THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO 

STEPHEN LAWRENCE 

WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO WRITE MUSIC . WITHOUT

STEPHEN THIS BLOG WOULD NOT EXIST

With enormous patience, kind thoughtfulness, but above all musical brilliance Stephen taught me the methods of writing music for songs. I knew just a little more than zero before starting work with him. We all know that Stephen is a musical genius who wrote the most memorable pieces for people of all ages. But few people know, as I do, how much talent he has as a teacher. That is a separate skill.

 

To hear the songs, look for the round orange circle with the  white arrow

HARRIET TUBMAN AND
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

A Musical

music  by Susan Maskin 

arranged and performed by Bernie Katzman

lyrics by Susan Maskin

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.

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 or who escaped on their own. 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  played here (click on link at the bottom)is called "Forever to be Free" and might have reflected the thoughts that Harriet had  throughout her life and especially her later years.  

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 speculation, and thus might be more legend than fact.  The veracity of those "factors" vary.

For example, it is thought that most enslaved people who  escaped 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.  We have to note that many of the enslaved people escaped on their own, without any guidance at all; their journeys haphazard, oftentimes, unsuccessful.  


 This musical reflects both fact and legend about Harriet
Ross Tubman Davis specifically and the UGRR generally.

****

 Harriet Tubman was born Araminta (Minty) Ross in 1820 or 1821 ( exact records were not kept.)  Minty was one of many children of Rit and Ben Ross. 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 of "selling south," / "selling down the river," caused  constant fear among the enslaved people living on his plantation as in all plantations.  

    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--estimated 13 to 19 times) to help her family and others escape to the Northern states and to Canada. (Because of the  "Fugitive Slave Act" of 1850, the northern states were no longer a safe haven for escapees and so those who did escape had to find refuge in 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:

https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/

  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 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.

Thank you for visiting this blog and in so-doing paying tribute to Harriet Tubman, to those working on the Underground Railroad, to enslaved people who "rode the railroad," to those who successfully or unsuccessfully escaped totally on their own,  to those who never were able to make the trip, to the abolitionists nationwide, and to all Americans who believed and still believe in the basic principals of freedom upon which the United States of America was founded.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE WHILE THE BLOG LOADS.

MENU (CLICK LINKS BELOW)

-- Introduction

-- What Ya' Doin' Minty?

-- Jump the Broom

-- Soliloquy--The Deal--Breathe Free-- The Chase

-- Follow the North Star
-- Freedom Train
-- Hop on Board
-- Henry Box Brown
--Where My Soul Will be Free

-- The Only Option

-- I, Thomas Garrett

-- Forever to be Free

-- A Lantern Lit

-- Escape by Design

--The Battles Continue

THANK YOU FOR VISITING

THE BATTLES CONTINUE
  -->

     Abraham Lincoln won the election for the presidency in 1860, despite the fact that he was not on the ballet in many southern states, His election culminated many years of what came to be known as “sectionalism” (meaning loyalty to the interest of ones own district rather to the nation as a whole), especially over the issue of slavery.

      Lincoln’s election  ultimately spurred ten states of the “Deep South” to  declare its secession from the United States.. South Carolina (December 20,1860), Mississippi (January 9, 1861) Florida (January 10,1861), Alabama (January 11, 1861), Georgia (January 19,1861), Louisiana, (January 26, 1861), Texas, (February 1, 1861), Virginia (April 17,1861, Arkansas, May 6,1861, North Carolina, May 20, 1861, Tennessee June 8, 1861), formed what came to be called The Confederate States of America.  Four slave holding states,Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Missouri  did not declare secession and remained loyal to the United States.  A portion  of Virginia broke away, remained loyal to the United States union, and became a new state known as West Virginia.

    The Civil War began after the attack and capture by Confederates of the US federal Forth Sumter on April 12, 1861.  The war lasted until 1865 and was one of the bloodiest wars ever fought by Americans, and the third war fought on American soil. (The Mexican War of 1848 was technically fought on Mexican territory which was annexed to the United States at the end of the war.) Enslaved people were freed as a result of the Civil war. The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution forbids slavery in the United States.

    Harriet Tubman was an active participant in the Civil War. Having had experience as conductor on the Underground Railroad, she knew her way around the land, how to hide, how to disguise herself.  She was an expert organizer and had many scouts working with and for her. She was also a nurse who knew  natural  remedies, for example, some home remedies for dysentery  which was a common ailment among union soldiers. Her courage and determination were extremely helpful to the Union.

Harriet Tubman continued her activism after the Civil War. She was especially dedicated to the cause of Woman’s Rights in general and the woman’s suffrage movement in particular. She spent her last years building and working at a home for the elderly. She died in Auburn New York in 1913. Her gravestone reads:

Harriet Tubman Davis, Heroine of the Underground Railroad,
nurse and scout in the Civil War. Born about 1820 in
Maryland, died March 20, 1913 at Auburn,NY.

“SERVANT OF GOD, WELL DONE.”

INSTRUMENTAL

LYRICS

 

-->

The civil war a  long time fought

Misery is what it wrought

Nursing the wounded, the hours were long

A spy for the union my will was strong.

