“Only on the Black Keys”

The ship was taking on water from the storm at an alarming rate and the possibility of the vessel broaching became eminent.  Over five hundred passengers plus the crew had little hope for survival from the raging sea.   The Captain fearing the worst stood alone on the deck crying out for “GOD have mercy” on his ship and the six hundred plus souls on board.  Survive they did and  later that night in his cabin the Captain entered in the ships log the events along with the accounting of his total surrender to the fate of Providence. The rest of his life he would observed the May 10 as the day he became subject to a higher power.

I can hear the questions now: “Where’s he going?” Well here is my objective.  Our lives and our passions are intertwined with History and the makers of History.  Our Captain continued operating his vessel for seven more years, however there was a difference.  There was a noticeable change in his attitude.  You see those five Hundred plus passengers were Slaves from Africa being delivered to the new land of America.  Five Hundred souls jammed into a space that would uncomfortably fit less that one hundred. They were stripped of clothing and laid side by side and head to foot with the next person like a vast carpet woven out of human bodies. On these voyages aside from the misery and crying he would hear a Humming and Chanting from the slaves.  Just a simple five note chant.  Rhythmic and full of emotion that seared its’ way into his soul never to leave him in his lifetime.

Eventually our Captain took on different life’s work of Preaching.  I won’t go into this very deeply except to note the  significant accomplishments of this man’s life in writing hymns.  One Hymn written was “Amazing Grace” set to the melody that was driven into his soul by those men and women he delivered into slavery.  I’m searching for words here that will resonate what the emotions were as the slaves hummed or chanted this Melody that our Captain felt as he penned words “once I was lost but now I am found”  A state of despair, chanting and humming this five note melody to give their souls hope that their future will be better.  When we hear this same melody with the words penned by a Slave Ship Captain, our minds and hearts stir with I would like to believe the same emotions as those slaves stuffed in those horrible wretched vessels.  There is a better day coming and we will sing and rejoice again.  When you go to a library and look up the Hymn “Amazing Grace” , you will see our Slave Ship Captain, John Newton as the author of the text.  However you will also see the Author of the  Melody as “Unknown“  The history does not warrant with certainty about the  Unknown being an African chant but it is known that John Newton more than once talked of it.

Now what is this “Only on the Black Keys” stuff?   The Melody that the slaves hummed was in what Musicians know as a “Pentatonic Scale“.  Five notes per octave played only on the Black Keys.  The African culture of the slaves had no knowledge of Music and the written form of it, yet their songs and chants were very much in line with all of Europe and the white culture.  The Negro slaves in American continued to express their Spiritual life in songs we call “Negro Spirituals“,  which again are in the “Pentatonic Scale” or “Only on the Black Keys“.

I just love to learn about History.  The more I understand it, the more I see us as a people and not as individuals.  Our Culture is a melding of many, ( e pluribus unum) and now when  I hear or sing “Amazing Grace”  I see the suffering of Slaves and the Fear of “Captain John Newton” enriching my life through their lives.

I'm a 74 year old man who loves this new medium of Blogging. I am also an Senior Manager in Send Out Cards which gives me a superior method of relating to the world through Greeting Cards. I have met and enjoyed wonderful friends who support me and actually LIKE me which is very rewarding. My online presence is growing and if I can hang on to life I will reap the benefits of establishing a business that will comfort me when I get old. Mostly however I Blog about my life which for some strange reason is well received. Like most of us the future is scary and the remembrance of older days give a measure of comfort. So I continue to reveal the past with optimism that the future will some day be the comfort of somebody else.

Tags: Amazing Grace, John Newton, Nelson Schroeder, Only the Black Keys, Pentatonic Scale, Slaves