We Could Fly - Rhiannon Giddens

Mama, dear mama, look in yonder tree

See that pretty little sparrow, a-lookin' back at me

She can soar above the clouds, way up in the sky

She can fly away from here, why, oh why, can’t I?

Daughter, dear daughter, I’ll tell you something true

Remember Gran Eliza?

Well, every night she flew

They tried to keep her down but there was nothing they could do

She could fly, she could fly

She could slip the bonds of Earth and rise so high

She could fly across the river

Her spirit in her hands

Searching, always searching for the promised land

Mama, dear mama, mama tell me more

I feel a trembling in my arms, I’ve never felt before

Daughter, dear daughter, listen what I say

Your granny always told me you’d feel that way some day

'Cause every time she looked at you she saw the old-time ways

When we could fly, we could fly

We could slip the bonds of Earth and rise so high

We could fly across the mountains

Together, hand in hand

Searching, always searching for the promised land

Mama, dear mama, come and stand by me

I feel a lightness in my feet, a longing to be free

My heart it is a-shakin' with an old, old song

I hear the voices sayin' it’s time for moving on

She took her mama by the hand, they rose up in the air

They held each other tight and then

They flew away from there

They held each other tight and then they flew away from there

They held each other tight and then they flew away from there

They could fly, they could fly

They could slip the bonds of earth and rise so high

They could fly across the ocean

Together, hand in hand

Searching, always searching for the promised land