O Come Freedom

O Come Freedom was commissioned by the Capitol Hill Chorale for a joint performance with Washington Revels in 2024. It is a free adaptation of three Shaker songs transcribed from a manuscript in the Library of Congress: “O come freedom,” an unattributed song (c. 1840); “I love freedom,” a song from Enfield, Connecticut (1840); and “Freedom, freedom, pretty pretty way,” a song from Sabbathday Lake, Maine (1846). A couple months before composing O Come Freedom, I had the great pleasure of hearing the American Spiritual Ensemble live in performance, and that performance still rang in my ear when writing this work.

Refrain
O come freedom, O come pretty freedom; fill my soul with life and liberty.

O I want one drop of freedom; O I thirst for freedom pretty freedom.
Refrain

I love freedom, I love pretty freedom; I feel thankful for my privilege.
Refrain

Freedom, freedom, pretty pretty way; I’ll gather gather to it every day.
Refrain

O come freedom, O come pretty freedom; fill my soul with life and liberty.