Southampton Insurrection

Blood of the men, blood of the women, blood of the children, blood of the master! Blood spilled by hands calloused by cotton, those same hands now clinched will break their chains! Kill them before the wake! Do not let them cry out! We must burn this cursed place! Will, bring a torch! There is a fire at the plantation house! (There is a fire, plantation house) The master’s world is burning. Their field hands set it ablaze (The master’s world burns, fields set ablaze) There is a village in the swamp land filled with former slaves (Great Dismal Swampland, filled with freed slaves) Southampton’s insurrection will seek refuge there… (Southampton’s in fear of slave revolt) House to house the rebels creep through the night Some on horseback, some on foot, all move with purpose! Spilling blood of masters, sparing no one! Taking rifles and horses as they go Beating folks to death with a fencepost Riding out! Rebels surround the next house! Keeping word from spreading Will, bring me a torch! Cut them down! No whites escape! They all die tonight! Burn this plantation to the ground! Dawn approaches. We must recruit more folk, grow this insurrection Will, ride to the north, we’ll regroup after each of us has grown their strength Free all the slaves you find burn all the plantations Go quickly now! We meet in one day at Jerusalem Did you see him riding on his horse? Nat Turner, the Prophet! He leads an army of free slaves, he’s broken their chains! A band emerges from the woods Fires at my neighbor’s house Screams from my neighbor’s house The rebels point at my house Now they have seen me Now they approach me The rumors are true, there is an insurrection, its leader standing in front of me Now it is my time, these rebels will surely kill me. I will not live to see another dawn… But Nat did spare me! He turned his men around, told them that I’m no master Nat said to his men “this man does not think that he is better than us” There is a fire at the plantation house! (There is fire, plantation house) The master’s world is burning. Their field hands set it ablaze (Master’s world burns, fields set ablaze) There is a village in the swamp land filled with former slaves (Great Dismal Swampland, filled with freed slaves) Southampton’s insurrection will seek refuge there… (Southampton’s in fear of slave revolt)