Oh, Freedom
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"Oh, Freedom" is a post-
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
freedom song. It is often associated with the Civil Rights Movement, with
Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...
, who recorded it as part of the "Spiritual Trilogy", on her '' Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues'' album, and with
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...
, who performed the song at the 1963
March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...
. Baez has since performed the song live numerous times, both during her concerts and at other events. The song became affiliated with civil rights activism when it was used at protests of 1906 Atlanta race massacre. The song was first recorded in 1931 by the E. R. Nance Family as "Sweet Freedom". Writer and radio producer Richard Durham used it as an opening in his 1948–1950 radio anthology ''
Destination Freedom ''Destination Freedom'' was a series of weekly radio programs that was produced by WMAQ in Chicago. The first set ran from 1948 to 1950 and it presented the biographical histories of prominent African Americans such as George Washington Carver ...
''.Ashleigh Lawrence-Sanders, March 16, 2018
History, Memory, and the Power of Black Radio
AAIHS.org


Lyrics

The song had its roots in the spiritual "Before I'd Be a Slave," which had the central refrain: This was then repeated, with the first two lines changing with each repetition. Modern recordings of this song use these same lyrics, with minor variations in phrasing and structure; the "Oh, Freedom" variant begins with "Oh freedom / Oh freedom / Oh freedom over me." Some versions have included a verse beginning with "No more tommin'," where the verb '' tom'' is a derogatory term denoting some black men's extreme submissiveness towards a white person or white people. The word seems to have been derived from
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...
's fictitious character ''Uncle Tom'' in her 1852 novel ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...
''. These verses were not part of the original composition, but instead added to the tradition of
improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
in
African-American music African-American music is a broad term covering a diverse range of musical genres largely developed by African Americans and their African-American culture, culture. Its origins are in musical forms that developed as a result of the Slavery in ...
. Some contemporary folk singers have changed the refrain to a more spirited perspective - "And before I'd be a slave, I'll bury you in your grave and send you home to the lord for free" Similarly, during the 1964 presidential campaign, civil rights activists opposing the candidacy of
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
changed the words to "And before I'd be a slave / I'll see Barry in his grave / And go fight for my rights and be free."


See also

*
Civil rights movement in popular culture The history of the 1954 to 1968 American civil rights movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, theater, television, and the visual arts. These presentations add to and maintain cultural awareness and understanding of the goals, tact ...


References

{{Civil rights movement, state=collapsed African-American music Songs about freedom American songs Year of song unknown Songs of the civil rights movement