Kingdom Coming
Kingdom Coming played by a South Carolina String Band.
LYRICS (Slang)- Say, darkies, hab you seen de massa, wid de muffstash on his face, Go long de road some time dis mornin', like he gwine to leab de place? He seen a smoke way up de ribber, whar de Linkum gunboats lay; He took his hat, and lef' berry sudden, and I spec' he's run away! De massa run, ha, ha! De darkey stay, ho, ho! It mus' be now de kindom coming, an' de year ob Jubilo! He six foot one way, two foot tudder, and he weigh tree hundred pound, His coat so big, he couldn't pay the tailor, an' it won't go halfway round. He drill so much dey call him Cap'n, an' he got so drefful tanned, I spec' he try an' fool dem Yankees for to tink he's contraband. De darkeys feel so lonesome libbing in de loghouse on de lawn, Dey move dar tings into massa's parlor for to keep it while he's gone. Dar's wine an' cider in de kitchen, an' de darkeys dey'll have some; I s'pose dey'll all be cornfiscated when de Linkum sojers come. De obserseer he make us trouble, an' he dribe us round a spell; We lock him up in de smokehouse cellar, wid de key trown in de well. De whip is lost, de han'cuff broken, but de massa'll hab his pay; He's ole enough, big enough, ought to known better dan to went an' run away.
Behind The Slang- The lyrics are about slaves and are made to impersonate the slang of English used by some uneducated farmers and most slaves used. It talks about the promised freedoms told and dreamed about by slaves whose owner left them. During the war, often slave owners on farms would leave there slaves behind as to flee the troops marching forward off in the distance not giving them much time to pack up and leave, rather take their family and anything they could grab quickly. As the song is in slang you also get a sense that it was written to reflect the way slaves saw what was going on while being left alone.
Background
Written in 1862, by Henry Work this American Civil War song about the freedom of slaves proclaimed promises of the Emancipation Proclamation. When played the way it was intended, its played by lively instruments in a lively way because its about happy times of freedom. It was written to lift your spirit and make you tap your foot to the fast beat and it sounds like you want to get up and dance. Before the Emancipation Proclamation freed around 35000 slaves the day it was put into effect, freedom was only a dream. The few who escaped and were left behind were only lucky, and made stories of belief. With a fast pace banjo sound, you can feel your feet to want to move, which is how the slaves must have felt when becoming free.
Written in 1862, by Henry Work this American Civil War song about the freedom of slaves proclaimed promises of the Emancipation Proclamation. When played the way it was intended, its played by lively instruments in a lively way because its about happy times of freedom. It was written to lift your spirit and make you tap your foot to the fast beat and it sounds like you want to get up and dance. Before the Emancipation Proclamation freed around 35000 slaves the day it was put into effect, freedom was only a dream. The few who escaped and were left behind were only lucky, and made stories of belief. With a fast pace banjo sound, you can feel your feet to want to move, which is how the slaves must have felt when becoming free.
Work Cited
"The Year Of Jubilo." Amazon.com: : The Lansdowne Orchestra: MP3 Downloads. The Lansdowne Orchestra, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.Judy Tate, Judy. "Kingdom Coming Lyrics and Tune." Kingdom Coming Lyrics and Tune. Freepagesmusic.org, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
"The Year Of Jubilo." Amazon.com: : The Lansdowne Orchestra: MP3 Downloads. The Lansdowne Orchestra, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.Judy Tate, Judy. "Kingdom Coming Lyrics and Tune." Kingdom Coming Lyrics and Tune. Freepagesmusic.org, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.