lyrics: John Dickinson
tune: “Heart of Oak”
arrangement: Douglas Balliett 

When John Dickinson published his “Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer” in 1767-1768, he became a political celebrity across the colonies. While they were written to protest the Townsend Acts, Dickinson's goal was novel: he taught citizens how to begin to think of themselves as a united “American” people, rather than British subjects divided across the sea. Shortly after these letters were published, Dickinson took to pen “The Liberty Song,” to further this notion musically. In its chorus, Dickinson repeats over and over the founding hypocrisy of the American Revolution: “not as slaves, but as freemen our money we’ll give.” Indeed, while Dickinson wrote “The Liberty Song” he had dozens of enslaved people working on his farm in Delaware. The song became one of the most popular songs of the time, and was sung to the well known tune (and anthem of the British Royal Navy) “Heart of Oak.”