Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last

DESCRIPTION: "Slavery chain done broke at last, broke at last, broke at last... Gonna praise God till I die." The former slave describes praying to God for relief from pain and oppression. God has answered with mighty armies; "He gave me liberty."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute)
KEYWORDS: slave slavery freedom religious
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute, p. 112, "Slav'ry Chain" (1 text) (1 tune)
Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar, pp. 299-300, "Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-SoldierSongsAndHomeFrontBalladsOfCivilWar, p. 41, "Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AmericanFolksongsOfProtest, p. 102, "Slavery Chain" (1 text)
Foner-AmericanLaborSongsOfTheNineteenthCentury, p. 96, "Slavery Chain" (1 text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 299, "Slavery Chain Done Broke At Last" (1 text)
Roud #15257
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (tune)
NOTES [33 words]: In 1880, Samuel Butler and James Bland published "De Slavery Chains Am Broke at Last." I would not consider it the same song, although obviously the one line from one might have inspired the other. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: SCW41

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