The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #90665   Message #1720272
Posted By: Suffet
17-Apr-06 - 12:21 PM
Thread Name: Anti Slavery Songs
Subject: RE: Anti Slavery Songs
Greetings:

There is an enormous body of anti-slavery songs here in the USA. Among these are:

The Abolitionist Hymn, anonymous words set to the tune of the the 16th Century hymn Old Hundredth.

Go Down Moses, a traditional African-American spiritual.

Steal Away to Jesus, another traditional African-American spiritual.

Clear the Track, also called The Car Emancipation, new words by Jesse Hutchinson set to the tune of Old Dan Tucker by Daniel D. Emmett.

Follow the Drinking Gourd, a traditional song of the Underground Railroad best know in the version arranged by the Lee Hays of the Weavers.

Some versions of John Brown's Body, particularly the ones which describe the raid on Harper's Ferry and Brown's subsequent execution.

The Battle Cry of Freedom, by George F. Root.

Year of Jubilo, by Henry C. Work. If you clean up the stereotypical black dialect, you are left with a very powerful anti-slvaery song.

Free at Last, a post-Emancipation traditional African-American spiritual.

No More Auction Block, also called Many Thousand Gone, another post-Emancipation traditional African-American spiritual.

Some of these songs are in the Digital Tradition. You can find the rest by doing a Google search. There are many more anti-slavery songs, some still being written. The Ballad of Richard Murray by Lorcan Otway is just one recent example.

--- Steve