#372 - Slavery Days
- Composer:
- David Braham
- Incipit: 123165345363517614326217
- Condensed Incipit: 123165345363517614326217
- Lyrics:
I am thinking today
Of dem years dat pass'd away,
When dey tied me up in bondage long ago;
In old Virginny State,
It was dar we separate.
And it fill'd my heart with misery and woe.
Dey took away my boy,
He was his mother's joy.
From a baby in de cradle we him raise.
Oh, dey put us far apart,
An' it broke de old man's heart,
In dem agonising, cruel slav'ry days.
chorus:
Dey never comes again,
Let us give our praise to Him,
Who looks down whar de little children play;
So ev'ry night and morn,
We will pray for dem dat's gone,
In dem agonising, cruel slav'ry days.
Still my mem'ry will steal o'er
To dat dear old Cabin floor,
When de shadow of de sun came peeping in;
At night, when all was dark
We would hear de watch-dog bark,
And we'd listen to de murmur of de wind.
It seem to say to me,
“You people must be free,”
For de happy time am coming, Lord be prais'd!
For then we would weep and moan,
For our souls was not our own,
In dem agonising, cruel slav'ry days.
I am very old and feeble,
And our life am nearly done,
I have travell'd in the roughest kind of road;
Thro' sickenss, toil and sorrow,
I have reach'd de end at last,
And I'm resting by de wayside wid my load.
Forget now and forgive,
Has always been my guide,
For dat's what de golden Scripture surely says;
But our mem'ry will turn roun',
When our souls dey were tied down,
In dem agonising, cruel slav'ry days.
- Edward Harrigan
