  Benjamin Franklin White, and Thurza Golightly White, of Hamilton, Georgia. White was a life-long singing school master and folk-song collector who little dreamed of the immeasurable value his labors were to become to singers and folklorists of posterity. His compendium of tunes, wedded to spiritual texts and provided with simple harmonies, bore the name, The Sacred Harp. In the shade of spreading magnolias and beneath this memorial erected by kinspeople and devoted Sacred Harp singers in the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, the revered master of singing rests besides his wife. THE SACRED HARP appeared in 1844. Its most recent edition came out in 1936. It was the source of sixty-seven songs in the present collection. No. 52
WASHINGTON, OSH 147 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Dismiss us with thy blessing, Lord, Help us to feed upon thy word. All that has been amiss forgive, And let thy truth within us live. All that has been amiss forgive, And let thy truth within us live. Tho’ we are guilty, thou art good, Wash all our works in Jesus’ blood; Give every fetter’d soul release And bid us all depart in peace. Give every fetter’d soul release And bid us all depart in peace. The text is credited to Joseph Hart, tune to Munday, in the Original Sacred Harp. Melodic relationship is to be seen between this and ‘Ye Mariners of England’. See Dolph, Sound Off, p. 228. No. 53
STEPHENS, PB 338 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) From whence doth this union arise, That hatred is conquer’d by love? It fastens our souls in such ties That nature and time can’t remove. It cannot in Eden be found Nor yet in a paradise lost; It grows on Immanuel’s ground, And Jesus’ dear blood it did cost. My friends are so precious to me, Our hearts all united in love; Where Jesus is gone we shall be, In yonder blest mansions above. O! why then so loath for to part, Since we shall ere long meet again, Engraved on Immanuel’s heart, At distance we cannot remain. And when we shall see that bright day, And join with the angels above, Leaving these vile bodies of clay, United with Jesus in love. With Jesus we ever shall reign, And all his bright glories shall see, Singing hallelujah, Amen, Amen, even so let it be. This is probably a homespun text. Its tune is called a “popular old melody.” I find it almost identical with a ‘Kilrush Air’ in Petrie, No. 167, and with a close variant of the latter, Petrie, No. 283. Other related tunes are ‘Tweed Side’, SMM, p. 9; ‘Inkle and Yarico’, The English Repository, p. 226; ‘O I’m So Happy’, ‘Faithful Soldier’, and ‘Sawyer’s Exit’ in this collection. No. 54
SEPARATION, UHH 27 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Our cheerful voices let us raise And sing a parting song; Although I’m with you now, My friends, I can’t be with you long. For I must go and leave you all; It fills my heart with pain. Although we part perhaps in tears, I hope we’ll meet again. Found also SOH 30. The tune is like that of the English morris dance ‘I’ll Go and Enlist for a Sailor’, Sharp, Morris Dances, Set No. VIII., 6; ‘Gilderoy’, SMM, No. 5; and ‘Come all ye Faithful Christians’, JFSS, ii., 115-120. No. 55
VESPER, Baptist Hymnal, No. 65 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) The day is past and gone, the evening shades appear; O may we all remember well, the night of death is near. We lay our garments by, upon our beds to rest; So death will soon disrobe us all of what we here possess. Lord, keep us safe this night, secure from all our fears; May angels guard us while we sleep, till morning light appears. Miss Gilchrist compares this tune with ‘Sprig of Thyme’. See JFSS, viii., 70. Lowell Mason calls it an “Old American Tune” in using it in his Harp of the South, p. 123. No. 56
MISSIONARY’S FAREWELL, OL 333 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Yes, my native land, I love thee; All thy scenes I love them well; Friends, connections, happy country, Can I bid you all farewell! Can I leave you, can I leave you, Far in heathen lands to dwell? Can I leave you, can I leave you, Far in heathen lands to dwell? Home, thy joys are passing lovely, Joys no stranger heart can tell; Happy home! indeed I love thee; Can I, can I say, “Farewell!” Can I leave you, etc. Scenes of sacred peace and pleasure, Holy days and Sabbath bell— Richest, brightest, sweetest treasure— Can I say a last farewell? Can I leave you, etc. The words are ascribed to “Rev. Samuel F. Smith, Baptist, Boston, Mass.” The tune was “learned [by William Hauser, compiler, of the Olive Leaf] in Burke Co., Ga., 1841.” No. 57
