About "Song of Liberty"

The "Song of Liberty" sung here by Joe McPartland is a rousing hymn to the universal aspirations and hopes of all mankind to live a happy life of peace and freedom with justice. This song especially appeals to all people to strive for a world without suffering and oppression, to constantly spread human compassion to the poor, the helpless, the outcast, the downtrodden."Liberty" must be honored and pursued in all of its manifestations.

The melody of this "Song of Liberty" should be readily familiar to all classical music lovers and Opera fans because it is taken directly from the great Opera, "Nabucco," by Giuseppe Verdi. In that Opera, which recounts the oppressive capitivity of the ancient Israelites at the hands of the Assyrian King "Nabuchadnezzar," there is a great choral work entitled "Va pensiero" and commonly referred to as "The Hebrew Slave Chorus." In that magnificent chorus, the slaves are singing of their sad yearning to be free and returned to their native land, where they can resume the happy life they previously enjoyed – a life of peace and liberty, free from the oppression they are presently suffering under the Babylonians.

The English lyrics in this "Song of Liberty" only roughly parallel the sentiments expressed in the Italian lyrics of "Va pensiero." But the longing of people for an end to injustice, aspiring to peace and liberty, is basic to both "Song of Liberty" and "Va pensiero." The composition of the English lyrics adapted to Verdi's memorable music was done by an Irish folk singing group known as "The Wolfe Tones," who first presented this "Song of Liberty" as part of their repertoire of songs and recorded it.