667. Michael, Row the Boat Ashore"
This old black spiritual is addressed to the angel Michael. According to tradition (*thoughnot the Bible itself), the angel Michael is the guide of departed souls to heaven. Thus in the song, Michael guides the person's soul across the river Jordan (representing death) to the shore (heaven). One verse of the song is "Jordan's river is chilly and wide, / Milk and honey on the other side," Of course, this song sung by slaves might have had another meaning: a plea to be taken across the river (the Ohio, that is) into the nonslaveholding states.
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