Amos Fortune, Free Man

Songs and singing are featured throughout the novel, beginning with the At-mun-shi people in Chapter 1 who sing together for the harvest celebration (7). Fortune continues singing throughout his life, such as in Chapter 4, when he sings late at night while working in Richardson’s tannery. The Fortunes find the Burdoos singing as well, and they join in in Chapter 7. Finally, when Fortune tells a story to the Burdoo children, his story is interlaced with their singing. Each time Fortune or the other Black characters sing, the lyrics are quoted and separated from the rest of the text. In doing so, Yates draws the reader’s attention to these songs as distinct and important parts of the story. Further, each of these songs carries religious significance; the At-mun-shi harvest song is addressed to the Earth, Sun, Moon, and Rain; the songs Fortune and the other Black characters sing in the US are all Christian songs. 

The Christian songs that Yates includes are all real songs: “I Got To Cross The River Jordan” (63), is by Blind Willie McTell; “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (123-24), is written by Wallace Willis; and “Deep River” (127) is by an anonymous writer. The inclusion of these songs in the novel is anachronistic, given they were each written in the 19th century, after Amos Fortune’s lifetime.