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Uncle Gabriel the Negro General

from Songs of Slavery and Emancipation by Mat Callahan / Various Artists

/
  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The Songs Of Slavery and Emancipation project presents recently discovered songs composed by enslaved people and explicitly calling for resistance to slavery. Some originate as early as 1800 and others as late as the outbreak of the Civil War. The project also includes long-lost songs of the abolitionist movement, some of which were written by fugitive slaves as well as free black people, challenging common misconceptions of abolitionism.

    Thirty one songs are presented in a beautiful hard cover bound double CD and digital download containing new performances in a traditional style by numerous contributing artists.

    An accompanying 64 page liner notes booklet includes complete lyrics as well as reproductions of historic documents. The liner notes also include essays by the album’s producer Mat Callahan, scholar Robin D.G. Kelley and activist organizer Kali Akuno.

    “These songs of slavery and emancipation, some written more than two hundred years ago, are not only important historically; they have a direct bearing on today’s movements for social and economic transformation. When you hear songs like “Nat Turner” or “Hymn of Freedom,” it’s almost as if they were written yesterday. They bring inspiration and revolutionary clarity to contemporary struggles.

    Songs of Slavery and Emancipation brings a whole era of resistance forward into the twenty-first century. To forget the lessons of the revolt and rebellion of the enslaved or the organizing of the abolitionist networks and the Underground Railroad is to condemn people to the false belief that because one of us is Black and the other is white we can’t unite, we don’t have anything in common, and we can’t work together. And this goes for people of all ethnicities, places of origin, and genders.

    We must not forget this history. These songs can make an important contribution. They provide a popular art form that can help people understand all Americans’ history and participate in our contemporary struggles. Songs of Slavery and Emancipation carries crucial history that enlivens our collective memory and helps keep the spirit of resistance strong and moving forward.”
    - Kali Akuno
    Executive Director of Cooperation Jackson

    A companion full length book, published by the University Press of Mississippi, documents the sources of these newly released songs, as well as providing historical context:
    www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/S/Songs-of-Slavery-and-Emancipation

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs of Slavery and Emancipation via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • The Songs of Slavery and Emancipation project encompasses a:
    • Double CD
    • Full length book published by the University Press of Mississippi
    • Documentary film - The film is available to watch starting June 17th at www.arthistorypolitics.com.

    Order the CD and (soft cover) book combination here and receive our special discounted price by combining both items.

    The soft cover book is usually $30 and the double CD is $30. Get them both here together for $50.

    The Songs of Slavery and Emancipation project presents recently discovered songs composed by enslaved people and explicitly calling for resistance to slavery. Some originate as early as 1800 and others as late as the outbreak of the Civil War. The project also includes long-lost songs of the abolitionist movement, some of which were written by fugitive slaves as well as free black people, challenging common misconceptions of abolitionism.

    Thirty one songs are presented in a beautiful hard cover bound double CD containing new performances in a traditional style by numerous contributing artists.

    An accompanying 64 page liner notes booklet includes complete lyrics as well as reproductions of historic documents.  The liner notes also include essays by the album’s producer Mat Callahan, scholar Robin D.G. Kelley and activist organizer Kali Akuno.

    The album will also be available via digital download and streaming services.

    A companion full length book, published by the University Press of Mississippi, documents the sources of these newly released songs, as well as providing historic context.

    Songs of Slavery and Emancipation
    By Mat Callahan
    Introduction by Robin D. G. Kelley
    Afterword by Kali Akuno
    University Press of Mississippi
    www.upress.state.ms.us

    MAT CALLAHAN is a musician and author originally from San Francisco. He is author of five books including The Explosion of Deferred Dreams: Musical Renaissance and Social Revolution in San Francisco, 1965–1975 and A Critical Guide to Intellectual Property. His recent projects include the republication of Songs of Freedom: The James Connolly Songbook by Irish revolutionary James Connolly; the recording and publication of Working-Class Heroes: A History of Struggle in Song: A Songbook; and the launch of the multimedia project Songs of Slavery and Emancipation, which includes this book, a CD of song recordings, and a film.
    ... more
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $50 USD or more 

     

lyrics

Uncle Gabriel the Negro General
- Three versions: first discovered in Poor Jack a novel by Frederick Marryat (originally published 1840) written as Gin’ral Gabriel-sea chanty. Second, collected by Lawrence Gellert, published in Mainstream Vol.16, No.2 February, 1963. Third, discovered in Ethiopian Glee Book, Christy Minstrels, 1849

1. Oh my boys I’m bound to tell you,
CHORUS: Oh! Oh!
Listen a while and I will tell you,
CHORUS: Oh! Oh!
I will tell you little ‘bout Uncle Gabriel, Oh! boys I’ve just began
CHO: Hard times in Old Virginia

2. Oh don’t you know Old Uncle Gabriel,
CHORUS: Oh! Oh!
Oh! he were that old slave General,
CHO. Oh¨Oh¨
He war de Chief of de Insurgents,
Way down in Southampton
CHO. Hard times in Old Virginia

3. ’Twas a little boy betrayed him,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
A little boy they call Daniel
CHO: Oh! Oh!
Betrayed him at de Norfolk landing,
Oh! boys I’m gettin’ done
CHO.Hard times in Old Virginia

4. Says he, “Good day Uncle Gabriel.”
CHO. Oh! Oh!
“I am not your Uncle Gabriel,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
My name it is Jim McCullen.
Some dey calls me Archey Mullin.”
CHO.Hard time in Old Virginia.

5. The whites dey fought and caught him,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
And to Richmond Court House brought him,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
Twelve men sot upon that jury,
Oh! boys I’m most done,
CHO. Hard times in Old Virginia.

6, They promise his life they give him
CHORUS: Oh! Oh!
If he name white folks with him
CHORUS: Oh! Oh!
But he ain’t even listen, Oh
boys I reckon he ‘bout done
CHO: Hard time in old Virginia.

7. Dey took him down to de Gallows,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
Dey drive him down, wid four grey horses,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
Brice’s Ben, he drove de waggon,
Oh! boys, I’m most done.
CHO. Hard times in Old Virginia.

8. And dare dey hung him and dey swung him,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
And dey swung him and dey hung him,
CHO. Oh! Oh!
That was the end of General Gabriel,
Oh! boys I’m just done.
CHO. Hard times in Old Virginia.

credits

from Songs of Slavery and Emancipation, released June 17, 2022

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Jalopy Records Brooklyn, New York

New York City's "best and only" Folk music record label.

Jalopy Records is the in-house record label for the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY. The Jalopy Theatre is a grassroots community music venue and cultural center dedicated to folk music from the United States and around the world. ... more

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