Kingdom Coming was Work’s first war song, and was written in 1861. Now that it has been so successful, it seems strange that he should have had trouble to find a publisher for it; yet such was the case. But its success was immediate as soon as published. It is perhaps the most popular of all the darkey songs which deal directly with the question of the freedom of the slaves. It set the whole world laughing, but there was about it a vein of political wisdom as well as of poetic justice that commended it to strong men. The music is full of life and is as popular as the words. It became the song of the newsboys of the home towns and cities as well as of the soldiers in the camp and on the march. It portrays the practical situation on the Southern plantation as perhaps no other poem brought out by the war:—
“Say, darkies, hab you seen de massa,
Wid de muffstash on his face,
Go long de road some time dis mornin’,
Like he gwine to leab de place?
He seen a smoke way up de ribber,
Whar de Linkum gunboats lay;
He took his hat, an’ lef’ bery sudden,
An’ I spec he’s run away!
De massa run? ha, ha!
De darkey stay? ho, ho!
It mus’ be now de kingdom comin’,
And de year ob jubilo!
“He’s six feet one way, two foot tudder,
An’ he weigh tree hundred poun’,
His coat’s so big he couldn’t pay de tailor,
An’ it won’t go half way roun’.
He drill so much dey call him cap’an,
An’ he get so drefful tann’d,
THE WHITE HOUSE
I spec he try an’ fool dem Yankees
For to t’ink he’s contraband.
“De darkies feel so lonesome
Libing in de log house on de lawn,
Dey moved dar tings to massa’s parlor,
For to keep it while he gone.
Dar’s wine and cider in de kitchen,
An’ de darkies dey’ll hab some;
I spose dey’ll all be cornfiscated,
When de Linkum sojers come.
“De oberseer he make us trubbel,
An’ he dribe us round a spell;
We lock him up in de smoke-house cellar,
Wid de key trown in de well.
De whip is lost, de handcuff’s broken,
But de massa’ll hab his pay;
He’s ole enough, big enough, ought to known better,
Den to went an’ run away.”
Another most popular slave song which had a tremendous sale was entitled Wake Nicodemus, the first verse of which is,—