One of the practices we have tried to develop in a revolutionary way forward for folk music, is to take old songs that gave voice to the oppressor, and reclaim their melodies and music for the voice of the oppressed. Our tribute to Harriet Tubman is to the tune of the old song, “Run, N---- Run”, and takes the form of a dialogue among enslaved Africans preparing to rise up in the Combahee River Raid.
lyrics
Running through the forest, running through the hills
Hear those dogs a-barking at Harriet Tubman’s heels
With a Bible in one hand, a pistol in the next
She led the fight for freedom with that fire in her chest
Hey Sister Harriet, Tell me where you gone?
I’ve gone up to the north country, I left before the dawn
The fight for our freedom was the price to go my bail
A thousand dollars on my head and hound dogs on my trail
Harriet saying brother come along with me
We’ll chase behind the drinking gourd and find the Jubilee
Harriet saying sister come on, don’t be slow
Ain’t gonna wait for Pharoah just to let our people go
Hear the voices telling me by morning we’ll be free
General Tubman’s coming up the banks of Combahee
People gotta rise up when we hear the trumpets blow
And the master’s house is falling like the walls of Jericho
credits
from In The Ruins They've Left Us, We'll Plant Gardens Still,
released December 23, 2020
Vocals: Jessica Garraway
Banjo: Emmett Doyle
Accordion: Sam Adams
Bass, Guitar, and Spoons: R Young
Songwriting: Jessica Garraway, Masha Trius, and Emmett Doyle
This album has been a powerful mix of hitting home and expanding my horizons. This is great music, both from and for the ongoing fight for universal human dignity. I don't know how he does it, but Emmett has a way of saturating each story he tells - even the ones far removed from his own experience - with a rich feeling of authenticity. Two thumbs up! jwberns
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 5, 2020
Proceeds from this excellent new darkambient/neofolk comp from LEFT/FOLK goes to benefit American Near East Refugee Aid. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 10, 2024