I always used to enjoy playing this song. And every time I play it, I enjoy it again. I thought it was a written song. But, oh no. It’s a folk song from the year of 1862 or so, first sung as an anthem by the “Contrabands”, the escaped slaves, who eventually joined the Union army. It was most famously recorded by Paul Robeson. I knew it as a kid, associating it with the the Cecil B. De Mille, Charlton Heston-in-orange Ten Commandments movie.
As we celebrate the Shavuoth holiday tomorrow – which marks the conclusion to the Passover/Exodus story (the receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai), we recall the struggle to escape from slavery to freedom.
When Israel was in Egypt land
Let my people go
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go
Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt land
Tell old pharoah
To let my people go
An Occasional Story 
my little banjo is jealous not to be a piano 🙂
Hey, keep playing that banjo.
thank you, Stephen, for digging out the historical background too!
Great spiritual! And Paul Robesons version is hte one I hear in my head when i think of it. though I occasionally wart wapping lyrics from Ferris Buellers day off – Let my Cameron go…
Memories from looking at some of these pictures…my dad played the movie for us growing up so many times ;).