FREEDOM -Charles Mingus

This mule ain’t from Moscow

This mule ain’t from the South

This mule’s got some learnin'
Mostly mouth-to-mouth

This mule could be called stubborn and lazy

But in a clever sort of way
This mule could be working, waiting, and learning, and planning

For a sacred kind of day

A day when burning sticks and crosses is not mere child’s play

But a madman in his most incandescent bloom

Whose loveless soul is imperfection in its most lustrous groom

So stand fast young old mule

Soothe in contemplation
 thy burning whole and aching thigh

Your stubbornness is of the living
 and cruel anxiety has begun to die

Freedom for your mama

Freedom for your daddy

Freedom for your brother and sister
But no freedom for me

Freedom for your mama’s mama

Freedom for your daddy’s daddy

Freedom for your brothers and sisters

But no freedom for me

Image 1: Charles Mingus’ original poetry sketch for “This mule ain’t from Moscow…”

Image 2: Eric Dolphy’s original alto sax/flute part for “Freedom” from “Epitaph”. Debuted October 1962 at Town Hall New York, NY.

Image 3: Page 1 of original score to “Freedom” from “Epitaph”

Photo by Teppei Inoguchi