In this song the main theme I tried to convey throughout is the revenge of the slaves and their overwhelming desire for freedom, even at the cost of their own lives. The lyrics are as follows;
At Savannah’s docks in ’54’ a pirate slaver did sail
To Georgia with a crew on-board
To buy sixty men from Ragsdale
On the muddy shores
He strikes a deal
One by one we board the ship
And the tie us up like dogs
Some men broke the ropes, made the slip
And they’re swimming for the docks
From the deck below
I heard the bodies drop
We’ll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter if we’re dead
No we can’t be sold
In her bowels the men run wild
And they tore right through her skin
In these chains I am bound
And I’ll sink for Georgia’s sins
To the river floor
I’ll be shackled in my grave
And I’ll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter if we’re dead
No we can’t be sold
In Savannah’s breeze you can hear the chink
Of the chain men trawling through mud
And the river rumbles as the boats sail by
Because the chain men’ hungry for blood
And they’ll pull you down
They’ll pull you down
We’ll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter no
We'll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter if we’re dead
No we can’t be sold
As you can see I adapted the title from the Gary Clark Brief into the chorus section of the song. Like in "Brother Blue" there is a progressive narrative here and the song is structured in a way to give a sense of time and setting. The first and last verses are important because they both set the scene in Savannah. The first is before the ship was sunk in "1854" and the last is intended to be the present day. The verses in between these sections are there to tell the story of the events that took place. When the chorus is sung for the last time the listener already knows that those onboard the boat have died "I'll be shackled in my grave." The double chorus at the end then acts to highlight the relentless struggle expressed throughout the song by suggesting the spirits of the slaves are still fighting for their freedom to this day.
At Savannah’s docks in ’54’ a pirate slaver did sail
To Georgia with a crew on-board
To buy sixty men from Ragsdale
On the muddy shores
He strikes a deal
One by one we board the ship
And the tie us up like dogs
Some men broke the ropes, made the slip
And they’re swimming for the docks
From the deck below
I heard the bodies drop
We’ll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter if we’re dead
No we can’t be sold
In her bowels the men run wild
And they tore right through her skin
In these chains I am bound
And I’ll sink for Georgia’s sins
To the river floor
I’ll be shackled in my grave
And I’ll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter if we’re dead
No we can’t be sold
In Savannah’s breeze you can hear the chink
Of the chain men trawling through mud
And the river rumbles as the boats sail by
Because the chain men’ hungry for blood
And they’ll pull you down
They’ll pull you down
We’ll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter no
We'll pull you to the bottom
Don’t matter if you’re young or old
We sank her for our freedom
Don’t matter if we’re dead
No we can’t be sold
As you can see I adapted the title from the Gary Clark Brief into the chorus section of the song. Like in "Brother Blue" there is a progressive narrative here and the song is structured in a way to give a sense of time and setting. The first and last verses are important because they both set the scene in Savannah. The first is before the ship was sunk in "1854" and the last is intended to be the present day. The verses in between these sections are there to tell the story of the events that took place. When the chorus is sung for the last time the listener already knows that those onboard the boat have died "I'll be shackled in my grave." The double chorus at the end then acts to highlight the relentless struggle expressed throughout the song by suggesting the spirits of the slaves are still fighting for their freedom to this day.