On May 17th, 1838, a mob in Philadelphia set fire to Pennsylvania Hall while abolitionists were meeting inside. Just three days earlier, the enormously popular Philadelphia bandleader, Francis “Frank” Johnson, returned home from a triumphant trip to Europe. Johnson, a highly successful composer and publisher of cotillions, quadrilles, and other dance tunes, was a prominent member of Philadelphia’s black political and cultural elite that had been flourishing in the city since Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780. The attack on Pennsylvania Hall would not have been the first time Johnson witnessed the contradictions between his city’s racial violence and his personal status as a beloved musical figure. This short song imagines Johnson’s internal monologue at this moment in his remarkable life.