Free At Last

DESCRIPTION: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God a'mighty, I'm free at last!" "One of these mornings bright and fair, I'm gonna put on my wings and try the air." "Old Satan's mad because we're glad...." "I wonder what old Satan's grumblin' bout...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious freedom nonballad floatingverses Devil
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 624, "Old Satan's Mad" (5 text, of which the short "A" text is probably "Free at Last"; "B" is a variation on "Down By the Riverside (Study War No More)"; "C" has the "Old Satan's Mad" stanza but a "climbing Zion's walls" chorus; D" is an unidentifiable fragment perhaps related to "I Belong to that Band; and "E" is also a fragment, perhaps of "Free At Last")
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 624, "Old Satan's Mad" (3 tunes plus text excerpts, with the "A" tune being this and the others uncertain)
Randolph 302, "The Devil's Mad and I Am Glad" (1 fragment, possibly this one)
Work-FolkSongOfTheAmericanNegro, p. 46, "Free at Last" (1 short text)
Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar, pp. 297-298, "Free at Last" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 368, "Free At Last" (1 text)
Roud #10974
RECORDINGS:
Dock Reed & Vera Hall Ward, "Free At Last" (on NFMAla2) (on Babylon)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "All My Sins Been Taken Away" (lyrics)
cf. "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane" (lyrics)
NOTES [36 words]: The versions of this all seem rather fragmentary, and some may be floating bits of other songs. The line "Satan is mad and I am glad" seems to be about as characteristic of this song as anyrhing, but it also floats. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: FSWB368A

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