Follow the Drinking Gourd

Download Follow the Drinking Gourd
(file size = 3.5 Mb)

Windows users: right click the link above, choose "Save Target As" and save/download the mp3 file to disk before playing it.
Mac users: double click the link above, go to "File > Save" after download is complete.

The song's lyrics were actually a code providing directions to escaping American slaves. Here're some interesting links on this song. These two give good historical contexts to the song:

http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/gourd.htm

http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/planetarium/ftdg1.htm

The following site has the most complete version of the lyrics. (Some versions omit the "Thought I heard the angels sing" verse--personally, I suspect this verse was not originally part of the song.)

http://ingeb.org/songs/followth.html

 

Thanks to Jonathan Klizas for providing these links.