 This folk song was released as a commercial recording several times, beginning in the 1920s, and it was included in the 2013 film "12 Years a Slave".In the mid-19th century, black slaves were not allowed off their masters' plantations without a pass, for fear that they would rise against their white owners; such uprisings had occurred before, such as the one led by Nat Turner in 1831.However, it remained common for slaves to slip away from the plantations to visit friends elsewhere.