This is an African-American spiritual probably dating to the first half of the nineteenth century. These songs of a religious nature were composed by slaves living in the southern United States prior to and during the Civil War. Their text often contained hidden messages about escape to the North or to Canada or was a veiled protest against slavery. This song, however, expresses only the pain suffered by the slaves, while, of course, offering hope to them through fervent Christian belief. Its melody is nostalgic in its moderately paced, old-South character. It features the kind of lyricism heard in many Stephen Foster songs and, curiously, sounds like an early version of the popular American folk song "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley." The secondary material in "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" takes on a somewhat more glorious, less rhythmically jaunty manner while still conveying that sense of nostalgic warmth. Like "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," this is a classic spiritual that should appeal strongly to lovers of the genre.

© Robert Cummings, Rovi