The Ballad of the Underground Railroad
The Underground Train,
Strange as it seems,
Carried many passengers
And never was seen
It wasn't made of wood,
It wasn't made of steel;
A man-made train that
Ran without wheels.
The train was known
By many a name.
But the greatest of all
Was "The Freedom Train"
The Quakers, the Indians,
Gentiles and Jews,
Were some of the people
Who made up the crews.
Free Blacks and Christians
And Atheists, too,
Were the rest of the people
Who made up the crews.
Conductors and agents
Led the way at night,
Guiding the train
By the North Star Light.
The passengers were
The fugitive slaves
Running from slavery
And its evil ways.
Running from the whip
And the overseer,
From the slave block
And the Auctioneer.
They didn't want their masters
To catch them again,
So men dressed as women
And the women dressed as men.
A Balada da Ferrovia Subterrânea
O Trem Subterrâneo,
Estranho como parece,
Levava muitos passageiros
E nunca era visto.
Não era feito de madeira,
Não era feito de aço;
Um trem feito pelo homem que
Rodava sem trilhos.
O trem era conhecido
Por muitos nomes.
Mas o maior de todos
Era "O Trem da Liberdade".
Os Quakers, os Índios,
Gentios e Judeus,
Eram algumas das pessoas
Que formavam as tripulações.
Negros livres e Cristãos
E Ateus também,
Eram o resto das pessoas
Que formavam as tripulações.
Condutores e agentes
Guiavam à noite,
Orientando o trem
Pela Luz da Estrela do Norte.
Os passageiros eram
Os escravos fugitivos
Fugindo da escravidão
E suas maneiras malignas.
Fugindo do chicote
E do capataz,
Do bloco de escravos
E do Leiloeiro.
Eles não queriam que seus senhores
Os pegassem de novo,
Então homens se vestiam de mulheres
E as mulheres se vestiam de homens.