|
Say, darkeys, 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 gumboats lay; He took his hat, an' lef berry sudden, an' I spec he's run away!
De massa run? ha, ha! De darkey stay? ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdom comin', an' de year ob Jubilo!
His coat so big, he couldn't pay de tailor, an' it won't go half way round. He drill so much, dey call him Cap'an, an' he get so drefful tann'd, I spec he try an' fool dem Yankees, for to t'ink he's contraband.
De massa run? ha, ha! De darkey stay? ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdom comin', an' de year ob Jubilo!
Dey move dar t'ings to massa's parlor, for to keep it while he's gone. Dar's wine an' cider in de kitchen, an' de darkeys dey'll hab some; I s'pose dey'll all be cornfiscated, When de Linkum sojers come.
De massa run? ha, ha! De darkey stay? ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdom comin', an' de year ob Jubilo!
We lock him up in de smoke house cellar, wid de key t'rown 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.
De massa run? ha, ha! De darkey stay? ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdom comin', an' de year ob Jubilo! |
Henry Clay Work. "Kingdom Coming: Song and Chorus." Music and lyrics: Henry C. Work. "First line of text: "Say, darkeys, hab you seen de massa." First line of chorus: "De massa run? ha, ha." Chicago: Root and Cady. 1862.
- Score may be found at "The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music," levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu.
- "Kingdom Coming" has been recorded by a variety of artists, from William Bolcom to Pete Seeger. Among many other albums, "Kingdom Coming" appears on William Bolcom, Clifford Jackson, Joan Morris, and the Camerata Chorus of Washington, Who Shall Rule This American Nation?: Songs of the Civil War Era by Henry Clay Work (LP, Nonesuch, 1975); and the less-well-known American Music Consort, Sentimental Songs of the Mid-19th Century (LP, Takoma, 1976).
- I've often seen "Kingdom Coming" on war-time concert programs of Asa B. Hutchinson and am aware that both he and John W. Hutchinson greatly enjoyed the songs of Henry Clay Work. During the Civil War, the companies of both Asa and John performed "Grafted into the Army." Years later, John frequently sang "Grandfather's Clock."
- In my view, "Kingdom Coming" is one of the greatest popular songs in the history of American music. Public opinion on the slavery issue was starting to change; and it is of much interest that this piece, written for the minstrel stage, ridiculed not the African-American slave but rather the slave owner and his overseer. After years of enduring abuse in the press and at his concerts for singing antislavery sentiments, imagine how Asa Hutchinson must have felt singing this triumphant song, as the tide of public opinion turned slowly but irrevocably against the un-American institution of slavery.
The whip is lost, the handcuffs broken,But the master will have his pay;
He's old enough, big enough, ought to known better,
Than to up and run away.
|
Say, brothers, have you seen the master
With the moustache on his face Go along the road sometime this morning Like he's going to leave this place? He saw a smoke way up the river Where the Lincoln gunboats lay. He took his hat and left very I expect he's run away! The master's run ha, ha! |
![[earliest Hutchinson Family publicity likeness]](http://www.oocities.org/unclesamsfarm/quartet342.jpg)
All rights reserved.