To hear the songs, look for the round orange circle with the white arrow
HARRIET TUBMAN AND
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
A Musical
music by Susan Maskin and Bernie Katzman
lyrics by Susan Maskin
lyrics by Susan Maskin
arranged and performed by Bernie Katzman
many of the songs presented as instrumentals; lyrics are posted
many of the songs presented as instrumentals; lyrics are posted
"SERVANT OF GOD, WELL DONE"
PLEASE USE THE MENU AT THE RIGHT,
OR FOR MOBILE PHONE , THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
March 10, 2013 is the 100th anniversary of
the death of Harriet Tubman
She was between 91 and 93.
PLEASE USE THE MENU AT THE RIGHT,
OR FOR MOBILE PHONE , THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
March 10, 2013 is the 100th anniversary of
the death of Harriet Tubman
She was between 91 and 93.
My purpose in creating
this historical musical is to pay tribute to Harriet (Araminta) Ross
Tubman and the many people who were passengers and conductors on the
Underground Railroad. I also want to pay tribute to all of the other
enslaved African Americans who were unable to make the trip.
Most of the songs posted are instrumentals followed by lyrics. There are also improvisations created by Bernie
Katzman which are based on the original melody. The song
automatically played here is called "Forever to be Free" and might have
reflected the thoughts that Harriet
thought throughout her life and especially in her later years. ( It is also called Moments, (click and scroll down) another song I wrote with the same melody but other lyrics)
thought throughout her life and especially in her later years. ( It is also called Moments, (click and scroll down) another song I wrote with the same melody but other lyrics)
This musical is based on the life of Harriet Tubman, a famous abolitionist and humanitarian who escaped from slavery and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Although much of the information is based on whatever we know of the facts of her life, there are some songs in which the characters and/or events are fictitious. Nevertheless, the fictitious parts are based on the reality of life as lived by most enslaved Americans during the pre-Civil War period. Additional information and songs describe the Underground Railroad in general and those who worked for the crusade to rescue enslaved people in the United States.
It is very difficult to write about this topic. There are many myths about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad and it is difficult to separate myth from reality.Some of what we think of with regard to the Underground Railroad is unproven, and thus might be more legend than fact. The veracity of those "factors" vary . For example, it is thought that most enslaved people were helped along the way by beneficent abolitionists who put lanterns in the windows of "safe houses." While this certainly did happen, it might not have happened to the extent that we think it did. Several songs and symbols are noted as guiding their way. While it is believed that this might be partially true, we have to remember that many of the enslaved people escaped on their own, without any guidance at all; their journeys haphazard. Sometimes these people had guides called "conductors", both Black and White who knew the route. Oftentimes, the escaped person would maintain his or her journey totally alone.
I do not believe that there is written proof that songs such as "Follow the Drinking Gourd" was a symbolic aid to escape.There is no documented proof that it was not used that way. There is no absolute proof that quilts were used as symbols either...but might have been. However, though we can not prove one way or the other whether these were more fact than legend or the other way round, or to what extent it was fact, to what extent legend , it is true that just about most if not all enslaved people thought constantly about freedom while those who supported their rights, and even helped them existed both North and South as well. Furthermore, it is important to pay tribute to people who struggled for the rights of all Americans to live with the sacred right of freedom and respect.
This musical reflects both fact and legend about Harriet Ross Tubman Davis specifically and the UGRR generally.
Harriet was born and named Araminta (Minty) Ross in 1820 or 1821 (exact records were not kept.) Minty was one of the many children of Rit and Ben Ross. There are few records of her childhood, and much of what we know of her comes from oral history. (An early biography of Harriet Tubman by Sarah Bradford -published about 1869, is the source used by modern biographers. Bradford had interviews with Harriet Tubman.)
Minty,
as she was called, was rebellious from a young age. As was true of
other enslaved people, Minty (later Harriet, after her mother who was
called Rit for short) longed for freedom. While still living in
Maryland, she married John Tubman, a free man in the area. (It is
thought that by the 1840's there were quite a few free black people
living in Maryland and Delaware.) Minty's father, Ben, was manumitted
(freed) as dictated by the will of the plantation owner where Ben lived. It is thought that according to the will, he was to be freed at the age of 45. Not too much is known about Ben Ross except he was very clever and therefore relied upon by the owner of the plantation on which he lived. The same specification about Rit might have been part of the will of the owner of the plantation where she was enslaved.
The owner of the plantation where Harriet was born, Edward Brodess, was frequently in debt. He raised money selling the services of his people to others. He also very frequently sold many of them south. It is thought that a few of Harriet's siblings were sold away and never heard from again. This practice caused great, constant fear among the enslaved people living on his plantation as in all planataions. Several of the enslaved attempted escape, a few successfully. One of them was Harriet Tubman.
In 1849 Harriet Tubman escaped with the help of antislavery
activists using a network of "safe houses" and symbols . The routes
followed were collectively known as the "Underground Railroad."
Harriet returned to the south many times (perhaps as many as 19 trips--estimates are 13 to 19 )
to help her family and others escape to the Northern states and to
Canada. During the Civil War, she was a Union activist, nurse and
spy. In 1869 she remarried, Nelson Davis--a marriage that lasted 19 years until he passed away. Harriet Tubman Davis spent the rest of her life engaged in humanitarian causes.
She was especially active in the woman's suffrage movement. In the latter years of her life she built a home for the aged in Auburn N.Y. which she helped run until her death in 1913 at the age of about 91. I believe she was one
of the most courageous people who ever lived.
In 1936, the Federal Writer's Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) began interviewing former enslaved people who were still alive at that time. The link is:
Please note: As I have never studied linguistics, the songs only very vaguely reflect period speech patterns, and in some songs, none at all. My purpose is to create songs which will reflect the history of the times, and to pay tribute to those people who suffered under the institution of slavery as well as those who sought to be of assistance.
Please use the song menu for easiest navigation of this website.
Thank you for visiting this blog and in so-doing paying tribute to Harriet Tubman, to all others working on the Underground Railroad, to enslaved people who rode the railroad, to those who escaped totally on their own, and to those who were never able to make the trip, to the abolitionists nationwide, and to all Americans who believed and still believe in the basic principles of freedom upon which the United States of America was founded.
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