Dar’s
a lonely little cabin down dar on de ribber brink
Whar ole uncle Tom an’ Clohe used to dwell;
An’
how often in de summer would we stoop to get a drink
From de little cool an’ sparklin’ wayside
well.
- Chorus -
But
darkies doan be mournful, 'tis sad to know dey're gone,
But
de sting of slabery nebber more dey’ll know;
For
dey’ll go an’ join ole massa when Gabriel blows de horn,
An’
dey’ll lub him as dey did long days ago.
II.
De
birch dey sang so sweetly all aroun’ dar in de trees,
An’ de chilluns played so happy roun’ de do’;
An’
ole aunty low’ she nebber saw a cuter lot den dese,
As she rocked de cradle on de cabin flo’.
– chorus
III.
But
de sunshine roun’ de cabin one day grew dark an’ col’,
For dey laid our kin’ ole massa in de groun’;
An’
missy low’ she’ sell us to get a heap more gol’,
From de traders that wus stoppin’ in de
town.
– chorus
IV.
De
night befo’ de auction we gaddered roun’ de do’,
Ob de cabin whar we’d danced the nights
away;
An’
de grief felt by us chilluns no one can ebber know,
Who has nebber felt the cruel slabery day.
– chorus
*
Title changed to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Sep.
26, 1890
NOTE – I’ve published what
can often be inappropriate and/or racial terms or dialect as written. They are
rare, and probably weren’t seen as objectionable within even New England
society at the time. More importantly, they exist, and editing them out would
be dishonest. Things were what they were. Still, including them, as I have
done, remains awkward for obvious reasons, including personal taste and the
harmfulness of their use. Hopefully, doing so will at least present an accurate
picture of how ingrained some prejudices, or at least callousness to them,
still were at the time, even among some of the more progressive people of the
era.
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