magictransistor: Angola Prison Spirituals (Prison Work Songs); Louisiana Folklore Society, Folkways

magictransistor:

Angola Prison Spirituals (Prison Work Songs); Louisiana Folklore Society, Folkways, Folk Lyric Records, Louisiana State Penitentiary.

It somewhat debatable whether this is actually unaccompanied singing, seeing as it would have been accompanied by the swinging of axes, or the ringing of hammers on nails. Work songs were hugely important in many settings, as it allowed workers to keep time and synchronize their tasks. In prison (and in slavery before), men who fell behind the pace could be beaten, and so setting an easy way to keep up made everyone safer. Spirituals also provided an outlet for the longing to escape; they might not leave their bonds behind in this world, but they would be free in the next.