Skip to main content
Air--"Come come away."
QUEEN.
O come! come away, my sable sons & daughters
Why linger there
In the dark despair?
O come! O come away!
On Eria's northern banks I stand,
With open arms, and stretched out hands;
From tyrant Columbia's land
O come! come away!SLAVES.
O, mother Victoria,
Why do you thus torment us?
Do you not see
That we're not free,
And can't come away?
We're watched by day and chained by night;
Both robbed of liberty and right;
While crushed by the oppreessor's might
We can't come away.
QUEEN.
O come! come away, my sable sons & daughters
Your galling chains
Now rend in twain
And come, come away.
Here in my province still is room,
And I will give you if you come
A long, free, and happy home.
O come! come away!
SLAVES.
The bloodhounds (our guards)
Surround our whole plantation;
The patrols too
Will us persue,
We can't come away.
Also our master and their wives
Sleep on their swords and Boweknives,
And swear they will take our lives;
We can't come away.
QUEEN.
O come! come away, my sable sons & daughters
Fear not those hounds
Nor master's frowns,
But come! come away!
While dogs and masters are asleep,
Then slily from your cabins creep,
And no more in slavery weep:
O come! come away!
SLAVES.
The journey is long,
And great the undertaking:
We'll have to go
Through frost and snow;
We can't come away.
The cane brake and the cotton field
Must be our shelter and our shield,
And wild beasts are there concealed;
We can't come away.
QUEEN.
O come! come away, my sable sons & daughters
Dry up your tears
Dismiss your fears
And come! come away.
The Lord will take you by the hand,
And lead you through the forest land;
The beasts are at his command;
O come! come away!
SLAVES.
Our masters we fear will blight our undertaking
Our very eyes
They'll advertise--
We can't come away.
The northern states though free by name
Have negro dogsin every range
Who linger there for pocket change;
We can't come away.
QUEEN.
O come! come away, why will you longer tarry?
The Lord will stand
At your right hand
O come, come away!
You'll meet with many a northern friend
Who will his best endeavors lend
To speed you onto freedom's land;
O come! come away!
SLAVES.
O! mother Victoria should we be overtaken;
Our grief untold
Will be ten fold;
We can't come away.
They'll either hang us on a tree
Or sell us down to Tennessee
Into endless slavery;
We can't come away.
QUEEN.
O come, come away! I cannot tease you longer;
You need not fear
John Bull is here--
O come, come away!
The lion's paw shall guard thy head,
His *shaggy mane shall be thy bed,
And none upon thy rights shall tread,
O come, come away!
SLAVES' RESPONSE.
The lion's paw shall guard our heads!
His shaggy mane shall be our beds!
And none upon our rights shall tread!
We'll all come away!
table of contents
QUEEN VICTORIA CONVERSING WITH HER
SLAVE CHILDREN.
SLAVE CHILDREN.
Why linger there
In the dark despair?
O come! O come away!
On Eria's northern banks I stand,
With open arms, and stretched out hands;
From tyrant Columbia's land
O come! come away!
Why do you thus torment us?
Do you not see
That we're not free,
And can't come away?
We're watched by day and chained by night;
Both robbed of liberty and right;
While crushed by the oppreessor's might
We can't come away.
Your galling chains
Now rend in twain
And come, come away.
Here in my province still is room,
And I will give you if you come
A long, free, and happy home.
O come! come away!
Surround our whole plantation;
The patrols too
Will us persue,
We can't come away.
Also our master and their wives
Sleep on their swords and Boweknives,
And swear they will take our lives;
We can't come away.
Fear not those hounds
Nor master's frowns,
But come! come away!
While dogs and masters are asleep,
Then slily from your cabins creep,
And no more in slavery weep:
O come! come away!
And great the undertaking:
We'll have to go
Through frost and snow;
We can't come away.
The cane brake and the cotton field
Must be our shelter and our shield,
And wild beasts are there concealed;
We can't come away.
Dry up your tears
Dismiss your fears
And come! come away.
The Lord will take you by the hand,
And lead you through the forest land;
The beasts are at his command;
O come! come away!
Our very eyes
They'll advertise--
We can't come away.
The northern states though free by name
Have negro dogsin every range
Who linger there for pocket change;
We can't come away.
The Lord will stand
At your right hand
O come, come away!
You'll meet with many a northern friend
Who will his best endeavors lend
To speed you onto freedom's land;
O come! come away!
Our grief untold
Will be ten fold;
We can't come away.
They'll either hang us on a tree
Or sell us down to Tennessee
Into endless slavery;
We can't come away.
You need not fear
John Bull is here--
O come, come away!
The lion's paw shall guard thy head,
His *shaggy mane shall be thy bed,
And none upon thy rights shall tread,
O come, come away!
His shaggy mane shall be our beds!
And none upon our rights shall tread!
We'll all come away!
*The British government.
Annotate
Table of Contents