This document contains an excerpt from Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life discussing Negro spirituals and code songs. Spirituals developed from African oral traditions and combined African melodies with white Southern religious music. They expressed themes of freedom - both spiritual salvation and freedom from slavery. Some songs contained coded messages to help slaves escape via the Underground Railroad. "Go Down Moses" referred to liberation from slavery, while "Follow the Drinking Gourd" provided directions to freedom using stars and rivers. Douglass wrote that the songs filled him with sadness and influenced his views of the dehumanizing effects of slavery.