KEDRON, SOH 3 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Thou man of grief, Remember me, Thou never canst thyself forget Thy last expiring agony, Thy fainting pangs and bloody sweat. The tune is attributed in the southern books to “Dare”. Found also GCM 165, OSH 48, SOC 175, HOC 45, WP 16. The tune is of a type which was widely sung to texts of the extremely solemn sort. The introduction of slight variation in the expression of this melodic idea led to tunes with other titles and various composers (?). I have called this tune family the ‘Kedron’ group. Its members are ‘Distress’, OSH 50; ‘Solemnity’, MOH 40; ‘Salem’, UH 22; ‘French Broad’ in this collection; ‘Child of Grace’, KNH 74; and ‘Messiah’, VH 30. Secular songs showing the same general melodic trend are ‘McAfee’s Confession’, Sharp, ii., 16, and Cox, p. 525; ‘A Brisk Young Sailor’, Sharp, One Hundred English Folksongs, No. 94; ‘Lord Bateman’, ibid., No. 6; and ‘Samuel Young’, Sharp, ii., 271. No. 58
ALL IS WELL, OSH 122 Hexatonic (6th missing, cannot be classified but obviously ionian) (I II III IV V — VII) What’s this that steals, that steals upon my frame? Is it death, is it death? That soon will quench, will quench this mortal flame? Is it death, is it death? If this be death I soon shall be From every pain and sorrow free. I shall the King of glory see, All is well, all is well. Weep not, my friends, weep not for me, All is well, all is well! My sins forgiv’n, forgiv’n, and I am free, All is well, all is well! There’s not a cloud that doth arise, To hide my Jesus from my eyes. I soon shall mount the upper skies, All is well, all is well! Tune, tune your harps, your harps ye saints on high, All is well, all is well! I too will strike my harp with equal joy, All is well, all is well! Bright angels are from glory come, They’re round my bed, they’re in my room, They wait to waft my spirit home, All is well, all is well. As to sources we quote the 1911 editor of the Original Sacred Harp. After attributing tune and words to J. T. White, nephew of B. F. White, compiler of the 1844 Sacred Harp, the editor states: “The tune had been published before it was printed in the [1844] Sacred Harp.” A negro version of the song was recently recorded in Texas and appears in the Publications of the Texas Folk-Lore Society, vii., 109. No. 59
FAITHFUL SOLDIER, SOH (1835) 122 Hexatonic, mode 1 A (I II III IV V VI —) O when shall I see Jesus and dwell with him above, And from the flowing fountain drink everlasting love? When shall I be deliver’d from this vain world of sin? And with my blessed Jesus drink endless pleasures in? But now I am a soldier, my Captain’s gone before; He’s given me my orders and bids me ne’er give o’er; His promises are faithful—a righteous crown he’ll give, And all his valiant soldiers eternally shall live. Through grace I am determined to conquer tho’ I die, And then away to Jesus on wings of love I’ll fly. Farewell to sin and sorrow, I bid them both adieu, And O, my friends, prove faithful, and on your way pursue. Whene’er you meet with troubles and trials on your way, Then cast your cares on Jesus and don’t forget to pray. Gird on the gospel armor of faith and hope and love, And when the combat’s ended He’ll carry you above. O do not be discouraged for Jesus is your friend, And if you lack for knowledge, he’ll not refuse to lend. Neither will he upbraid you, though often you request, He’ll give you grace to conquer and take you home to rest. And when the last loud trumpet shall rend the vaulted skies, And bid th’ entombed millions from their cold beds arise; Our ransomed dust, reviv-ed, bright beauties shall put on, And soar to the blest mansions where our Redeemer’s gone. Our eyes shall then with rapture, the Savior’s face behold; Our feet, no more diverted, shall walk the streets of gold. Our ears shall hear with transport the hosts celestial sing; Our tongues shall chant the