Go Down, Moses. The pieces I read for this essay come from the vernacular “Go Down, Moses” tradition. I grew up listening and singing the song Go down Moses without knowing the deeper meaning associated with it. I now understand that this poem is very important to the tradition of African Americans because it represents the struggles they faced to gain freedom when they were captured as slaves. “Go Down, Moses,” a vernacular spiritual that also represents the history of black slavery in the United States. The story of Go down Moses was used to express the undeniable desire for freedom felt by African American slaves. The desire to be free could be heard in the audio as the song's vocals emphasized the word "go." This reading talks about slavery in the Bible, when the people of Israel were held captive in Egypt by Pharaoh. In the Old Testament, God chose Moses to lead his people out of slavery. He sent Moses to Egypt to warn Pharaoh to free his people or he would strike his firstborn dead. In the Bible, when Pharaoh refused to listen, God responded by killing all the firstborn in Egypt. As a result, Pharaoh decided to free his slaves and “let my people go,” as the last sentence suggests. As we know, black slavery ended when people began to fight for their freedom. Even though some people died in the process, the struggle for freedom was accomplished. However, after reading the book version and listening to the audios, I noticed a significant difference in the way the spirits of the speech are conveyed through the different versions, and the tone of each piece. In the book version, the first lines tell Moses, the leader of the people of Israel who was held captive as slaves by the Egyptians...... middle of paper ...... n be compared to the difficulties felt by the people of Israel in the phrase “Oppressed so severely that they could not bear.” On the other hand, the tone of the poem was very different for the book version and the audio version. Reading Go Down, Moses in the book was boring, less meaningful, and less heartfelt because it just felt like I was reading a newspaper. It was difficult to understand the true meaning and emotion. On the other hand, listening to this story on audio was very sincere and full of emotion. Paul Robeson's voice was deep and intense in the audio and it sounded like I was hearing the message directly from God. One could easily feel the pain and hurt in Robeson's voice as it cried out for help. As mentioned before, he appears to be weak and suffering from abuse. Overall, both versions have the same meaning, namely the call for freedom for slaves...