“Old Ship of Zion” is a sacred song with deep roots in the African American spiritual tradition. A version appears in “Slave Songs of the United States,” the 1867 collection that was the first major published gathering of African American folk song, which makes it one of the older spirituals to survive into print.
The song’s image — an old ship, bound for glory, calling the faithful to climb aboard — carried a double meaning in the era of slavery, when the call to “get on board” could signal a chance at freedom as well as the promise of heaven. In later years it became a beloved funeral song, and it inspired newer gospel compositions that share its title.
The song passed widely into gospel and bluegrass singing.
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