Go on, go on, oh ships!
You are loosed from your moorings, you are free; and I am fast in my chains, a slave! You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip! You are freedom's swift-winged angels, that fly around the world; I am confined in bands of iron! O that I were free! O, that I were on one of your gallant decks under your protecting wing!

Go on, go on, oh ships!

Why was I born a man to make a brute! Why am I a slave? O God, save me, deliver me! Let me be free! I shall not live and die as a slave. I will not stand it. Get caught, or get clear, I'll try it. I had rather get killed running as die standing

Go on, go on, oh ships!

Only think of it; one hundred miles straight north, and I am free! I will take to the water. I will walk straight through Delaware and when I get there, I shall not be required to have a pass

Go on, go on, oh ships! Only think of it; one hundred miles straight north, and I am free! Shall I try it?