A Slave Song Asserts "We'll Soon Be Free"

Within the strict and often violent boundaries of enslavement, African Americans drew strength and identity from spiritual beliefs and practices, which included singing the songs that became known as "spirituals." This spiritual was published shortly after the end of the Civil War, in a collection of African-American sacred and secular songs published under the title Slave Songs of the United States. While the original spiritual was transcribed in dialect form, the language has been standardized here to facilitate reading at various levels of English literacy.

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My father, how long,
My father, how long,
My father how long,
Poor sinner suffer here?

1. And it won't be long,
And it won't be long,
And it won't be long,
Poor sinner suffer here.

2. We'll soon be free,
The Lord will call us home.

3. We'll walk the muddy road
Where pleasure never dies.

4. We'll walk the golden streets
Of the New Jerusalem.

5. My brothers do sing
The praises of the Lord.

 6. We'll fight for Liberty
When the Lord will call us home.