I don't believe that interpretation at all. Would a woman whose husband has just been dragged into slavery tell her child:

'If yu neva run dem woulda ketch yu tu,
So sing sweet song an' play guitar.

No, she wouldn't. The ending is too happy for that.

Also, the recording that we can listen to on YouTube has a very happy tone, far too happy to be about slavery.

Clearly whatever trouble Papa got into wasn't very serious.