Week 5: Mary Don't You Weep

As I discussed in last week's blog post, many of these spiritual songs were a kind of therapy for slaves and most, if not all, implore their listener to keep their dignity and hope. These songs were developed as a way of coping. At its core, 'Mary Don't You Weep' is a song about how faith in in Jesus and in God would be rewarded with salvation. In the Book of John, Mary's weeping over the death of her brother Lazarus moved Jesus to the point of weeping as well. Jesus then brought her to Lazarus's grave and raised him from the dead. The song implores Mary (the listener) not to weep for Jesus will bring salvation to all those who believed in him. The song also implores Martha/Marthie not to moan or complain and to have faith in Jesus. I believe that Mary and Martha represented fellow slaves and even the singers themselves and that the song provided comfort to them that there would be a future and a better life after death despite (or maybe due to) all their suffering. Again, the reference to the Pharaoh's army drowning was an example of God helping protect the slaves from the Egyptians. Faith in God would mean protection from evil. Christianity was first adopted by the slaves mainly because it brought them in closer proximity to whiteness. It was one of the few thing that slaves were allowed to have in common with their masters. "Christianity was attractive simply because it was something the white man did that the black man could do also" (Blues People 33). The adoption of Christianity was the first movement of the black slave away from their African roots. However as time passed and more slaves were being converted to Christianity by the Methodists and Baptists, many slaves embraced Christianity's dogma. "One of the very reasons Christianity proved so popular was that it was the religion...of an oppressed people" (Blues People 39). One of the few times a slave could fully express themselves emotionally was during prayer. This latent emotion may be the reason spiritual music is so powerful. Sadly, Christianity was also a way for slave owners to make their slaves more docile and appeased. If a slave could think of their pain as a prerequisite for salvation then it would make them stronger to suffering. The reward for such dedication was always presented as being given after death. 

The composition of the song and the lyrics affect me less emotionally than the selections from last week (perhaps due to my distance from scripture), but the history behind it leaves me in awe. My favorite version is the one sung by Inez Andrews and the Andrewettes. The expression of pain mixed with pride and dignity on her face as she sings is so powerful. I love how the Andrewettes sway to the music while Inez stands steadfast and strong, like a pillar. I tried to represent her expression and all the emotions with it in my piece this week.