"Farewell Song of Frederick Douglass"- Rare 1847 Music Performed

"Farewell Song of Frederick Douglass" composed by Julia Griffiths, with lyrics by T. Powis Griffiths in 1847 on the occasion of Frederick Douglass' returning to the United States from the United Kingdom after 19 months abroad. The rare piece of sheet music, only one of two copies known to exist, was acquired by River Campus Libraries Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation in 2018, the bicentennial year of Douglass' birth.

Performed by
Jonathan Rhodes '20E, tenor
Lee Wright '03E, 18E (DMA), piano

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Lyrics (third verse omitted from this performance):

Farewell to the land of the free! Farewell to the land of the brave. Alas! That my country should be America! Land of the slave.

1 What if the Negroes despis’d and degraded
And scorn and reproach are heap’d on his head
Perish the thought that would leave him unaided
American soil shall be that which I tread.

Farewell to the land of the free! Farewell to the land of the brave. Alas! That my country should be America! Land of the slave. [repeat]

2 What if I’ve drunk of the cup that awaits me,
One bitter foretaste already,
Do I glean from the prospect no thought that elates me,
If in freedom’s great cause counted worthy to die.

Farewell to the land of the free! Farewell to the land of the brave. Alas! That my country should be America! Land of the slave. [repeat]

3 Am I not wanted where warfare is waging?
Shall I, like a coward, not join the fight?
Shrink from the onslaught when battle is raging,
Scared by the enemy’s tyrannous might?

Farewell to the land of the free! Farewell to the land of the brave. Alas! That my country should be America! Land of the slave. [repeat]

4 Give me then, friends, the weapon that’s wielded
Best in the cause I am sworn to uphold;
I will fight on till the foe shall have yielded,
Or the years of my sojourn on earth have been told.

Farewell to the land of the free! Farewell to the land of the brave. Alas! That my country should be America! Land of the slave!

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