Lyrics

1000 Miles to Freedom

(William and Ellen Craft)

By Vinson “ALäZ” Muhammad

Listen, Look, It’s a thousand miles to Freedom
You comin’ or you stayin’, Let me know, what you sayin’
Cause he could be like William, and she could be like Ellen Craft
A thousand starts with one, do the math

Our journey begins with Ellen in Clinton, G-A
She was the child of a master and a slave they sent away
Born in 1826, and at 11 years-old
Massa’s wife sent her to Macon, so other folk wouldn’t know
About the secret infidelity of Major James Smith
So they sent her as a present for a wedding, what a gift
From God she was borrowed, her sorrow made her blue
To leave her mother as a child, she had no clue of what to do
But later on while working in this foreign land, she met a man
Named William, they fell in love and started holdin’ hands
Soon they were married, makin’ plans about forever
And even in their rain, they knew that God controlled the weather
Prayin’ endurin’ pain, makin’ plans for the pleasure
A great escape takin’ shape, the plan they had was clever
Ellen played the master, and William played the slave
Then they played the whole world when they got away

Listen, Look, It’s a thousand miles to Freedom
You comin’ or you stayin’, Let me know, what you sayin’
Cause he could be like William, and she could be like Ellen Craft
A thousand starts with one, do the math

From Macon, GA they came
Called slaves but neither one accepted the name
So they ran off to Savannah dodgin’ danger and disaster
As a a loyal black slave and a kind white master
Prayin’ like a pastor every time a person passed her
That their eyes wouldn’t recognize that she was disguised
But with her husband by her side they took a long train ride
Then a steamship to Philadelph(ia) where they could hide
They arrived on Christmas, one thing on their wish list
Freedom so they started reaching out to abolitionists
Like William Garrison and William Wells Brown
Moved to Beacon Hill in Boston to Settle down
Until 1850 when they passed an Act
To catch Fugitive Slaves and bring ‘em back
But they had come too far though, determined to win
So even though it hurt, they started runnin’ again

Listen, Look, It’s a thousand miles to Freedom
You comin’ or you stayin’, Let me know, what you sayin’
Cause he could be like William, and she could be like Ellen Craft
A thousand starts with one, do the math

Listen, Look, It’s a thousand miles to Freedom
You comin’ or you stayin’, Let me know, what you sayin’
Cause we could be like William, and we could be like Ellen Craft
One step at a time on the right path

People huntin’ people, that’s a savage game
That’s how it happened, up to Boston bounty hunters came
So house to house, the abolitionists moved
This special couple on the double ‘cause they needed refuge
It got desperate when the President this
Millard Filmore authorized the use of his military elements
They had no army, but they had determination
To live free, cause that’s the right of all of God’s creation
Steppin’ out on faith, they left for England wit’ no plane
From Boston travelled up the coast then stopped in Portland, Maine
Went overland to Halifax, Novia Scotia
In Canada then boarded Cambria, the ship that took them over
In Liverpool they landed, in London they lived life
In Hammersmith with 5 children free as the sunlight
But then they returned to build a school and read a book
And tell a story ‘bout freedom, you can hear it in the hook

Listen, Look, It’s a thousand miles to Freedom
You comin’ or you stayin’, Let me know, what you sayin’
Cause he could be like William, and she could be like Ellen Craft
A thousand starts with one, do the math

Listen, Look, It’s a thousand miles to Freedom
You comin’ or you stayin’, Let me know, what you sayin’
Cause we could be like William, and we could be like Ellen Craft
One step at a time on the right path