About the Book
The songs curated by James Thomas for this book serve as illustrations of the hidden codes and messages they convey. Among them, some songs overtly incorporate these codes, while others are entirely comprised of them. Conversely, there are also songs devoid of any encoded messages. Thomas speculates that this deliberate mixing was intended to confound skeptics who doubted the existence of such codes, ultimately benefiting the enslaved individuals.
Originally, none of these songs were annotated with musical notation, resulting in multiple versions of the same song. As enslaved people were forcibly relocated from one plantation to another, they carried these songs in their memories. Naturally, variations emerged over time. However, the persistence of these variations has led many critics to dismiss the notion of encoded messages altogether.
About the Book
The songs curated by James Thomas for this book serve as illustrations of the hidden codes and messages they convey. Among them, some songs overtly incorporate these codes, while others are entirely comprised of them. Conversely, there are also songs devoid of any encoded messages. Thomas speculates that this deliberate mixing was intended to confound skeptics who doubted the existence of such codes, ultimately benefiting the enslaved individuals.
Originally, none of these songs were annotated with musical notation, resulting in multiple versions of the same song. As enslaved people were forcibly relocated from one plantation to another, they carried these songs in their memories. Naturally, variations emerged over time. However, the persistence of these variations has led many critics to dismiss the notion of encoded messages altogether.