5 Am I Not A Man And A Brother

From Sweet Liberties, 'Am I Not A Man And A Brother' by Sam Carter, performed at Cecil Sharp House, London on 28th November 2015. Slavery Abolition Act 1833: Inspired by the lives and efforts of the 'Sons Of Africa', a group of freed African slaves whose campaigning contributed to the eventual Abolition Of Slavery Act being passed. Details in the song come from the story of Olaudah Equiano whose influential autobiography 'Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano' is considered a seminal slave narrative. Nick Cooke - melodeon Nancy Kerr - fiddle, vocals Sam Carter - guitar, vocals Maz O'Connor - tenor guitar, vocals Martyn Joseph - guitar, vocals Patsy Reid – fiddle Am I not a man and a brother? Are we not one and the same? How can England so grand allow us to suffer in shame? Your fetters are breaking us, slave ships are taking us Far over the sea Am I not a man and a brother? Am I not worthy to be free? Kidnapped and dragged to the harbour My young sister and me Held in chains below deck as we sailed out to the sea When the West Indies greeted us, oh how they treated us Cruel brutality Bought and sold into troubles untold We toiled in misery Chorus To three different names I have answered Ten different masters I’ve known Forty pounds I paid just to call this body my own I’m not a saint nor a hero, but England you need to know All I’ve suffered and seen And I hope and pray you’ll soon do away With the yoke of slavery Chorus Sweet Liberties is a joint commission by the English Folk Dance & Song Society, Folk By The Oak, Parliament In The Making, and PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and the 750th anniversary of the Simon de Montfort parliament. For more information about Sweet Liberties, visit: http://www.folkbytheoak.com/sweet-lib... EFDSS: http://www.efdss.org/ Folk By The Oak: http://www.folkbytheoak.com Parliament In The Making: http://www.parliament.uk/about/living... PRS for Music Foundation: http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/