The war  now over, the slaves free at last.

Now we must move from an ugly past,

Though it’s time to lay down the gun,

Other battles continue more to be done.

I’ll fight those fights for humankind,

Devote my heart and the whole of my mind,

Helping people take a stand,

Pushing for justice in our land.

I “ll  crusade  both day and night

The battles continue, turn wrong to right,

Has always been my destiny,

It’s my mission, always  shall be

IMPROVISATION, BY BERNIE KATZMAN

BREATHE FREE   

Although Jim and Sarah are fictional characters, their situation represents the reality of enslaved people. Jim and Sarah married according to a traditional African custom. But their lives were not their own. As so often happened, families were split up as one member of the family was "sold."  The expressions, "sold south" and "sold down the river" come from this era.  Needless to say, it was a tragedy for those involved.

Communication was usually severed and it was not uncommon for a family members never to hear from those sold away ever again. In this segment, Jim heard that he was to be sold. He decides to run away. He promises to come back for Sarah and their child..but he was captured, and sold anyway.

LYRICS

Jim's part

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah my darlin'..

Just as soon as the  sun sets in the sky.

I must go, I must run away to night.

It's mighty hard, so hard to say good-bye.

Sarah's Part

Jim, Jim, Jim my darlin,

Though we promised, from the very start.

That we would stay, together forever.

We would never, never ever part.

And yet I know, I know it to be true.

That if you stay, I fear what they will do.

They'll sell you down south, so far away from me.

Then neither one of us would ever breathe free.

Jim's Part

Remember, Sarah, Sarah my darlin,

I promise this, it's what I plan to do.

I somehow will,  I'll come back here for you.

And our child, come back for her too.

Cause I'll find a way to rescue you.

 Then both of you, like me, will breathe free air too.


  
IMPROVISATION,by Bernie Katzman
 

Please click the music below for the entire transcription

 
-- WHAT YA' DOIN' MINTY

As a young girl, Minty  was often "hired out." This means she was put to work for other families in some capacity. In one case, for example, she was hired out to a weaver...a woman who mistreated her terribly. Minty was beaten  on a regular basis.  At one point she had the measles, but was still made to work. It was at this time she was able to get back to her mother who nursed her back to health.

 Although some enslaved people found ways of making a little money, most were penniless. There were a few people who, with some meager savings and money donated by abolitionists, were able to buy their freedom..but this was rare. 

Many of the "owners" of enslaved people were small  farmers, "owning" two or three people.  The larger plantations might have had many workers. There were some Black slave "owners", probably accounting to fewer than 2%. These were free Black people living in the south as well.  Though some "owned" the enslaved people for commercial reasons,  a good many  were known as "benevolent slave owners." They bought slaves to enable  them a better, more tolerable life;  they bought family members, to keep them together; they bought them in order to free them (manumission.) 

The facts of Minty's early life are sketchy. A few incidents are known however.. Harriet herself retained some memories and was known, in her senior years, to speak to children about her life . One of her distinct memories was of an infant's bed, carved out of a tree, presumably by her father. She also remembered, as a young child , being played with (tossed up and down) by some white  girls.

  As a child, Minty/Harriet was severely injured when a hard object  thrown towards another enslaved person,  accidentally hit her head leaving a  physical scar . Fainting spells plagued her for the rest of  her life. Beatings, mutilations and other severe treatment was suffered by the enslaved people if they committed even the most minor  of offenses.

In this song, Minty is refusing to go to her assignment. Her mother and an older sister are terrified that she will get a beating--once again-- so they are urging her to get up and go to work. There is no record of this event actually happening.  There is no indication anywhere that the event described in the song ever happened. I made the incident up, it is not even legend.  However, the song represents the love and concern family members had for each other.


    Minty replies by telling her mother and sister about her longing to be free, and her intentions to break away from her present condition. She tells them that it is not just a dream, but is on her mind as a reality for the future. This song represents both the feelings of hopelessness and yet the yearnings to be free in spite of despair. The song, therefore, is symbolic.

In actuality, as far as we know, Minty's mother, Rit, had a strong , courageous, rebellious spirit of her own as did so many of the enslaved people. It is thought that when her youngest son, Harriet's brother, was to be "sold", Rit
hid him for a month until the "sale" was abandoned.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE ORANGE CIRCLE WITH THE WHITE ARROW TO HEAR THE MUSIC FOR THE SONG. THE LYRICS FOLLOW.

 

Lyrics

.....MOTHER'S PART

......What ya doin' Minty, Sittin' in the corner?
......Get yourself goin', There's work to be done.

......The missus don't like ..........No lazy slave girl , 
......There aint no rest here,  Never fun.

.......MOTHER'S AND SISTER'S PART

.......Com-on,  Minty, Get ya-self movin' 
.......Life don't change,  oh can't ya' see, 
.......Plantations for us is sure not free, 
.......And won't ...............never be.

......MINTY'S PART

......It aint no fair mama,  workin' like a cart horse 
......Livin' for the big house, night and day.

,,,,,,I needs to be free, be my own master, 
,,,,,,For me, it's the only way. 

