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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 7: THE LIBERTY BALL.

By William Wells Brown

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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 LIBERTY BALL.

Air—Rosin the Bow.

Come all ye true friends of the nation,

Attend to humanity’s call;

Come aid the poor slave’s liberation,

And roll on the liberty ball—

And roll on the liberty ball—

Come aid the poor slave’s liberation,

And roll on the liberty ball.

The liberty hosts are advancing—

For freedom to all they declare;

The down-trodden millions are sighing—

Come break up our gloom of despair.

Come break up our gloom of despair, &c.

Ye Democrats, come to the rescue,

And aid on the liberty cause,

And millions will rise up and bless you,

With heart-cheering songs of applause,

With heart-cheering songs, &c.

Ye Whigs, forsake slavery’s minions,

And boldly step into our ranks;

We care not for party opinions,

But invite all the friends of the banks—

And invite all the friends of the banks, &c.

And when we have formed the blest union

We’ll firmly march on, one and all—

We’ll sing when we meet in communion,

And roll on the liberty ball,

And roll on the liberty ball, &c.