Summary of Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel

The song, Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel, has no known author. It originated during the American era of African American slavery. Slaves sang it, relating their slavery to the Hebrew slaves in ancient Egypt. The song consists of four verses with the chorus being sung five times. The chorus is where the title of the song comes from. It asks the rhetorical question, "Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel..." Through that question, it makes reference to the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den as told in the sixth chapter of Daniel in the Old Testament.

The song also makes several other specific Biblical references. The second reference is to Jonah being saved from a belly of a whale as told in the book of Jonah in the Old Testament. The third one refers to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being saved from the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel. The second verses' theme is Jesus' return to Earth. The "moon run down in a purple stream..." is a reference to the moon turning to blood as a signal of Jesus' return as foretold in Joel 2:31 and Revelation 6:12.

The individual verses tell a story of deliverance from different types of oppressors. The final verse says, "It landed me over on Canaan's shore..." It's making a reference to the Hebrews deliverance from the Egyptians into the land of Canaan. Canaan was looked upon as "a land flowing with milk and honey..." as described in Exodus chapter three and verse eight. The comparison of Canaan and heaven is obvious.

The reference to Biblical characters is affirmed by critics, including Arthur C. Jones. "The metaphorical parallels to the lives and struggles of enslaved people are quite clear" (Jones, 2004, p. 4). Jones also believes the song, Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel, "provided inspiration for freedom fighting efforts in slavery..." (Jones, 2004, p. 4). The divine intervention that rescued the Bible characters was what was hoped for when the slaves sang this song (Jones, 2004).

Other critics such as Sterling A. Brown offer a similar view on Negro spirituals like Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel. He says that the Negro's freedom from slavery was of utmost importance to him (Brown, 1954). He also says that the freedom from sin that white, free men sang about was not always different from the Negro spiritual songs slaves sang (Brown, 1954). The slave's songs had double meanings, which included the longing to be free from sin as well as "from physical bondage" (Brown, 1954, p. 3).

Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel was valuable to the slave's way of life. The inspiration derived from it was more than the desire to be free from slavery and sin. This song helped the slaves to be able to endure the hardships presented by slavery. Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel helped slaves get through everyday life. The challenges that slavery presented left the slaves with a longing for so much more. This song allowed them to have faith and hope in an eventual freedom from their chains.

The vernacular in which the song is written could cause some limitations for those who are unfamiliar with it. Without basic knowledge of mainly the Old Testament or the Bible in general could present a problem for full understanding of the meaning of the song. However, during the time period the song was written that basic knowledge was prevalent among slaves. The limit for the effectiveness of Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel was in fact unlimited during the era of American history in which it was written.

A.C. Jones, http://ctl.du.edu/spirituals/Freedom/source.cfm, Sweet Chariot: the story of the spirituals

Sterling Brown, Negro Folk Expression: Spirituals, Seculars, Ballads and Work (http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/brown/folkexpression.htm), Modern American Poetry