Song of the Underground Railroad

I can't believe it took me so long to figure this out, but John Coltrane's "Song of the Underground Railroad" from his Africa/Brass album is the Negro spiritual, "Follow the Drinking Gourd," which really was a song of the Underground Railroad. Coltrane's recording, utilizing a big band with arrangements by McCoy Tyner and Eric Dolphy, sounds so different from the source material due to the multi-layering of sounds. Quck basslines, Coltrane's soaring saxophone solos, the propulsive swing, and the horns really do sound like a train. Furthermore, this discovery reinforces this album as a tribute to his African heritage, since the spirituals form the core of African-American music and provide a bridge to the African religious traditions of our past under the guise of Western Christianity. The title track, "Africa," is another obvious reference to Africa as a musical, spiritual, and cultural homeland of African-Americans.

Here is a version of Follow the Drinking Gourd recorded by The Weavers, an early folk revivalist group of white musicians.

John Coltrane's jazzed up version

Coltrane later recorded another song inspired by spirituals, but I cannot determine the source. It sounds like "Wade in the Water" but I am not entirely sure. As soon as I discover which, I shall make another post.