glories of our immortal King. William Walker, compiler of the SOH, claims the tune. A recent variant of it, orally transmitted, is ‘O I’m So Happy’, in this collection. Another variant here is ‘Stephens’. All these tunes seem to derive from an old one recorded in Kilrush, Ireland, and found in the Petrie collection in two variants, Nos. 167 and 283. Compare also the similar ‘Hallelujah’ tune family with its members listed under the tune by that title in this collection. The text is by John Leland and was uniquely popular—as sung in its purity or associated with various refrains and revival choruses—during the early part of the nineteenth century. The negroes have borrowed freely from this poem in making the texts for their spirituals, especially from the fourth and fifth stanzas. Cf. WS 217ff. and 286. No. 60
GREEN FIELDS, SOH 71 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) How tedious and tasteless the hours, When Jesus no longer I see; Sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flow’rs Have all lost their sweetness to me. The midsummer sun shines but dim, The fields strive in vain to look gay; But when I am happy in him, December’s as pleasant as May. His name yields the richest perfume, And sweeter than music his voice; His presence disperses my gloom, And makes all within me rejoice. I should, were he always thus nigh, Have nothing to wish or to fear; No mortal so happy as I, My summer would last all the year. Content with beholding his face, My all to his pleasure resigned, No changes of seasons or place, Would make any change in my mind. While blessed with a sense of his love, A palace a toy would appear; And prisons would palaces prove, If Jesus would dwell with me there. The tune is to be found in S. Baring-Gould’s Songs of the West, No. 100, as recorded before 1890 from the singing of an old man in Lamerton, England. We are informed by the editor of the collection that the song, ‘Both Sexes Give Ear to My Fancy’ which used this tune, had been very popular with aged people residing in the North of England, but that it was then “long out of print and handed down traditionally”. The earliest form of the tune seems to have been ‘Es nehme zehn-tausend Ducaten’ in Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet (Cf. Bach-Gesellschaft, Vol. 29, p. 195). The earliest printed form of the Bach tune in England, according to Baring-Gould, was in The Tragedy of Tragedies, or Tom Thumb, 1734, as the setting of the song ‘In Hurry Posthaste for a License’. The earliest occurrence of the tune with the ‘Both Sexes’ text was in The Lady’s Evening Book of Pleasure, about 1740. The air is also found in Vocal Music, or the Songster’s Companion, second edition, 1782, to the song entitled ‘Farewell, Ye Green Fields and Sweet Groves’. This was probably the song whose tune was taken over bodily and whose words were parodied to make the above song ‘Green Fields’. The author of the parody text was sometimes given in the fasola books as John Newton. The incidence of the song in southern song books of the first half of the nineteenth century (MOH 52, GCM 144, UH 112, KNH 80, OSH 127, HH 345, SOC 30, CM 24, HOC 16, TZ 237, SKH 18, PB 312, GOS 303, etc.) indicates its one-time wide popularity also on this continent. No. 61
SAINTS’ RAPTURE, REV 17 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) High in yonder realms of light Dwell the raptured saints above, Far beyond our feeble sight Happy in Immanuel’s love. Pilgrims in this vale of tears, Once they knew like us below, Gloomy doubts, disturbing fears, Torturing pain and heavy woe. Days of weeping now are o’er, Past those scenes of toil and pain; They will feel distress no more, Never, never weep again. ’Mid the chorus of the skies; ’Mid angelic choirs above; They now join the songs that rise, Songs of praise to Jesus’ love. There are two more stanzas of the text in the Revivalist. The tune and the text are obviously a parody on ‘Reuben, Reuben, I’ve Been Thinking’. No. 62
