I am interested in references to Queen Victoria in slave songs of the
1800s. I know about the song Harriett Tubman sang about Queen
Victoria welcoming slaves into Canada (found in book by Sarah
Bradford). I am interested in finding an additional three slave songs
that include reference to Queen Victoria. I'm interested in specific
book, article, or web citations. Thank you!
Kyraeh-ga :
In 1841 Queen Victoria of Britain declared that any fugitive slave
reaching Canada from the United States was immediately granted
Canadian citizenship. For people like Tubman, who dedicated their
lives to conducting African-American slaves to freedom, Victoria's
gesture was an absolute solution for a destination, and was something
to be celebrated in the songs employed to inspire and guide people
there. Between 1820 and 1850 it wasn't necessary to get an escaping
slave all the way up to Canada to assure freedom. That changed with
the Fugitive Slave Act, part of the Compromise of 1850. The new act
meant that the demarcation between slave territory and free territory
inside the United States, mandated since the Compromise of 1820, was
begrudgingly no longer legally observed. So, it was in the 1850s that
Queen Victoria's offer of protection through Canadian citizenship took
on increased significance, as did the songs that acknowledged it.
The title of the song you already have is "I'm On My Way to Canada,"
which was sung to the tune of Stephen Foster's "Oh, Susannah" --
"I'm On My Way to Canada"
I'm on My Way to Canada
tune: Oh, Susannah
I'm on way to Canada,
That cold and dreary land;
The sad effects of slavery,
I can no longer stand.
I've served my master all my days,
Without a dime's reward;
And now I'm forced to run away,
To flee the lash abroad.
Farewell, old master, don't think hard of me,
I'm on my way to Canada, where all the slaves are free.
The hounds are baying on my track,
Old master comes behind,
Resolved that he will bring me back,
Before I cross the line;
I'm now embarked for yonder shore,
There a man's a man by law;
The iron horse will bear me o'er,
To shake the lion's paw.
Oh, righteous Father, will thou not pity me,
And aid me on to Canada, where all the slaves are free.
Oh, I heard Queen Victoria say,
That if we would forsake
Our native land of slavery,
And come across the lake;
That she was standing on the shore,
With arms extended wide,
To give us all a peaceful home
Beyond the rolling tide
Farewell, old master, don't think hard of me,
I'm on my way to Canada, where all the slaves are free.
That's what I believe you already know. With a strong medium of oral
transmission over a geographic area like the American South, there
were numerous variations of what is structurally the same song. The
nature of those variations are significant enough to create unique
references to Queen Victoria from version to version. Now consider
this version, attributed to George N. Allen and dated 1854. It's even
known by alternative titles
I'm On My Way to Canada/The Underground Railcar
I'm on my way to Canada a freeman's right to share.
The cruel wrongs of Slavery I can no longer bear;
My heart is crush'd within me so while I remain a slave,
That I'm resolved to strike the blow for Freedom or the Grave!
O Great Father! do thou pity me.
And help me on to Canada where the panting is free!
I've served my Master all my days without the least reward,
And now I'm forc'd to flee away to shun the lash abhor'd;
The hounds are baying on my track, my Master's just behind,
Resolv'd that he will bring be back and fast his fetters bind.
O Great Father! do thou pity me.
And help me on to Canada where the panting slave is free!
I've heard that Queen Victoria has pledged us all a home
Beyond the reach of Slavery, if we will only come;
So I have fled this weary way, my guide the bright north star,
And now, thank God, I speed today in the Underground Railcar.
O old Master! why come after me,
I'm whizzing fast to Canada where the panting slave is free!
Now embark for yonder shore, sweet land of liberty.
The vessel soon will bear me o'er, and I shall then be free;
No more I'll dread the auctioneer, nor fear the Master's frowns,
No more I'll tremble lest I hear the baying of the hounds.
O old Master, 'tis vain to follow me.
I'm just in sight of Canada, where the panting slave is free!
Yes! I am safe in Canada -- my soul and body free.
My blood and tears no more shall drench thy soil, O Tennessee!
Yet how can I suppress the tear that's stealing from my eye,
To think my friends and kindred dear as slaves must live and die.
