I’ve been ’buked an’ I’ve been scorned
I’ve been ’buked an’ I’ve been scorned, (Children);
I’ve been ’buked an’ I’ve been scorned
I’ve been talked about sho’s you’ born
Dere is trouble all over this world
Dere is trouble all over this world (Children)
Dere is trouble all over this world
Dere is trouble all over this world
Ain’t gwine lay my ‘ligion down
Ain’t gwine lay my ‘ligion down, (Children)
Ain’t gwine lay my ‘ligion down
Ain’t gwine lay my ‘ligion down
Alvin Ailey’s renowned ballet Revelations begins with the hauntingly beautiful spiritual “I’ve Been ‘Buked.” Huddled together much like I would imagine the kidnapped Africans were at the bottom of slaves ships, the dancers embody the sorrow, fear and resilience imbedded in the song. Ailey’s use of this song is apropos because it sets the tone for the ballet and provides a base for the emotional arc the audience will go through.
Like Ailey, I want to start this new series with the song “I’ve been ‘buked.” I feel this spiritual, in many ways, is foundational in the telling of the history of Black people in America. I also want to mention up front that I am being very intentional in distinguishing the history of Black people in America specifically, from the history of Black people more broadly. That playlist would not start in the sorrow songs, but in far more jubilant forms of expression.
Withstanding that, I think it is only fitting to begin with a spiritual, also referred to as negro spirituals, negro folk song, and sorrow songs, because of their significance to America.
The spirituals are one of the earliest, if not the first, form of original American music. As W.E.B. Dubios stated, “And so by fateful chance the Negro folk-song – rhythmic cry of the slave – stands today not simply as the sole American music, but as the most beautiful expression of human experience born this side of the sea…it still remains as the singular spiritual heritage of the nation and the greatest gift of the Negro people.”
The History of Spirituals
To fully appreciate Dubois’ comment, I want to step back and provide a very brief history on spirituals in general, and then discuss “I’ve Been Buked,” specifically and why I think it belongs on the playlist.
Perhaps we take it for granted that spirituals were in fact the original creation of the enslaved. However, this was not always accepted as true. There were white scholars who argued that the spirituals were not the original creation of Blacks, but had its origins in White spiritual music. For instance, George Pullen Jackson of Vanderbilt University asserted in 1933 that the spirituals grew out of the camp meeting songs that belong to Whites.
While the question of origin is often hotly debated when discussing art, especially music which frequently entails the borrowing and mixing of other musical styles, when one digs deeper into this debate of the spirituals, what they find is more than a historical inquiry. Rather, what undergirds these debates is the assumption that any form of sophisticated art form, like the spirituals, could not originate from Blacks but must have its origins in whiteness. In other words, what fueled the debate was not simply a question of origin, but a quest to prove a racist assumption. While Blacks were exposed to White culture and stories, especially through the camp meetings, what emerged with the spirituals was indeed a distinct new Black musical genre. The style, content and function were different than other musical forms present in that day.
Remarkably, this sacred music might not have survived slavery had it not been for the need of Fisk University, a historically Black university, to raise funds. The school’s treasurer, George White, a White man who also taught music, was the choir director. He decided to take the school’s choir, the Jubilee singers, on tour to raise money.
Initially the group was not well received. They were deemed just another minstrel show. That changed once they included the spirituals. The singers, some of whom were former slaves, were trained in the western classical choral tradition and performed the spirituals in that style. The songs were well received by White audiences, making the spirituals one of the first successful “crossover” music genres. One can debate the ethics of former slaves singing sorrow songs to a largely White, and former slaveholding audience. Nevertheless, following the success of the Fisk Jubilee singers, other such singers began to emerge and carry the music on, with different arrangements.
Why “I’ve Been ‘Buked”?
Frederick Douglass attributes the spirituals with implanting in his mind the idea that slavery was an evil system.
“They told a tale of woe…they were tones, loud, long, and over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains. The hearing of those wild notes always depressed my spirit, and filled me with ineffable sadness…To those songs I trace my first glimmering conceptions of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I can never get rid of that conception. Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds.”
“I’ve Been Buked” holds all the elements that drew Douglass to this genre, and it also serves as a model for future Black musical forms. The opening line speaks of ineffable woe and sadness; it is the unadulterated harshness of the slave’s life. The line “sho’s you’ born” underscores the certainty of mistreatment Blacks faced in this country. Just as “sure as you were born,” you can be sure that Black oppression exist. Later forms of black music, particularly rap music, has this same quality. It does not hold back on depicting the reality of Black life in America in an unfiltered manner.
The second line of the song expands the conversation beyond the personal condition of the enslaved (i.e. I’ve been ‘buked), and connects their trouble to a global struggle against evil. “There is trouble all of this world,” places slavery in the larger context of the human struggle and serves to “deepen the sympathies” for those who are equally in bondage. Again, this is something we see in later Black music. Our music is used to connect our struggle with others nationally and international (e.g. “We Shall Over”).
The last line, “Aint gwine lay my ‘ligion down” speaks to the “prayer to God for deliverance” Douglass referenced. It is not only a commitment of their faith in their God to deliver them despite their personal and global trouble, but also a statement of hope and resilience. They are not laying their “ligion’ down because they still have an assurance that God will indeed free them from bondage, both individually, and globally. As different forms of black music emerged, this faith is still there; sometimes it is abandoned, and other times reaffirmed.
Next week I will explore the spirituals that doubled as a code song. If you don’t know what a code song is, or wonder which song I have picked for next week, then come back next week for the answer.
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
