Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE YEAR OF JUBILEE, by HENRY CLAY WORK


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE YEAR OF JUBILEE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Say, darkeys, hab you seen de massa
Last Line: An' de yar ob jubilo.
Variant Title(s): Year Of Jubilo;kingdom Coming
Subject(s): African Americans - Military; American Civil War; Richmond Campaign (1864); United States - History


[Sung by the negro troops as they entered Richmond]

SAY, darkeys, hab you seen de massa,
Wid de muffstash on he face,
Go long de road some time dis mornin',
Like he gwine leabe de place?
He see de smoke way up de ribber
Whar de Lincum gunboats lay;
He took he hat an' leff berry sudden,
And I spose he's runned away.
De massa run, ha, ha!
De darkey stay, ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdum comin',
An' de yar ob jubilo.

He six foot one way an' two foot todder,
An' he weigh six hundred poun';
His coat so big he could n't pay de tailor,
An' it won't reach half way roun';
He drill so much dey calls him cap'n,
An' he git so mighty tanned,
I spec he'll try to fool dem Yankees,
For to tink he contraband.
De massa run, ha, ha!
De darkey stay, ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdum comin',
An' de yar ob jubilo.

De darkeys got so lonesome libb'n
In de log hut on de lawn,
Dey moved dere tings into massa's parlor
For to keep it while he gone.
Dar's wine an' cider in de kitchin,
An' de darkeys dey hab some,
I spec it will be all fiscated,
When de Lincum sojers come.
De massa run, ha, ha!
De darkey stay, ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdum comin',
An' de yar ob jubilo.

De oberseer he makes us trubble,
An' he dribe us roun' a spell,
We lock him up in de smoke-house cellar,
Wid de key flung in de well.
De whip am lost, de han'-cuff broke,
But de massy hab his pay;
He big an' ole enough for to know better
Dan to went an' run away.
De massa run, ha, ha!
De darkey stay, ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdum comin',
An' de yar ob jubilo.





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