This song is considered an African America Spiritual song which has been sung
by every great gospel and blues artist you can think of. Most notably Louis Armstrong.
This song established the bond between the Jewish slavery Experience and the African
Slave experience as this song was written communally and sung by slaves in the South
who felt a kinship between their plight and that of the Jewish Slaves in Egypt. It is also
referred to as a folk song which just means that it was created by a community rather than
an individual, in this case the community of African- American slaves who lived in the
South prior to the Civil War.

An early reference to it places it in Maryland in the late eighteenth century. It was
a popular slave song and was sung throughout the South by slaves while they worked and
during their occasional times of rest and prayer. “Go Down, Moses” is also said to have
been sung by abolitionists to signal escape or rebellion. The lyrics use biblical imagery
expressing the desire for a release from bondage. The song is marked by its strong tone of
determination in the struggle for freedom. To this day, “Go Down, Moses” has remained
popular and is performed by gospel singers throughout the world.
This song has also been a favorite of mine at Passover Seder’s growing up.