Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child

It dates back to the era of slavery in the United States.

An early performance of the song was in the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

[1][2] Commonly heard during the Civil rights movement in the United States,[3] it has many variations and has been recorded widely.

The song is an expression of pain and despair as the singer compares their hopelessness to that of a child who has been torn from its parents.

Under one interpretation, the repetition of the word "sometimes" offers a measure of hope, as it suggests that at least "sometimes" the singer does not feel like a motherless child.