| |
| THE TIDE comes up, and the tide goes down, | |
| And still the fisherman’s boat, | |
| At early dawn and at evening shade, | |
| Is ever and ever afloat: | |
| His net goes down, and his net comes up, | 5 |
| And we hear his song of glee; | |
| “De fishes dey hates de ole slave nets, | |
| But comes to de nets ob de free.” | |
| |
| The tide comes up, and the tide goes down, | |
| And the oysterman below | 10 |
| Is picking away, in the slimy sands, | |
| In the sands “ob de long ago.” | |
| But now if an empty hand he bears, | |
| He shudders no more with fear; | |
| There ’s no stretching-board for the aching bones, | 15 |
| And no lash of the overseer. | |
| |
| The tide comes up, and the tide goes down, | |
| And ever I hear a song, | |
| As the moaning winds through the moss-hung oaks | |
| Sweep surging ever along. | 20 |
| “O massa white man! help de slave, | |
| And de wife and chillen too; | |
| Eber dey ’ll work, wid de hard worn hand, | |
| Ef ell gib ’em de work to do.” | |
| |
| The tide comes up, and the tide goes down, | 25 |
| But it bides no tyrant’s word, | |
| As it chants unceasing the anthem grand | |
| Of its Freedom to the Lord. | |
| The fisherman floating on its breast | |
| Has caught up the keynote true: | 30 |
| “De sea works, massa, for ’t sef and God, | |
| And so must de brack man too. | |
| |
| “Den gib him de work, and gib him de pay, | |
| For de chillen an’ wife him love, | |
| And de yam shall grow, and de cotton shall blow, | 35 |
| And him nebber, nebber rove; | |
| For him love de ole Carlina State, | |
| And de ole magnolia tree; | |
| Oh, nebber him trouble de icy Norf, | |
| Ef de brack folks am go free.” | 40 |
| |
