This is an old slave spiritual. Slaves on Southern plantations certainly weren’t free to speak of their ideas, opinions, or emotions. Instead, they sang them. White plantation owners didn’t think anything was being said, just singing slaves passing time, when, in fact, these people were using song to communicate with the others and song was used in place of speech to communicate. This explanation was passed from my great grandmother to my grandmother to my Momma and then to me. We all were sung this song as babies as a lullaby. I passed it to my daughter in the family tradition when she was a baby. Here goes;

A slave woman is caring for a white child of her master. The master’s wife and mother of the child has left him and the child behind and ran away to another man. “Everybody’s gone in the cotton and the corn” means the slave woman’s is alone and caring exclusively for the child. “Honey In The Rock” means “Land of milk and honey”, as referenced in the Bible and oddly enough, the title of another slave spiritual that goes “Honey in the rock, gonna feed God’s children, feed every child of God.” The slave woman knows it’s her duty to feed the child and she doesn’t mind feeding it, however…

She knows she will never be allowed to have her own little baby due to raising the master’s child. So she contemplates killing the child while she’s alone with it. She won’t get to marry or do anything but raise that child. “You and me and the devil makes three” says that the evil thought has entered her mind. She genuinely feels affection for this tiny being but yet knows that the child stands between her desire for her own child.   Alabaster stones: When slaves died, unless there was a marker made by the other slaves to mark the deceased’s resting place, only a stone was placed to mark the gravesite. The dead child would always be the slave woman’s “Ever loving baby”, displaying her warring emotions and decision to kill the child.

This has been the explanation handed down through generations in my family. Could be wrong, could be right. There are soul-stirring, often disturbing hidden lyrics in these old Southern songs and indeed some darkness. It’s a hauntingly beautiful song that no matter what meaning you take from it, will stay with you all of your life.