Songs of Freedom

What exactly is freedom? The term is used in many ways, but this is the definition which is relevant to this project:

Freedom is the absence of forcible constraint on actions which do not violate the rights of others.

Most restrictions on freedom are caused by government, since governments possess a legal monopoly on the use of force. Non-governmental agents can also impinge on freedom when the government is ineffective to stop them or actively cooperates with them. However, freedom doesn't mean simply having one's way, or not encountering obstacles. Thus, there are songs which others might consider "songs of freedom" which won't be listed here. Conversely, my listing an artist or song here shouldn't be construed as an endorsement of anything and everything the artist may have said about freedom. I may not even agree with the song unreservedly, and I might have doubts about its artistic merit.

What I am saying by listing a song here is that it makes a pro-freedom point, and does it in a way which can have a real impact on people. These are songs which are worth knowing and worth singing because they can make people feel that freedom is possible and is worth the price.

MIDI files are provided for some of the songs. Click on the "MIDI" button following the lyrics.

Contents:

American Revolution

Spirituals and Anti-Slavery Songs

Other Historical Songs

Filk Songs

Modern Folk Songs

Popular and Show Songs

American Revolution

Anti-British and pro-independence songs were heard well before the American Revolution.

• Come On, Brave Boys dates from 1734. A grand jury concluded that it was "highly defaming the present Administration of His Majesty's Government in this Province [New York], tending greatly to inflame the minds of His Majesty's good Subjects, and to disturb and destroy that Peace and Tranquility which aught to subsist and be maintained in this Colony and in all other well-governed Communities." Since no author or publisher could be discovered, the grand jury ordered the songs to be burned in public.

Many of the songs of the American Revolution have become hackneyed through overuse. Some, such as "Yankee Doodle," really don't say anything, but others are worth a fresh hearing, and some deserve to be heard more.

• American Taxation, by Peter St. John, predates Joseph Warren's better-known lyric to "The British Grenadiers". Irwin Silber,in Songs of Independence,writes that this "may well be considered the opening anthem of the revolution."
• The American Hero, by Andrew Law (1748-1821), expresses courage in the defense of freedom in formal, solemn terms. It was "made on the battle of Bunker-Hill, and the burning of Charlestown," not long after these events.
• Chester, by William Billings (1746-1800) is the best known of Billings' songs, combining strong religious feelings with military expressions of defiance.
• Free America, by Dr. Joseph Warren, to the tune of "The British Grenadiers," was originally titled "Liberty Song." The version given here is transcribed from a published facsimile of an early edition. Many songs of this period rhyme "America" as if the final "a" were long.
• The Hildebrands give another "British Grenadiers" song, titled "General Washington" or "War and Washington," by Jonathan Mitchell Sewall.
• Cornwallis Country Dance, anonymous, to the tune of "Yankee Doodle," commemorates Greene's hit-and-run campaign against Cornwallis, which helped to bring about the American victory at Yorktown.
• God Save the Thirteen States, anonymous, is one of many songs of the period set to the tune of "God Save the King."
• Liberty Song, words by John Dickinson, written in 1768, was well-known enough to have been the subject of parody and counter-parody.

The following songs date from the period shortly following the Revolution (to about 1800), when it was still a recent memory and passion for freedom continued to be strong.

• Revolutionary Tea, celebrating the Boston Tea Party, was written some time after the war, probably in the first half of the 19th century.
• Rights of Woman, published in the Philadelphia Minerva, Oct. 17, 1795, is one of the earliest American songs pointing out that rights apply equally to both sexes.
• Hail Columbia, by F. Hopkinson to the tune of Phylo's "President's March" (1789). This lyric dates from 1798 and was written when war with France seemed likely. In spite of its strong sentiments, it avoids taking sides in then-current American controversies.
• Jefferson and Liberty was a popular song during Jefferson's Presidential campaign of 1800, and reflects the widespread hostility toward the Federalists' Alien and Sedition Acts. D. and G. Hildebrand state: "This Irish tune called 'The Gobby O' was known in America as 'Wanton Wishes' and 'Jefferson and Liberty.'

Spirituals and Anti-Slavery Songs

Many of the spirituals sung by slaves in the Old South show a clear longing for freedom, couched in unimpeachable religious terms. The more explicit anti-slavery verses in some of these songs, though, may be additions from the Civil War period.

• Go Down, Moses recalls the Biblical story of the Hebrews held in bondage in Egypt.
• Michael is an example of the spirituals in which the longing for freedom is couched in the religious terms of crossing the Jordan River, which may have been an intentional symbol for the Ohio.
• Free at Last is a very simple song with a direct point.
• I Got a Robe envisions freedom in Heaven.
• Steal Away may have had an intentional double meaning.
• He's Just the Same Today is about the constancy of God, but the choice of examples -- the Hebrews' escape from bondage and Daniel's refusal to "bow down to men" -- gives a pro-freedom subtext.

Other songs addressed the issue of slavery more directly.

• No More Auction Block is sometimes referred to as a "spiritual," but appears to have originated in the heat of the Civil War and to have been sung by freed slaves who fought on the Union side. The references to "pint of salt" and "peck of corn" denote slave rations.
• O Freedom makes no attempts at hiding its meaning. I haven't had the privilege of hearing it performed, but it is powerful even on paper.
• John Brown's Body, in its original form, was a memorial to a soldier with no political implications. I have read that the song was originally about a long-forgotten John Brown, and later applied to the man who led the Harper's Ferry raid. Its tune was used by Julia Ward Howe for "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Another version was written by Edna D. Proctor; though it's virtually forgotten today, I consider it even better than "The Battle Hymn."
• The Abolitionist Hymn was often sung in anti-slavery meetings.
• Lincoln and Liberty expressed the anti-slavery feelings of Lincoln's supporters.
• The Underground Railcar, written by George N. Allen and published in 1854, tells of a slave's escape to Canada.

