The poetical works of James Montgomery collected by himself |
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| SONGS ON THE ABOLITION OF NEGRO SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH COLONIES, August 1. 1834. |
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
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 | The poetical works of James Montgomery |  |
252
SONGS ON THE ABOLITION OF NEGRO SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH COLONIES, August 1. 1834.
No. I. THE RAINBOW.
Sign of the passing storm,
Symbol of wrath gone by,
Born of the cloud and sun,—what form
Of beauty tracks the sky?
From Afric to the isles of slaves
The rainbow spans the' Atlantic waves.
Symbol of wrath gone by,
Born of the cloud and sun,—what form
Of beauty tracks the sky?
From Afric to the isles of slaves
The rainbow spans the' Atlantic waves.
Black, white, and bond, and free,
Castes and proscriptions, cease;
The Negro wakes to liberty,
The Negro sleeps in peace;
Read the great charter on his brow,
“I AM a MAN, a BROTHER, now.’
Castes and proscriptions, cease;
The Negro wakes to liberty,
The Negro sleeps in peace;
Read the great charter on his brow,
“I AM a MAN, a BROTHER, now.’
No. II. THE NEGRO IS FREE.
Blow ye the trumpet abroad o'er the sea;
Britannia hath conquer'd, the Negro is free:
Sing, for the pride of the tyrant is broken,
His scourges and fetters, all clotted with blood,
Are wrench'd from his grasp, for the word was but spoken,
And fetters and scourges were plunged in the flood:
Blow ye the trumpet abroad o'er the sea,
Britannia hath conquer'd, the Negro is free.
Britannia hath conquer'd, the Negro is free:
Sing, for the pride of the tyrant is broken,
His scourges and fetters, all clotted with blood,
Are wrench'd from his grasp, for the word was but spoken,
And fetters and scourges were plunged in the flood:
Blow ye the trumpet abroad o'er the sea,
Britannia hath conquer'd, the Negro is free.
Hail to Britannia, fair liberty's isle!
Her frown quail'd the tyrant, the slave caught her smile:
Fly on the winds to tell Afric the story;
Say to the mother of mourners, “Rejoice!”
Britannia went forth, in her beauty, her glory,
And slaves sprang to men at the sound of her voice:
—Praise to the God of our fathers; 'twas He,
Jehovah, that conquer'd, my country! by thee.
Her frown quail'd the tyrant, the slave caught her smile:
Fly on the winds to tell Afric the story;
Say to the mother of mourners, “Rejoice!”
Britannia went forth, in her beauty, her glory,
And slaves sprang to men at the sound of her voice:
—Praise to the God of our fathers; 'twas He,
Jehovah, that conquer'd, my country! by thee.
No. III. SLAVERY THAT WAS.
Ages, ages have departed
Since the first dark vessel bore
Afric's children, broken-hearted,
To the Caribbèan shore;
She like Rachel,
Weeping, for they were no more.
Since the first dark vessel bore
Afric's children, broken-hearted,
To the Caribbèan shore;
She like Rachel,
Weeping, for they were no more.
Millions, millions, have been slaughter'd
In the fight and on the deep;
Millions, millions more have water'd,
With such tears as captives weep,
Fields of travail,
Where their bones till doomsday sleep.
In the fight and on the deep;
Millions, millions more have water'd,
With such tears as captives weep,
Fields of travail,
Where their bones till doomsday sleep.
Mercy, mercy, vainly pleading,
Rent her garments, smote her breast,
Till a voice from heaven proceeding,
Gladden'd all the gloomy west,—
“Come, ye weary!
Come, and I will give you rest!”
Rent her garments, smote her breast,
Till a voice from heaven proceeding,
Gladden'd all the gloomy west,—
“Come, ye weary!
Come, and I will give you rest!”
253
Tidings, tidings of salvation!
Britons rose with one accord,
Purged the plague-spot from our nation,
Negroes to their rights restored;
Slaves no longer,
Free-men,—Free-men of the Lord.
