Lay dis Body Down
Language: English
My father, how long, My father, how long, My father, how long, Will our people suffer here? My mother, how long, My mother, how long, My mother, how long, Will our people suffer here? We will soon be free, We will soon be free, We will soon be free, We will not suffer here. We’ll walk de miry road, We’ll walk de golden streets, We’ll fight for liberty, We will not suffer here. My brudders do sing, My sisters do sing, My people do sing, We will not suffer here. ’Cause it won’t be long, No it won’t be long, No it won’t be long, We will not suffer here. And it won’t be long, No it won’t be long, No it won’t be long, We will not suffer…
Is sourced from the historical anthology Slave Songs of the United States (originally published by A. Simpson & Co., New York, 1867), which categorizes each song based on origin and social context
Text Authorship:
- by Bible or other Sacred Texts , "Lay dis Body Down" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jessie Montgomery , "Lay dis Body Down", 2021 [ voice, percussion and string orchestra ], from Five Freedom Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-28
Line count: 28
Word count: 129