Of the Sorrow Songs

E628889

book chapter essay

"Of the Sorrow Songs" is the concluding chapter of W.E.B. Du Bois's seminal work that reflects on the spirituals of enslaved African Americans as profound expressions of their history, suffering, and hope.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Of the Sorrow Songs canonical	2
The Sorrow Songs	2

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T6929284 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Of the Sorrow Songs
Context triple: [The Souls of Black Folk, hasPart, Of the Sorrow Songs]

A. Story of the Blues
"Story of the Blues" is a song by English band After Hours, known for its emotive reflection on hardship and resilience in the blues tradition.
B. Passing Strange
Passing Strange is a semi-autobiographical rock musical that follows a young Black artist’s journey of self-discovery from Los Angeles to Europe, blending theater, concert, and storytelling.
C. A Black Man’s Soul
A Black Man’s Soul is a 1969 instrumental funk and soul album by musician and bandleader Ike Turner, showcasing his gritty, groove-driven arrangements.
D. Lost Blues and Other Songs
Lost Blues and Other Songs is a compilation album by Will Oldham’s project Palace Music, collecting early singles, B-sides, and rare tracks from his lo-fi indie folk period.
E. Down at the Cross
"Down at the Cross" is a major essay by James Baldwin that examines race, religion, and identity in America, later published as part of his influential book *The Fire Next Time*.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Of the Sorrow Songs
Target entity description: "Of the Sorrow Songs" is the concluding chapter of W.E.B. Du Bois's seminal work that reflects on the spirituals of enslaved African Americans as profound expressions of their history, suffering, and hope.

A. Story of the Blues
"Story of the Blues" is a song by English band After Hours, known for its emotive reflection on hardship and resilience in the blues tradition.
B. Passing Strange
Passing Strange is a semi-autobiographical rock musical that follows a young Black artist’s journey of self-discovery from Los Angeles to Europe, blending theater, concert, and storytelling.
C. A Black Man’s Soul
A Black Man’s Soul is a 1969 instrumental funk and soul album by musician and bandleader Ike Turner, showcasing his gritty, groove-driven arrangements.
D. Lost Blues and Other Songs
Lost Blues and Other Songs is a compilation album by Will Oldham’s project Palace Music, collecting early singles, B-sides, and rare tracks from his lo-fi indie folk period.
E. Down at the Cross
"Down at the Cross" is a major essay by James Baldwin that examines race, religion, and identity in America, later published as part of his influential book *The Fire Next Time*.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	book chapter ⓘ essay ⓘ
author	W. E. B. Du Bois ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
describes	spirituals as expressions of sorrow and hope ⓘ spirituals as expressions of the souls of Black folk ⓘ spirituals as historical documents of slavery ⓘ the artistic value of African American spirituals ⓘ the emotional depth of slave songs ⓘ the religious significance of spirituals ⓘ
fieldOfStudy	African American studies ⓘ musicology ⓘ religious studies ⓘ
genre	African American literature ⓘ cultural criticism ⓘ literary criticism ⓘ non-fiction ⓘ
hasPerspective	aesthetic appreciation ⓘ historical analysis ⓘ sociological analysis ⓘ theological reflection ⓘ
influenced	African American studies ⓘ cultural studies of slavery ⓘ scholarship on African American music ⓘ
keyConcept	spirituals as a record of the inner life of enslaved people ⓘ spirituals as the most beautiful expression of human experience born of slavery ⓘ the sorrow songs as a gift of Black America to the world ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
literaryMovement	Harlem Renaissance precursor ⓘ
mainSubject	African American history ⓘ African American spirituals ⓘ cultural memory ⓘ enslaved African Americans ⓘ hope ⓘ music ⓘ racial oppression ⓘ religion ⓘ resistance ⓘ slavery in the United States ⓘ suffering ⓘ
mentions	Emancipation ⓘ Reconstruction ⓘ plantation life ⓘ the Middle Passage ⓘ linked to: Middle Passage
partOf	The Souls of Black Folk ⓘ
positionInWork	concluding chapter ⓘ
publicationYear	1903 ⓘ
relatedWork	The Souls of Black Folk ⓘ
workPublishedIn	The Souls of Black Folk ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Souls of Black Folk → hasPart → Of the Sorrow Songs ⓘ

The Souls of Black Folk → closingEssay → Of the Sorrow Songs ⓘ

Of the Faith of the Fathers → relatedWork → The Sorrow Songs ⓘ

linked to: Of the Sorrow Songs

Of the Coming of John → appearsBefore → The Sorrow Songs ⓘ