To slaves, before the Civil War
Original Poem in Dialect, by Paul Laurence Dunbar, converted into Near-Standard English by Rev. Bill McGinnis, with MP3 Audio Readings
Please also see . . ."Yes We Can" - the video, the poem, the MP3
From The Barack Obama Campaign For President =>
http://www.loveallpeople.org/yeswecan.html
AN ANTE-BELLUM SERMON
By Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
NOTE: This is Dunbar's poetic concept of a sermon which might have been
given by a slave minister to a slave congregation, before the
American Civil War freed all the slaves in the United States.
Written In Dialect by Paul Laurence Dunbar and converted into
Near-Standard English by Rev. Bill McGinnis
DIALECT READINGNEAR-STANDARD ENGLISH READING
MP3 Reading (dialect) by Rev. Bill McGinnis at
http://www.paullaurencedunbar.net/antebellumsermon.mp3
MP3 Reading (near-standard English) by Rev. Bill McGinnis at
http://www.paullaurencedunbar.net/antebellumsermon-std.mp3Dialect We is gathahed hyeah, my brothahs, In dis howlin' wildaness, Fu' to speak some words of comfo't To each othah in distress. An' we chooses fu' ouah subjic' Dis--we'll 'splain it by an' by; "An' de Lawd said, 'Moses, Moses,' An' de man said, 'Hyeah am I.'" Near-Standard English We are gathered here, my brothers, In this howling wilderness, For to speak some words of comfort To each other in distress. We have chosen for our subject (We'll explain it by and by); "And the Lord said, 'Moses, Moses,' And the man said, "Here am I.'" Now ole Pher'oh, down in Egypt, Was de wuss man evah bo'n, An' he had de Hebrew chillun Down dah wukin' in his co'n; 'T well de Lawd got tiahed o' his foolin', An' sez he: "I'll let him know-- Look hyeah, Moses, go tell Pher'oh Fu' to let dem chillun go." Now old Pharaoh, down in Egypt, Was the worst man ever born, And he had the Hebrew children Down there working in his corn; Well, the Lord tired of his fooling, And says he: "I'll let him know-- Look here, Moses, go tell Pharaoh For to let my children go." "An' ef he refuse to do it, I will make him rue de houah, Fu' I'll empty down on Egypt All de vials of my powah." Yes, he did--an' Pher'oh's ahmy Wasn't wuth a ha'f a dime; Fu' de Lawd will he'p his chillun, You kin trust him evah time. "And if he refuse to do it, I will make him rue the hour, For I'll empty down on Egypt All the vials of my power." Yes, he did--and Pharaoh's army Wasn't worth a half a dime; For the Lord will help his children, You can trust him every time. An' yo' enemies may 'sail you In de back an' in de front; But de Lawd is all aroun' you, Fu' to ba' de battle's brunt. Dey kin fo'ge yo' chains an' shackles F'om de mountains to de sea; But de Lawd will sen' some Moses Fu' to set his chillun free. And your enemies may assail you In the back and in the front; But the Lord is all around you, For to bear the battle's brunt. They can forge your chains and shackles From the mountains to the sea; But the Lord will send some Moses For to set his children free. An' de lan' shall hyeah his thundah, Lak a blas' f'om Gab'el's ho'n, Fu' de Lawd of hosts is mighty When he girds his ahmor on. But fu' feah some one mistakes me, I will pause right hyeah to say, Dat I 'm still a-preachin' ancient, I ain't talkin' 'bout to-day. And the land shall hear his thunder, Like a blast from Gabriel's horn, For the Lord of hosts is mighty When he girds his armour on. But for fear some one mistakes me, I will pause right here to say, That I'm still a-preaching ancient, I'm not talking about today. But I tell you, fellah christuns, Things'll happen mighty strange; Now, de Lawd done dis fu' Isrul, An' his ways don't nevah change, An' de love he showed to Isrul Was n't all on Isrul spent; Now don't run an' tell yo' mastahs Dat I's preachin' discontent. But I tell you, fellow Christians, Things will happen mighty strange; Now the Lord did this for Israel, And his ways don't ever change, And the love he showed to Israel Wasn't all on Israel spent; Now don't run and tell your masters That I'm preaching discontent. 'Cause I isn't; I'se a-judgin' Bible people by deir ac's; I 'se a-givin' you de Scriptuah, I 'se a-handin' you de fac's. Cose ole Pher'oh b'lieved in slav'ry, But de Lawd he let him see, Dat de people he put bref in,-- Evah mothah's son was free. I am not; I'm only judging Bible people by their acts; I am giving you the Scripture, I am handing you the facts. 'Cause old Pharaoh believed in slavery, But the Lord did let him see, That the people he put breath in,-- Every mother's son was free. An' dahs othahs thinks lak Pher'oh, But dey calls de Scriptuah liar, Fu' de Bible says "a servant Is a-worthy of his hire." An' you cain't git roun' nor thoo dat, An' you cain't git ovah it, Fu' whatevah place you git in, Dis hyeah Bible too 'll fit. And some others think like Pharaoh, But they call the Scripture liar, For the Bible says, "a servant Is a-worthy of his hire." And you can't get 'round or through that, And you can't get over it, For whatever place you get in, This here Bible too will fit. So you see de Lawd's intention, Evah sence de worl' began, Was dat His almighty freedom Should belong to evah man, But I think it would be bettah, Ef I'd pause agin to say, Dat I'm talkin' 'bout ouah freedom In a Bibleistic way. So you see the Lord's intention, Ever since the world began, Was that His almighty freedom Should belong to every man, But I think it would be better If I'd pause again to say, That I'm talking about our freedom In a Bibleistic way. But de Moses is a-comin', An' he's comin', suah and fas' We kin hyeah his feet a-trompin', We kin hyeah his trumpit blas'. But I want to wa'n you people, Don't you git too brigity; An' don't you git to braggin' 'Bout dese things, you wait an' see. But the Moses is a-coming, And he's coming sure and fast, We can hear His feet a-tromping, We can hear His trumpet blast. But I want to warn you people, Don't you get too brigity; And don't you get to bragging About these things, you wait and see. But when Moses wif his powah Comes an' sets us chillun free, We will praise de gracious Mastah. Dat has gin us liberty; An' we 'll shout ouah halleluyahs, On dat mighty reck'nin' day, When we 'se reco'nised ez citiz'-- Huh uh! Chillun, let us pray! But when Moses with his power Comes and sets us children free, We will praise the gracious Master, That has given us liberty; And we'll shout our hallelujas, On that mighty reckoning day, When we're recognized as citizens-- Huh uh! Children, let us pray! # # #
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