Captive Passage - Legacy
The Mariners' Museum
The Transatlantic Slave Trade QuizResourcesSponsorsHome
IntroductionDepartureMiddle PassageArrivalAbolitionLegacy

Captive Passage: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the AmericasWork Songs

Captive Passage
has been made
possible in part by:
National Endowment for the Humanities
Recognition of
additional sponsors
for this exhibition
can be found by
clicking on
ExhibitionSponsors.

Legacy: Building New NationsCreating Institutions and Community
Africa's GiftsThe Black ChurchEducationFoodMusicA Lasting Legacy

Po' Lazarus (collected by Alan Lomax)

Po' Lazarus was a multi-purpose work song used by lining-bar gangs, menhaden fishermen, and others. It is an example of a rudimentary ballad form taken from the European tradition and given a call-and-response treatment from the African tradition. The first line was generally sung solo, then repeated solo. The second line would be sung by the chorus and would be the portion of the song where the heavy work of whatever sort would occur. The story could be shortened or lengthened to fit the job, and additional verses that were derisive of the overseer or foreman could also be inserted.

  1. High Sheriff, he told the deputy, hes says, "Go out and bring me Lazarus. (x2)
    Bring him dead or alive, Wo, Lawdy, bring him dead or alive."

  2. Oh the deputy begin to wonder, where in the world he could find him, (x2)
    "Well, I don't know, Wo, Lawdy, I just don't know."

  3. Oh they found po' Lazarus way out between two mountains (x2)
    And they blowed him down, Lawd, Lawd, and they blowed him down.

  4. Old Lazarus told the deputy he had never been arrested, (x2)
    By no one man, Wo, Lawdy, by no one man.

  5. So they shot po' Lazarus, shot him with a great big number, (x2)
    Number forty-five, Wo, Lawdy, number forty-five.

  6. And they taken po' Lazarus and they laid him on the commissary counter, (x2)
    And they walked away, Wo, Lawdy, and they walked away.

  7. Lazarus told the deputy, "Please gimme a cool drink of water (x2)
    Just before I die, Wo, Lawdy, just before I die.

  8. Lazarus' sister run and told her mother, (x2)
    Po' Lazarus dead, Wo, Lawdy, Lazarus dead.

  9. Lazarus' mother, she laid down her sewing, (x2)
    She begin to cry, Wo, Lawdy, she begin to cry.

  10. 10. Lazarus' mother, she come a-screaming and crying, (x2)
    "That's my only son, Wo, Lawdy, that's my only son."

  11. 11. Lazarus' father, he sure was hard-hearted, (x2)
    Didn't say a word, Wo, Lawdy, didn't say a word.

  12. 12. Lazarus' sister, she couldn't go to the funeral, (x2)
    Didn't have no shoes, Wo, Lawdy, didn't have no shoes.


Continue to:
John Cherokee
 
 

The Transatlantic Slave Trade Quiz | Resources | Sponsors | Home
Introduction | Departure | Middle Passage | Arrival | Abolition | Legacy

Age of Exploration Make some discoveries of your own in this guide to 1000 years of maritime exploration. learn more USS Monitor: History and Legacy This Civil War ironclad was a technological marvel; explore her continuing story. learn more Chesapeake Bay: Our History and Our Future From the Powhatan Indians to modern shipbuilding, explore the character of the nation's largest estuary. learn more Captive Passage: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the Americas They arrived in chains, but their contributions have forged new links in the history of the Americas. learn more Battle of the Atlantic: Allied Naval Intelligence in World War II While German U-boats wrecked havoc on merchant shipping in the Atlantic, Allied intelligence worked diligently to break the enemy's communication codes. learn more Birth of the Navy Follow the US on its journey to becoming the world's leading naval power. learn more Women and the Sea She used to remain on shore, but today, she captains the ship. learn more [ Navigation Bar ]

Copyright © 2002 by The Mariners' Museum