Britons rose with one accord,
Purged the plague-spot from our nation,
Negroes to their rights restored;
Slaves no longer,
Free-men,—Free-men of the Lord.
No. IV. SLAVERY THAT IS NOT.
God made all his creatures free;
Life itself is liberty;
God ordain'd no other bands
Than united hearts and hands.
Life itself is liberty;
God ordain'd no other bands
Than united hearts and hands.
Sin the' eternal charter broke,
—Sin, itself earth's heaviest yoke;
Tyranny with sin began,
Man o'er brute, and man o'er man.
—Sin, itself earth's heaviest yoke;
Tyranny with sin began,
Man o'er brute, and man o'er man.
Pass five thousand pagan years
Of creation's groans and tears;
To oppression's climax come,
In the crimes of Christendom.
Of creation's groans and tears;
To oppression's climax come,
In the crimes of Christendom.
What were these?—Let Afric's sands,
Ocean's depths, West Indian strands,
In the day of wrath declare:
—Oh! the mercy that they were;—
Ocean's depths, West Indian strands,
In the day of wrath declare:
—Oh! the mercy that they were;—
For they are not,—cannot be;
Life again is liberty;
And the Negro's only bands
Love-knit hearts, and love-link'd hands.
Life again is liberty;
And the Negro's only bands
Love-knit hearts, and love-link'd hands.
So the plague of slavery cease!
So return primeval peace!
While the ransom'd tribes record
All the goodness of the Lord.
So return primeval peace!
While the ransom'd tribes record
All the goodness of the Lord.
No. V. THE NEGRO'S VIGIL,
On the Eve of the First of August, 1834.
“They that watch for the morning:—they that watch for the morning.”
Psalm cxxx. 6.
Psalm cxxx. 6.
Hie to the mountain afar
All in the cool of the even;
Led by yon beautiful star,
First of the daughters of heaven:
Sweet to the slave is the season of rest,
Something far sweeter he looks for to-night;
His heart lies awake in the depth of his breast,
And listens till God shall say, “Let there be light!”
All in the cool of the even;
Led by yon beautiful star,
First of the daughters of heaven:
Sweet to the slave is the season of rest,
Something far sweeter he looks for to-night;
His heart lies awake in the depth of his breast,
And listens till God shall say, “Let there be light!”
Climb we the mountain, and stand
High in mid-air, to inhale,
Fresh from our old father-land,
Balm in the ocean-borne gale:
Darkness yet covers the face of the deep;
Spirit of freedom! go forth in thy might,
To break up our bondage like infancy's sleep,
The moment when God shall say, “Let there be light!”
High in mid-air, to inhale,
Fresh from our old father-land,
Balm in the ocean-borne gale:
Darkness yet covers the face of the deep;
Spirit of freedom! go forth in thy might,
To break up our bondage like infancy's sleep,
The moment when God shall say, “Let there be light!”
Gaze we, meanwhile, from this peak;
Praying in thought while we gaze;
Watch for the morning's first streak,
Prayer then be turn'd into praise:
Shout to the valleys, “Behold ye the morn,
Long, long desired, but denied to our sight:”
Lo! myriads of slaves into men are new-born;
The word was omnipotent, “Let there be light!”
Praying in thought while we gaze;
Watch for the morning's first streak,
Prayer then be turn'd into praise:
Shout to the valleys, “Behold ye the morn,
Long, long desired, but denied to our sight:”
Lo! myriads of slaves into men are new-born;
The word was omnipotent, “Let there be light!”
Hear it and hail it;—the call,
Island to island prolong;
Liberty! liberty!—all
Join in the jubilee-song:
Hark! 'tis the children's hosannas that ring;
Hark! they are free-men whose voices unite;
While England, the Indies, and Africa, sing
“Amen, Hallelujah!” at “Let there be light!”
Island to island prolong;
Liberty! liberty!—all
Join in the jubilee-song:
Hark! 'tis the children's hosannas that ring;
Hark! they are free-men whose voices unite;
While England, the Indies, and Africa, sing
“Amen, Hallelujah!” at “Let there be light!”
| The poetical works of James Montgomery | |