When Freedom Come

When freedom come,
we gon' own ourselves;
no more "Massa"  this
or "Massa"  that.
We be free men and women-
when freedom come.
Free to do what we want
and Lord knows I ain't never
pickin'  no more cotton !
I ain't even gonna' wear
cotton clothes-
when freedom come.
I'm gon' change my name
to something I like-
not no slave name.
When freedom come
we be free to serve the Lord
our  way and when we want;
won't have to sneak
and read the Good Book then.
When freedom come.
We gon' sing and dance
and thank God,
but not 'til we miles away
from "Massa" and "Missus"
'cause they gon' try to tell us
that we was born to be slaves-
that we cain't handle freedom.
I try to imagine freedom
as something that
need to be "handled"
and I laughs inside,
cuz' ain't nothing
harder to handle
than being a slave.
So when freedom come,
I'm finally gon' tell them:
"I worked your fields
and kept your house;
I washed your clothes,
cooked your food
and suckled your babies
on my own breasts!
I gave up
my language,
my history,
my religion,
my body,
my humanity.
My pride
was beat out of me
and my family
was sold away from me.


I carried
your name,
your crops,
your burdens,
your scars
AND your children."
Oh, when freedom come,
I'm gon' say all that;
and everything else

I always wanted to say-
when freedom come.