Correction: the song 'Wade in the Water' is most often said to have been used by persons escaping slavery more than planning to escape bondage.

For example, see this excerpt from www.osblackhistory.com/wade.php

"Harriet Tubman sang this spiritual ["Wade In The Water"] as a warning to runaway slaves. To escaping slaves, the song told them to abandon the path and move into the water. By travelling along the water's edge or across a body of water, the slaves would throw chasing dogs and their keepers off the scent."

-snip-

It seems improbably to me that any person fleeing slavery would have time to and take the risk of singing spirituals out loud. Wouldn't you think that that would alert those "chasing dogs and their keepers" of the escaping person's or groups' whereabouts?

However, I suppose it is highly possible that this song was sung as a learning tool for those planning to escape slavery [e.g. going into the water to throw chasing dogs off your scent]. And perhaps I jumped to conclusions thinking that folks who accept this coded message theory meant that "Wade In The Water" like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"; "Don't Miss That Train" {and other references to the "Gospel train and chariots}' referred to a person's or group's immediate plan to escape slavery. IMHO, the subject of coded slave songs needs much more serious, reality based study.

That being said, there is documentation that spirituals were used to provide coded messages among enslaved African Americans about non-escape plans. See this comment found in Henry Louis Gates, Jr's scholarly book "The Signifying Monkey, A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism" {Oxford Univ. Press, 1988, p.: 68} :

"When de niggers * go round singin' "Steal Away To Jesus" dat mean der wuine to be 'ligious meetin' dat night. sat de sig'fication of a meetin'. De masters 'fore and after freedom didn't like dem 'ligious meetin's. so us natcherly slips off at night, down in de bottomss or somewheres. Sometimes us sing and pray all night."

-snip-

* For the record, I use this word only for purposes of accurately writing this quote. I consider N----'s contemporary usage to be highly offensive no matter who uses it.


Azizi

PS: I had forgotten to include "Canaan" {and "Sweet Canaan"} as another coded referent for Canada and freedom in spirituals.