Freedom, by Charles Mingus (excerpt)
- This mule ain't from Moscow,
- this mule ain't from the South.
- But this mule's had some learning,
- mostly mouth-to-mouth.
The lyrics, "This mule ain't from Moscow", might be a reference to a Moscow Mule, a drink made of vodka and ginger beer popular in the 1950s, but is likely also referring to African-American slaves as the "mule".
Mingus performed a number of other songs with spoken poetry or narration:
- "Scenes in the City"
- "The Chill of Death"
- "The Clown"
- "Weary Blues" (read by Langston Hughes).
Several of his other pieces have lyrics:
- "Fables of Faubus"
- "Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me"
- "Devil Woman"
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Famous quotes containing the word freedom:
“Picture the prince, such as most of them are today: a man ignorant of the law, well-nigh an enemy to his people’s advantage, while intent on his personal convenience, a dedicated voluptuary, a hater of learning, freedom and truth, without a thought for the interests of his country, and measuring everything in terms of his own profit and desires.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)
“One alone in a Chinese square
confronted tanks, while others fled.
He stood for freedom for us all,
but few care now if he’s jailed or dead.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“The freedom that women were supposed to have found in the Sixties largely boiled down to easy contraception and abortion; things to make life easier for men, in fact.”
—Julie Burchill (b. 1960)