We are Coming Father Abra'am

from Memories From Gettysburg by Jeff Greenawalt

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about

James S. Gibbons wrote the poem that became the lyrics to this song. Several composers wrote tunes. Stephen C. Foster wrote my favorite tune for this song so that is the version I used.

The song's association to Gettysburg comes from the night of November 18, 1863, and the wee hours of November 19. People sang this song for President Lincoln repeatedly as he traveled from Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg.

Many people came to Gettysburg to attend the consecration of the Gettysburg Soldier's Cemetery, more than the inns could accommodate. President Abraham Lincoln stayed at the home of Gettysburg attorney David Wills on the night before delivering his famous Gettysburg Address. People who could not find a place to sleep and others repeatedly serenaded the President with this song!

lyrics

We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more,
From Mississippi's winding stream and from New England's shore.
We leave our plows and workshops, our wives and children dear,
With hearts too full for utterance, with but a silent tear.
We dare not look behind us but steadfastly before.
We are coming, Father Abr'am, three hundred thousand more!

Chorus:
We are coming, coming, our Union to restore,
We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more!

If you look across the hilltops that meet the northern sky,
Long moving lines of rising dust your vision may descry;
And now the wind, an instant, tears the cloudy veil aside,
And floats aloft our spangled flag in glory and in pride;
And bayonets in the sunlight gleam, and bands brave music pour,
We are coming, Father Abr'am, three hundred thousand more!

Chorus

If you look up all our valleys where the growing harvests shine,
You may see our sturdy farmer boys fast forming into line;
And children from their mother's knees are pulling at the weeds,
And learning how to reap and sow against their country's needs;
And a farewell group stands weeping at every cottage door,
We are coming, Father Abr'am, three hundred thousand more!

Chorus

You have called us, and we're coming by Richmond's bloody tide,
To lay us down for freedom's sake, our brothers' bones beside;
Or from foul treason's savage grip, to wrench the murderous blade;
And in the face of foreign foes its fragments to parade.
Six hundred thousand loyal men and true have gone before,
We are coming, Father Abr'am, three hundred thousand more!

Chorus

credits

from Memories From Gettysburg, released June 17, 2022
This recording was made using some orchestral samples recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
The Library of Congress provided the original sheet music I used to make this arrangement.

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all rights reserved

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Jeff Greenawalt image

Jeff Greenawalt Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Three of my great passions are acting, music, and history. Being retired from a real job gives me the time to pursue them full-time. I managed to combine all three through performing living history and period music. My under-graduate degree is in theater arts. While pursuing a career in health care administration, I managed to also study guitar and voice. I hope you enjoy the result! ... more

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