The most famous version, featured in O Brother Where Art Thou?, uses a pentatonic scale, common in many African American spirituals.

[3] Another reason is that many songs sung by victims of slavery contained coded messages for escaping.

When the enslaved people escaped, they would walk in the river because the water would cover their scent from the bounty-hunters' dogs.

[5] And "Good Lord, show me the way" could be a prayer for God's guidance to find the escape route, commonly known as "the Underground Railroad."

[7] Its lyrics begin as follows: Lift up your heads, Immanuel's friends And taste the pleasure Jesus sends Let nothing cause you to delay But hasten on the good old way