Political Quotes

W.E.B. Du Bois: “The ten master songs I have mentioned tell in word and music of trouble and exile, of strife and hiding; they grope…”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1903
The ten master songs I have mentioned tell in word and music of trouble and exile, of strife and hiding; they grope toward some unseen power and sigh for rest in the End.
Said by
W.E.B. Du Bois

Editor's note · Context

Du Bois describes the overarching themes and emotional depth found within the spirituals he identifies as "master songs."

Share

More from W.E.B. Du Bois

Jan 1, 1903

Our song, our toil, our cheer, and warning have been given to this nation in blood-brotherhood.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1903

But whichever it is, the meaning is always clear: that sometime, somewhere, men will judge men by their souls and not by their skins.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1903

Such an assumption is the arrogance of peoples irreverent toward Time and ignorant of the deeds of men.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1903

Hear my cry, O God the Reader; vouchsafe that this my book fall not still-born into the world wilderness.

gutenberg.org