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Cover Art

Up from Slavery Lyrics by Timothy Welbeck

No City for Young Men

2017

Verse 1
We were Ga, Yoruba, Ashanti, Igbo/Akan, Oroma, Fante, Edo/Baka, Urhobo/ This much we know/But Europe was lurking to abscond with our heroes/And with oppression’s bonding, we became Negro/At the dawn of an era of unconscious/A beautiful people to fondly behold/Torn asunder, thrown into dungeons and sheepfolds/This long road to march stolen by oligarchs/We thought our souls were lost thrown in boats going oceans apart/Courage would well up inside of our swollen hearts/Our weary cries filled the skies going up to God/Whipped and chained, sold on auction blocks/Toiling long days growing old cotton crop/Women raped, children doomed to this awful lot/At night we cried, “My God won’t it stop”
Chorus (1)
We survived the capture, strolled the long march/Lived through the Middle Passage, could grow that old crop/We survived, made it through all of the racist schemes/And for their bravery, we came up from slavery/We’re alive because they survived all of the racist schemes (We came)/And for their bravery, we came up from slavery (up)
Verse 2
The slave went free, spent a moment in the sun/Baked in its heat, came to the place he had begun/Like a raisin in the sun whose expectations had become/Evaporated like the sour grapes he had drunk/Emancipation had been publicly proclaimed/But each man was facing struggles that would go unchanged/It would know more names but go on the same/Those controlled by chains were those who would go on hanged/A nation that said it abhorred its shameful past/Would relegate blacks to a subordinate racial caste/The Thirteenth Amendment which was certain to end it/Would prohibit it, but also permit it/So the system grows, Jim Crow took on slavery’s semblance/As the original, each law took on slavery’s image/It was the way’s intended/Slavery has never ended/It just found new ways to be reinvented
Chorus (2)
We survived Reconstruction, broke the slave codes/Learned to share crops, we strove with Jim Crow/We survived, made it through all of the racist schemes/And for their bravery, we came up from slavery/We’re alive because they survived through all of the racist schemes (We came)/And for their bravery, we came up from slavery (up)
Credits
Timothy Welbeck

Timothy Welbeck

About “Up from Slavery” by Timothy Welbeck

Read the complete lyrics to "Up from Slavery" by Timothy Welbeck from the album "No City for Young Men" in 2017. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Rap.

"Up from Slavery" is performed by Timothy Welbeck. from the album "No City for Young Men" in 2017 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Up from Slavery", explore more songs by Timothy Welbeck using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Up from Slavery" is credited to Timothy Welbeck. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Up from Slavery" appears on "No City for Young Men" in 2017.

Visit the Timothy Welbeck artist page at /artist/timothy-welbeck for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.