Other Historical Songs

Songs of freedom have appeared at every point in U.S. history. Songs were written in defense of causes now lost, as well as goals which were achieved.

• Song of 1857: In 1857, President Buchanan sent army troops into Utah against the Mormons; they were met with some guerilla resistance before the matter was resolved peacefully. This song was written by Utah rebels.
• Maryland, My Maryland, by James Ryder Randall, though it was written in support of the Confederate cause, can be considered a song of freedom because it protested very legitimate grievances. In its effort to keep Washington, D.C. from being cut off from the Union, the government resorted to draconian measures to retain Maryland, suspended the writ of habeas corpus and imposed military occupation on the state. While this song has long been associated with the tune "O Tannenbaum," there is evidence that it was originally intended to be sung to a tune called "O Normandy."
• An Old Indian is one of the few songs I've found so far on the denial of American Indians' freedom. I'd be glad to learn of more.
• Vot Vos You Up to, Uncle Sam? protests the United States' becoming foreign dominators of the Philippines after aiding their overthrow of their erstwhile Spanish dominators. The use of dialect may make the song appear offensive to some modern readers, but it is used here to show the immigrant's situation, not to insult him.

In Ireland during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the repressive Penal Laws provoked widespread anger and strengthened the drive for independence. A number of Irish songs reflect this outrage and a love of freedom.

• The Harp That Once Through Tara's Halls shows the use of the harp as a symbol of Irish freedom.
• The Minstrel Boy also makes symbolic use of the harp, as well as showing the bard as warrior.
• The Wearing of the Green is probably a protest against the Penal Laws, whether or not it was ever literally illegal to wear a shamrock.

Filk Songs

• Brother Christian. Sometimes misread even by her admirers, this song denounces -- and delares intent to resist forcibly, if necessary -- Christians who use the government to make everyone conform to their religious tenets.
• Desolation Valley. Two ways to escape to freedom -- which do you choose?
• Harvester. Plowshares can be beaten into swords at need.
• No High Ground. When is it time to throw off an oppressive government?
• The Paper Sea. The primary beneficiary of welfare is the bureaucracy.
• The Sun is Also a Warrior. A god answers a plea to end all war -- but the cost is all of freedom.
• They Were Having a Sale at the Gun Store. A story of what happens when the "Jukes boys" go on a crime spree, illustrating the importance of the freedom to bear arms.

Here are some other songs by filk writers which deal with freedom:

• March of Cambreadth by Heather Alexander. A powerful song of marching to resist an invading army. If the invaders could hear a roomful of filkers joining in the refrain line, "How many of them can we make die?" they'd probably turn around without even trying.
• Censors by Bob Kanefsky, to the tune of "Sentries" by Leslie Fish. Bob Kanefsky is a brilliant parodist; this song deals with those who want to censor what we read.
• The winners of the Liberty Round Table's Virtual Con 1 filk contest are now available.

I should (or at any rate, will) include a plug for my Mad Scientist's Songbook.

Modern Folk Songs

The term "folk song" is used today to denote a certain style, regardless of whether the origin of the song is shrouded in obscurity or not. Modern folk music is often influenced by socialist ideas, but also captures a rebellious spirit. It's necessary to look carefully, and not include every folk song which has the word "freedom" in it, but some gems can be found.

• Christmas in the Trenches, by John McCutcheon, based on a true story, tells of some German and English soldiers who for one night allowed themselves to be friends rather than being opposed by the orders of their respective governments.
• The Idiot by Stan Rogers. This song of a Canadian going west rather than going on welfare includes the telling line, "The government dole will rot your soul." (See the Summerfolk Stan Rogers page.)
• Deportee and Biggest Thing that Man Has Ever Done by Woody Guthrie. "Deportee" tells about migrant workers being harassed by the government, and "Biggest Thing" is a semi-comic song which mentions a number of triumphs for freedom.
• The Heart of The Apaloosa, by Fred Small, tells of the persecution and decimation of the Nez Percé Indians.

Popular and Show songs

Popular music tends to avoid controversy, but songs promoting freedom can be found in this area.

• 'T Ain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do, popularized by jazz performers such as Fats Waller and Billie Holiday, is defiant, but some of its verses aren't exactly philosophically consistent. One of my sources attributes it to Clarence Williams, another to Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins.
• Der Führer's Face, originally used in an eponymous Donald Duck cartoon and later popularized by Spike Jones, gives a Bronx cheer to Nazi regimentation.
• Do You Hear the People Sing?, from Les Miserables, is a powerful song, expressing the feelings of revolutionaries in post-Napoleonic France.
• Something for Nothing, performed by Rush, reminds the listener that "you can't have freedom for free." Their cantata 2112 presents a rediscovery of freedom, loosely adapted from Ayn Rand's Anthem, in a rather confusing form. I don't claim to understand Rush very well; there are many Web sites dedicated to them.
• The Farmer on the Dole, by "P. D. Q. Bach" (Peter Schickele), satirizes the governmental practice of paying farmers not to grow crops. (See Theodore Presser Company's P. D. Q. Bach page.)

Sources

There may have been accesses to this page since some unknown date.

Copyright 1997-2001 by Gary McGath

Last revised May 14, 2002

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