Though wonderful and beautiful, Jesus’ cross was also painful and tragic. Songs and sermons about the “blood” were stark reminders of the agony of Jesus’ crucifixion—the symbol of the physical and mental suffering he endured as “dey whupped him up de hill” and “crowned him wid a thorny crown.” Blacks told the story of Jesus’ Passion, as if they were at Golgotha suffering with him. “Were you there when dey crucified my Lord?” “Dey nailed him to de cross”; “dey pierced him in de side”; and “de blood came twinklin’ down.”
