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The Anti-slavery Harp: A Collection of Songs for Anti-slavery Meetings cover

The Anti-slavery Harp: A Collection of Songs for Anti-slavery Meetings

Chapter 34: THE BONDMAN.
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About This Book

A compilation of abolitionist songs and lyric pamphlets intended for anti-slavery gatherings, offering moral appeals, narratives of suffering, and calls to collective action. Poems dramatize the anguish of enslaved mothers, the fate of separated families, and the experiences of fugitives guided by the North Star, while urging political and religious solidarity against slavery. Several pieces adapt their words to familiar popular airs to facilitate communal singing, and the collection blends emotional testimony, exhortation, and patriotic imagery to mobilize audiences for emancipation.

THE BONDMAN.

Air—Troubadour.
Feebly the bondman toiled,
Sadly he wept—
Then to his wretched cot
Mournfully crept;
How doth his free-born soul
Pine ’neath his chain!
Slavery! Slavery!
Dark is thy reign.
Long ere the break of day,
Roused from repose,
Wearily toiling
Till after its close—
Praying for freedom,
He spends his last breath:
Liberty! Liberty!
Give me or death.
When, when, O Lord! will right
Triumph o’er wrong?
Tyrants oppress the weak,
O Lord! how long?
Hark! hark! a peal resounds
From shore to shore—
Tyranny! Tyranny!
Thy reign is o’er.
E’en now the morning
Gleams from the East—
Despots are feeling
Their triumph is past—
Strong hearts are answering
To freedom’s loud call—
Liberty! Liberty!
Full and for all.