ANIMATION, SOH (1835) 85 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Drooping souls, no longer grieve, Heaven is propitious; If in Christ you do believe, You will find him precious. Jesus now is passing by, Calls the mourner to him, Brings salvation from on high; Now look up and see him. For the complete text see ‘Lebanon’ in this collection. This song was taken into the Southern Harmony from the Dover Selection. The tune is related to ‘Maid Freed From the Gallows’, Thomas, p. 164, and to the old Irish ‘Tell Me Dear Eveleen’, in A Select Collection of Original Irish Airs, No. 6, composed by Beethoven. No. 63
INVITATION, OL 247 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Hark, I hear the harps eternal Ringing on the farther shore, As I near those swollen waters With their deep and solemn roar. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah, praise the Lamb; Hallelujah, hallelujah, Glory to the GREAT I AM! And my soul, tho’ stain’d with sorrow, Fading as the light of day, Passes swiftly o’er those waters, To the city far away. Hallelujah etc. Souls have cross’d before me, saintly, To that land of perfect rest; And I hear them singing faintly, In the mansions of the blest. Hallelujah etc. The compiler of the Olive Leaf found this song, as he tells us, in F. R. Warren’s Dream Music. The tune shows unmistakable family relationships, especially in the chorus, to ‘Nettleton’ in this collection. No. 64
HARK MY SOUL, CHH 224 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Hark, my soul, it is the Lord; ’Tis thy Savior, hear his word! Jesus speaks, he speaks to thee: “Say, poor sinner, say, poor sinner, Say, poor sinner, lov’st thou me? “I deliver’d thee when bound, And, when wounded, healed thy wound; Sought thee wand’ring, set thee right; Turned thy darkness, turned thy darkness, Turned thy darkness into light. “Can a mother’s tender care Cease toward the child she bare? Yes, she may forgetful be, Yet will I re-, yet will I re-, Yet will I remember thee.” The song was “Arranged by James Christopher, of Spartansburg, S. C.”, according to the Christian Harmony. Richardson has a variant of this tune used with a text which is a recent mountain eulogy on the whiskey of the hills under the title ‘Moonshine’, see American Mountain Songs, page 94. A hint of the antiquity of this tune form is given by the ‘Ass’s Sequence’ or ‘Orientis partibus’ from the beginning of the thirteenth century, a tune which was apparently cast in the folk-manner of that age. Orientis partibus aduentauit asinus pulcher et fortissimus Sarcinis aptissimus. Hez, hez, sire asnes, hez. Its modern representative is: See Hymns Ancient and Modern, No. 413. No. 65
FROZEN HEART, OSH 93 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Lord, shed a beam of heav’nly day To melt this stubborn stone away; And thaw, with rays of love divine, This heart, this frozen heart of mine; This heart, this frozen heart of mine; This heart, this frozen heart of mine. The rocks can rend; the earth can quake; The seas can roar; the mountains shake; Of feeling, all things show some sign, But this unfeeling heart of mine. To hear the sorrows thou hast felt, Dear Lord, an adamant would melt! But I can read each moving line, And nothing move this heart of mine. The text is attributed, in the Sacred Harp of 1844, to Joseph Hart and it is dated 1759. The tune is ascribed to E. J. King. The melodic trend of the refrain brings to mind ‘The Campbells are Coming’. No. 66
LEBANON, KNH 88 Hexatonic, mode 5 A (I — 3 IV V 6 7) Mourning souls, no longer grieve, Heaven is propitious; If on Christ you do believe, You shall find him precious. Jesus now is passing by, Calls the mourner to him; He hath died for you and I, Now look up and view him. He has pardons, full and free, Drooping souls to gladden; Still he cries: “Come unto me, Weary, heavy-laden.” Tho’ your sins, like mountains high, Rise and reach to heaven, Soon as you on him rely All will be forgiven. Precious is the Savior’s name, All his saints adore him; He to save the dying came— Prostrate bow before him; Wand’ring sinners, now return; Contrite souls, believe him! Jesus calls you—cease to mourn; Worship him—receive him! From his hands, his feet, his side, runs the healing lotion; See the consolating tide, boundless as the ocean! See the healing waters move for the sick and dying! Now resolve to gain his love, or to perish trying. Grace’s store is always free, drooping souls to gladden; Jesus calls: “Come unto me— weary, heavy laden.” Though your sins like mountains high, rise and reach to heaven, Soon as you on him rely, all shall be forgiven. Now methinks I hear one say: “I will go and prove him; If he takes my sins away, surely I shall love him. Yes, I see the Father smile, now I lose my burden; All is grace, for I am vile, yet he seals my pardon.” This text is found HH 413, and also COH 122. No. 67
