O when I git to hebben, I'll be able to tell, How I shunned dat dismal hell. Ev'y since my Lord done set me free, Dis ole worl' bin a hell to me. When I come to find out I's on de road to hell, I fleed to Jesus. The negro song finds little satisfaction in his various ideas of hell. "This ole world's a hell to me," says the negro; but "hell is a dark and dismal place," so that the only immediate conclusion which he can reach is that he must "shun de gates of hell" and make for the home beyond the Jordan. A rich variety of references to scriptural characters is seen in the majority of the negro spirituals, both of the past and of the present. The negro portrays the conduct of heroes in the past with imaginative skill. Their songs are often running-stories of scripture, in which the effort is made to include as many characters as possible and at the same time draw conclusions which have suitable morals, but these songs may be better studied in the examples that follow. Some of the typical references to the Scriptures will show the average interpretation given them by the negroes. O, sisters, can't you help me sing, For Moses' sister did help him. Where wus Ezekiel when de church fell down? Down in de valley wid his head hung down. Ezekiel said he spied de train a comin', He got on board an' she never stop runnin'. God made Adam an' Adam wus first, God made Adam out o' the dust o' the earth. Well God show Noah de rainbow sign, No more water but fire nex' time. Mose live till he got old, Buried in de mountain so I'm told. Mary wept and Martha mourned, Jesus Christ laid de corner stone. Mary wore the golden chain, Every link was in Jesus' name. Judas was a deceitful man-- Well he betrayed the innercent lam'. John wrote a letter an' he wrote it in haste, If yer want to go to heaven, you better make haste. John declar he saw a man, Wid seben lamps in his right han'. The negroes wonder "wher's sister Mary, Martha, Brudder Moses, brudder Daniel (and the others) gone." So, too, "Sister Hannah, Hagar, brudder Moses" and the rest "took dey seat." And again, "Wondah whar good ole Daniel, doubtin' Thomas, sinkin' Peter" and others. Moses "smote de water" and the negro says: I want to go where Moses trod, For Moses gone to de house o' God.