in Europe as The Plough. The pointer stars of the Big Dipper align with the North Star. In this song the repeated line 'Follow the Drinkin' Gourd' is thus often interpreted as instructions to escaping slaves to travel north by following the North Star, leading them to the northern states, Canada, and freedom: The song ostensibly encodes escape instructions and a map from Mobile, Alabama up the Tombigbee River, over the divide to the Tennessee River, then downriver to where the Tennessee and Ohio rivers meet in Paducah, Kentucky. ..."
Wikipedia
W - Follow the Drinkin' Gourd
Underground Railroad - Songs
PBS: Coded Spirituals (Video)
YouTube: Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad 16 videos
John Coltrane - YouTube: Song Of The Underground Railroad
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