O dear friends, haste and follow me,
For I am safe in Canada, where the panting slave is free!
In an 1863 article on Sojourner Truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe excerpted
lyrics from a third version of the same song, citing it as one of
Truth's favorites. This version referenced Queen Victoria in a less
direct way. Here are the excerpts Stowe provided:
"I'm on my way to Canada,
That cold, but happy land;
The dire effects of Slavery
I can no longer stand.
O righteous Father,
Do look down on me,
And help me on to Canada,
Where colored folks are free!"
The lyric ran on to state, that, when the fugitive crosses the
Canada line,
"The Queen comes down unto the shore,
With arms extended wide,
To welcome the poor fugitive
Safe onto Freedom's side."
The indirectness of the reference in the version of "I'm On My Way to
Canada" sung by Truth, in which Victoria is mentioned by title and not
name, points to other possibilities for references in this context.
Since fleeing slaves had freedom in Canada by virtue of Queen
Victoria's extension of citizenship, references to Canada in slave
songs also acknowledged Queen Victoria's benevolence.
Often, songs that could identify those on the path to freedom would
cleverly obscure that meaning with an additional spiritual context.
Fredrick Douglas once observed, "A keen observer might have detected
Canada in our repeated singing of ‘O Canaan, sweet Canaan, [and] I am
bound for the land of Canaan.’" Douglas' remark establishes that
slaves readily substituted "Canaan" for Canada. Canaan was the
Biblical land God promised the descendants of Abraham, and delivered
upon their escape from slavery in Egypt, just as Victoria promised
freedom in Canada and bestowed citizenship upon reaching Canadian
soil. With that in mind, here are lyrics to two songs referring to
"Canaan" as a destination it would obviously be pleasant to reach:
"Bound For Canaan Land"
Where're you bound?
Bound for Canaan land
O, you must not lie
You must not steal
You must not take God’s name in vain
I’m bound for Canaan land
Your horse is white, your garment is bright
You look like a man of war
Raise up your head with courage bold
For your race is almost run
How you know?
Jesus told me
Although you see me going so
I’m bound for Canaan land
I have trials here below
I’m bound for Canaan land
"Sweet Canaan's Happy Land"
Oh, my brother, did you come for help to me?
Pray and give me your right hand
Oh, my sister, did you come for help to me?
Pray and give me your right hand
Oh, the land I am bound for
Sweet Canaan's happy land
I am bound for
Sweet Canaan's happy land
I am bound for
Sweet Canaan's happy land
Pray give me your right hand
Queen Victoria of Britain offered both freedom and citizenship to
fugitive African-American slaves who successfully escaped the
boundaries of the United States. The awareness of that gesture on a
range of levels is historically noteworthy, to the point of being
remarkable. As these songs and variations note, that gesture was
acknowledged. Some times it was celebrated by acknowledging Victoria
personally, or just by title as Queen, or simply as the known or
unknown reason why the far off land of Canada could be looked to as a
promised land of spiritual proportions. Those acknowledgements made an
unusual place for Queen Victoria in the story of the American journey
up from slavery.
I hope this helps,
Brettquest
Sources and Links
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. "Sojourner Truth, The Libyan Sibyl." Atlantic
Monthly 11 (April 1863): 473-481.
Sojourner Truth, The Lybian Sybyl [Electronic version]
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed-new?id=StoSojo&tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed
Historical Summary - Canada
http://www1.xe.net/~mbone/webtree/history-ca.htm
Songs of Freedom -- Lyrics
http://www.panix.com/~gmcgath/freelyr.html
I'm On My Way To Canada
http://crydee.sai.msu.ru/public/lyrics/cs-uwp/folk/i/im_on_my_way_to_canada
Lovejoy Homestead: The Underground Railroad in Illinois
http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/culturaltourism/hazelsims/underground.html
SPLCENTER.ORG: Teaching Tolerance
http://www.splcenter.org/cgi-bin/goframe.pl?refname=/teachingtolerance/tt-60.html
American Popular Music Before 1900
http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/music-1.html
Bound For Canaan
http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/bound_for_canaan_land.htm
Sweet Canaan's Happy Land
http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/sweet_canaan_s_happy_land.htm
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