Our favourite Disco Pirates get Biblical on the dancefloor with the legendary Louis Armstrong on a get down with Moses.
“Go Down Moses” is a spiritual phrase that describes events in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically Exodus 5:1:[1] “And the LORD spoke unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me”, in which God commands Moses to demand the release of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. This phrase is the title of the one of the most well known African American spirituals of all time. The song discusses themes of freedom, a very common occurrence in spirituals. In fact, the song actually had multiple messages, discussing not only the metaphorical freedom of Moses but also the physical freedom of runaway slaves, and many slaveholders outlawed this song because of those very messages. The opening verse was published by the Jubilee Singers in 1872.
The lyrics of the song represent liberation of the ancient Jewish people from Egyptian slavery, a story recounted in the Old Testament. For enslaved African Americans, the story was very powerful because they could relate to the experiences of Moses and the Israelites who were enslaved by the pharaoh, representing the slave holders, and it holds the hopeful message that God will help those who are persecuted