This song was a big hit with my fourth graders (they especially liked the part where they get to go “HUH!”). This year I have moved it down to third grade, as it fits more with their benchmarks (songs related to American History), and my fourth graders are diving into a song using D and E (watch for the fourth grade lesson in an upcoming blog post). The song is called Calypso Freedom and tells the story of the Freedom Riders, a group of civil right activists who rode integrated busses into the Deep South. For some useful background info, you can refer to these websites:
Warning: Delicate Subject Matter
Okay, I’m not going to sugar-coat it. Some of the things that happened during the Freedom Riders’ bus rides were graphically violent. For example, some people were beaten by mobs when they disembarked from the bus. In the most extreme example, one bus was even actually set on fire, with the riders barely escaping with their lives. I choose to mostly leave out these specific gory details. We acknowledge that the trip was dangerous and maybe even that there was violence. I make sure to have time planned into the lesson to have a discussion about the event and peoples reactions to it. We talk about the bravery it took to stand up for what is right and how violence is NEVER an okay way to solve our problems.
Learning the Song
First, we learn the song as a class. I have it written here in the key we will play later, on the recorder. I do not teach it students to sing it in this key, as it goes very high – I would say I probably bring it down to the key of D or E? First, I teach them the refrain:
Then, I sing a verse for them. I explain that the verse is set up in call and response. The response is a part they already know (from the refrain). It goes “Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.” I sing the call and the students sing the response. Everyone sings the refrain.
Here is the form and verses of the song:
VERSE ONE:
Well I took a trip on a Greyhound bus. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
Got to fight segregation now this we must. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
(REFRAIN)
VERSE TWO:
Well I took a trip down to Alabama way. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
We met lots of violence on Mother’s Day. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
(REFRAIN)
VERSE THREE:
Well on to Mississippi with speed we go. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
Blue-shirted policemen meet us at the door. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
(REFRAIN)
VERSE FOUR:
You can hinder me there. You can hinder me there. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
But I get right down on my knees in prayer. (Freedom is coming and it won’t be long.)
(REFRAIN)
Adding Recorders
So, even within the key of G, this song would be a challenge to play all the way through. However, the response part that comes back again and again in the verses and in the refrain is a simple BAG pattern. It is great practice for kids that have been playing B, A and G for a while, but maybe need to work on fluency and being able to move smoothly and quickly from one note to the next. Since there is so much repetition in the song, they get ample opportunities to practice that skill. I tell them to make each response a little better than the last. I sing or play the other parts of the song on my recorder.
Extension – Soloists
Once we are starting to get the hang of it, I allow soloists during each of the verses. They get to play the response part by themselves. Then every plays during the refrain.
Overall Thoughts
Musically, I think this song is great because it uses BAG in a way that doesn’t feel baby-is to my Third and Fourth Graders. Historically, I think this song is an important one for addressing the fact that the struggle for Civil Rights was hard and unfair and required bravery from men and women of all races and religions. One of the important things that I think the Freedom Riders illustrates is that there were white men and women (and people of other skin colors) that banded together with black men and women, all standing together in solidarity for what was right.
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