Thats what the official word is but I like this meaning a little better
Robert Reifenberg writes:
This song, it seems to me, captures the plea of a fugitive American slave to
his covert wife that she not reveal their relationship ("forget my name") to
the slave master. The appeal, therefore, is not so much for the benefit of
the escaped, but rather, for the one who remains. The speaker seeks to spare
his wife punishment at the hands of the master once his absence is revealed.
Hunter's affinity for the dark side of American history is exemplified in
this simple verse which evokes profound imagery in the tradition of the
American folk song. Hunter uses the imagined dialect of the time with
language such as "poor body" and "my darlin." Reference to bringing the
"wagon round" connotes the common method of transporting slaves to market
where they would be bought or sold. She is being called out to go to market
by the "one last voice." The desperate tone is tempered by the hope that they
will see each other again after the "Jubilee" (emancipation), or "if that
Jubilee don't come" when they both escape and are "on the run."
Thats what the official word is but I like this meaning a little better
Robert Reifenberg writes:
This song, it seems to me, captures the plea of a fugitive American slave to his covert wife that she not reveal their relationship ("forget my name") to the slave master. The appeal, therefore, is not so much for the benefit of the escaped, but rather, for the one who remains. The speaker seeks to spare his wife punishment at the hands of the master once his absence is revealed. Hunter's affinity for the dark side of American history is exemplified in this simple verse which evokes profound imagery in the tradition of the American folk song. Hunter uses the imagined dialect of the time with language such as "poor body" and "my darlin." Reference to bringing the "wagon round" connotes the common method of transporting slaves to market where they would be bought or sold. She is being called out to go to market by the "one last voice." The desperate tone is tempered by the hope that they will see each other again after the "Jubilee" (emancipation), or "if that Jubilee don't come" when they both escape and are "on the run."
Robert Reifenberg Chicago