One of the striking things about a lot of the songs in this section was that while they were meant to inspire hope, the lyrics betray near hopelessness in one's current state. For example, the hope found in "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" is the hope found in death and the afterlife. There is no promise of hope in one's current life. The hope in "Balms of Gilead" lies in a similar place.
And yet, I could not help but feel these songs are hopeful. Even though the lyrics may be bleak, hope was imbued in the pieces in their performances. The act of singing as a community instilled (and instills) a sense of comfort in comradery, even if the songs, themselves, seem hopeless.
This realization about these songs in some ways colors my own experience with my story. The speaker's situation seems hopeless. And yet, in voicing this hopelessness--in performing the story--he can find a similar support group to the one found among fellow singers.
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