There's no way that we can know what slavery was like without the direct experience. These days, there are very few of us who have experienced anything like it. But over the course of history, slavery has affected millions of humans. The musical Alive! features slaves in the Roman Empire.

 

The slaves are constructing one of the roads leading into the city of Rome, the Via Appia. They live a controlled and regimented life of service, with no freedoms or choices like many Western cultures have today. But instead of coming across depressed or cold, they share some friendliness and even some humor. 

 

At one point, the slaves share a song that helps them cope with their rough lives. It's a blues song, sung in a traditional American blues style. The slaves wrote the verses, reflecting their perspectives and sentiments. One learning target could be: Students write verses from the perspective of the slaves and present them to their classmates.

 

Several of the verses below were written by students. Because the melody is so simple, lyric writing is like writing a short 4 line poem in the form A/B/C/B. Students could do verses alone, or in partnerships.

 

You Understand the Blues   (Listen to a clip from the Music Page.)

 

Chorus

In life, you sometimes win you sometimes lose,

When you’re living like a slave, You understand the blues.

 

One and one is two. Two and two is four.

No matter how much I do. They always ask me for more.

 

I always get in trouble. For just being me.

I need a long vacation. Down by the sea!

 

Every single day. You treat me like I’m two.

You should go to jail. Because you’re so, so cruel.

 

Life isn’t fair. How can this be?

But I’m still believing. Someday I’ll be free.

 

I want my own food. I want my own drinks.

I want some new clothes. Some clothes that don’t stink!

 

I turned to my master. “Please lighten up my load.”

He laughed and walked away. I’m still here on this road.