Cool Stuff! no 2 (Black America & South America)

I was never previously antiquated with South American music, African American music, however, that I know at least something about. My dad is black and very interested in ancestry and some day would like to visit Africa. My parents had me and my siblings watch a lot of movies about slavery and racism. One of the things that showed up the most in these movies was gospel and spirituals. One of my favorite spirituals has always been "Swing Low Sweet Chariot". When I was younger I learned a Spiritual called "Lift Every Voice and Sing". This spiritual is the black national anthem. At first I didn't know that this was the black national anthem, and after my mom told me, I never though much about it. After looking up the words for this blog and reading them I realized how much pain were behind the words and the significance of it. The words are:

Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of Liberty Let our rejoicing rise High as the list'ning skies, let it resound loud as the rolling sea Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has tought us Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won

Stony the road we trod Bitter the chast'ning rod Felt in the day that hope unborn had died Yet with a steady beat Have not our weary feet Come to the place on witch our fathers sighed We have come over a way that with tears has been watered We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our star is cast

God of our weary years God of our silent tears Thou who has brought us thus far on the way Thou who has by thy might Led us into the light Keep us forever in the path, we pray Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee Shadowed beneath the hand May we forever stand True to our God True to our native land

The melody of the spiritual is very simple, but I think that one reason is because the words are so powerful.

As for South American music, the first time I had ever heard it was in class. I thought it was super cool what we were taught about the Andean people traveling the world to share their music with everyone. I have heard of opera singers going to elementary schools and such to share that culture with them, but I had never heard of any other people doing that with their music.