......I know in my heart......I'm headin' for freedom 
,..,,,Ain't just a dream, ....it's on my mind

......May not be today's or tomorrow's plan, 
,,..,,But it's freedom for me......that's what I'll find.


Improvisation by Bernie Katzman


Click on the  song notation below to see larger view.

..

Click on the notation below to see the entire transcription,as

done by Dylan Roberts

BACK TO HOME PAGE

sdsfWhat Ya Doin' Minty: Improvisation by Bernie Katzman by Susan Maskin

-- SOLILOQUY

  Living conditions for most enslaved people were terrible. They usually lived in one room, dirt floor shacks, usually without windows.  They ate poorly and  wore shabby clothing and often wore no shoes. ( One spiritual,GOING  TO SHOUT ALL OVER GOD'S HEAVEN, has the following verse:

I’ve got shoes, you’ve got  shoes All of God’s children got shoes
When I get to Heaven goin’ to put on my shoes
Goin’ to walk all over God’s Heaven

Disease was common. People worked long days, from "day clean to day gone."--and when there was a full moon, sometimes into the night. A prominent thought on the enslaved person's mind was freedom.  In this song, Harriet  expresses her feelings of anger and misery over of her situation and emphasizes her continual determination to be a free person, as she knows she should be.  

Lyrics

I wake each mornin'.... feelin'blue..

Moanin'; and groanin' 'bout what I gotta do.
Go up to the big house, work mornin' til night..

Doin' what they say to do with never a fight.

Workin' and workin' the way I be told..
And always a-fearin', I gonna be sold.

The Missus think that I'm property.

But I got feelin's that she ain't never see.
 I be a  slave...  just to push around.
To her just a bug to crawl on the ground.

That's my life, don't belong to me.

But only for now...I soon will be free.

That day will come, cause I'm really mad.

Livin' this way is awefully sad.
It's no life for me, not at all.

I'll stand up for myself...really tall.

Cause I.... Know I'm a woman, a woman who.

Can be my own person, with so much more to do.

I'll help myself and my people too..

Have a better life,  a life brand new.

That's why I decided, I gonna see.

Me, and my brothers and sisters be free...

Click the music for the entire   song

Transcription by Dylan Roberts

Where My Soul will Be Free
Improvisation by Bernie Katzman, of a song by Susan Maskin
Lyrics by Susan Maskin

Frederick Douglass, an enslaved African who escaped to freedom and later became an abolitionist, implied in his autobiography,  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,  that some of the spirituals sung by the enslaved people contained coded messages which helped the enslaved to escape.  He stated that songs had "multiple uses." There is  probably no clear written documentation that supports the claim that  some of these songs were instructions, though  legends do indicate that songs such as "Follow the Drinking Gourd," "The Gospel Train," "Steal Away," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,"  "Wade in the Water," and some others were actually partial guides  for those escaping bondage.  "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot might  have referred to the Ohio River and the safe haven of Ripley Ohio. (for more information check out this wonderful website: http://www.negrospirituals.com/    ) There is controversy over whether in fact these songs actually did have  codes or instructions for those trying to escape. However, since a variety of  ways for sending messages and communicating were used, it is quite possible, perhaps probable, that these spiritual songs might have had this function or at least, been used as inspiration to escape. In addition, since many legends are at least loosely  based on something factual, I believe songs were possibly used. Whatever is true regarding coded messages,  the "spirituals" were  religious songs and a source of hope and support for the enslaved people.

It is important to note that some well-known spirituals were written by identifiable composers after the Civil War.
See: http://www.negrospirituals.com/composers.htm

The song below ,"Where My Soul Will Be Free" is not a pre-Civil War spiritual, but is composed with those songs in mind. 

note: follow the minutes and seconds at the left side of the song bar to know the place in the song which match the lyrics.



Instrumental

Lyrics

Introduction

(starts at 15 seconds into the music)
I looked toward the sky,
I stood  to pray.
Pray for some angels,
To take me far away.

To the promise land, where my soul would be free.
Maybe today, they're comin' for me.

(starts at  44 seconds)
I'll look for  angels..
Search day and night..
They're comin' for me..
To help me see the light.
The Promise land,  is waitin' on me.
I'll get there someday,  it's gonna be.

(starts at 1 minute 13 seconds)
And so I know, I got  to go.
I must  get ready, Can't never be slow.
The Lord is watchin', He's waitin' for me.
In the promise land,  my soul  can be free.

( starts at 1 minute 43 seconds)
I'll look for  angels..
 I'll search day and night..
They're comin' for me..
To help me see the light.
In the promise land,  it's  waitin' on me.
I'll get there someday,  it's gonna be.


 (starts at 2minutes, 19 seconds)
Instrumental--dance sequence to

(stats at 3 minutes 26 seconds)
And so I know, gotta   go.
I must be ready, Can't never be slow.
The Lord is watchin', He's waitin' for me.
In the promise land,  In the promise land, In the promise land,
In the promise land...

That is where my soul .......................be free.

Click on the music below to enlarge 
Notation done by Dylan Roberts