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Ol' Egyp'

from Bound to Go by Andrew Calhoun

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about

Found in Spirituals of the South Carolina Low Country, available from the Avery Institue in Charleston, SC.

Much is made of the use of "coded spirituals" on the Underground Railroad, often too much much. The spirituals are what they seem for the most part— the greatest religious folksongs in the world. But this really is a rare and powerful fugitive song. "Egypt" was the enslaved Africans' literal term for the South and the system of slavery, here personified as a bloodhound. Freedom seekers often hid in graveyards. Harriet Tubman carried a rifle with her and offered to shoot runaways who wanted to turn back. "Ol' Egyp'" is the song equivalent of that rifle.

lyrics

Keep a-runnin', keep a-runnin', fire gonna overtake you
Keep a-runnin' keep a-runnin', fire gonna overtake you
Keep a-runnin', keep a-runnin', fire gonna overtake you
Way down yonder in that lonesome graveyard

Keep a-runnin', keep a-runnin', hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Keep a-runnin', keep a-runnin' hear ol' Egyp' a-howling'
Keep a-runnin', keep a-runnin', hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Way down yonder in that lonesome graveyard

Brother, brother, don't let your sister condemn you
Brother, brother don't let your sister condemn you
Brother, brother, don't let you sister condemn you
Way down yonder in that lonesome graveyard

Mother, don't let your daughter condemn you
Mother, don't let your daughter condemn you
Mother, don't let your daughter condemn you
Way down yonder in that lonesome graveyard

Mmm, mmm, hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Mmm, mmm, hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Mmm, mmm, hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Way down yonder in that lonesome graveyard

Ah-hoo, ah-hoo, hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Ah-hoo, ah-hoo, hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Ah-hoo, ah-hoo, hear ol' Egyp' a-howling
Way down yonder in that lonesome graveyard

credits

from Bound to Go, released May 15, 2008
Order of singers: Andrew Calhoun, Valerie Carter-Brown, Runako Robinson, Tony Dale, Fred Campeau, Katherine Davis
Fred Campeau, gourd banjo
Dave Moore, harmonica
Chorus: Big Llou Johnson

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Andrew Calhoun Chicago, Illinois

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