SOLDIER’S RETURN, SOH 36 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) Bright scenes of glory strike my sense, And all my passions capture; Eternal beauties round me shine, Infusing warmest rapture. I live in pleasures deep and full, In swelling waves of glory. I feel my Savior in my soul And groan to tell the story. Further stanzas are given under ‘Mecklinburg’. The tune was borrowed from ‘When the Wild War’s Deadly Blast’, SMM, No. 131. See also for melodic similarities ‘The Mill Mill O’, SMM, No. 157; and ‘Blue-Eyed Stranger’, Sharp, The Morris Book, Part I, p. 91. See Greig-Keith, Last Leaves, p. 181, for the tune’s wide use in the British Isles during the eighteenth century. No. 68
CHRISTIAN SOLDIER, GOS 207 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) Here at Thy table, Lord, We meet To feed on food divine; Thy body is the bread we eat, Thy precious blood the wine. He that prepares the rich repast, Himself comes down and dies; And then invites us thus to feast, Upon the sacrifice. The bitter torments he endured upon the shameful cross, For us his welcome guests procured these heart-reviving joys. His body torn with rudest hands becomes the finest bread, And with the blessings he commands, our noblest hopes are fed. His blood that from each opening vein in purple torrents ran Hath filled this cup with generous wine, that cheers both God and man. Sure there was never love so free, dear Savior, so divine; Well thou may’st claim that heart of mine, which owes so much to thine. The text is one of those which rationalize religious rites; in this case, that of the communion. The tune is credited to Freeman Price. Its second part reminds of ‘The Merry, Merry Milkmaids’, Sharp, Country Dances, Set No. 5. No. 69
TRIBULATION, MOH 46 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Death, ’tis a melancholy day To those that have no God, When the poor soul is forc’d away To seek her last abode. In vain to heaven she lifts her eyes; But guilt, a heavy chain, Still drags her downward from the skies To darkness, fire and pain. Awake and mourn, ye heirs of hell, Let stubborn sinners fear; You must be driv’n from earth and dwell Alone forever there. See how the pit gapes wide for you, And flashes in your face; And thou, my soul, look downward too, And sing recov’ring grace. The text has been attributed to Watts. Recent hymnals have been purged of this doleful ditty and of all other songs which make hellfire too realistic. The tune was attributed to Chapin in some books and to Davisson in others. Davisson claims it in his Kentucky Harmony (1815). It is practically identical with ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’, Sharp, i., 182, a tune which Sharp heard in Greenwood, Albemarle County, Virginia, Davisson’s own territory and near where he is buried. An early variant which is practically identical with both the Sharp and the Davisson tunes is in Motherwell, Supplement, No. 30, associated with ‘The Bonnie Mermaid’ text. Found also, KYH 43, SOH 119, UH 37, KNH 38, OSH 29, HH 55. No. 70
VOLUNTEERS, CHH 110 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Hark, listen to the trumpeters! They sound for volunteers! On Zion’s bright and flow’ry mount Behold the officers; Their horses white, their garments bright, With crown and bow they stand, Enlisting soldiers for their King, To march for Canaan’s land. It sets my heart all in a flame; a soldier I will be; I will enlist, gird on my arms and fight for liberty. They want no cowards in their band (They will their colours fly), But call for valiant hearted men, who’re not afraid to die. The armies now are on parade, how martial they appear! All armed and dressed in uniform, they look like men of war; They follow their great General, the great Eternal Lamb, His garments stained with his own blood, King Jesus, is his name. The trumpet sounds, the armies shout, and drive the hosts of hell; How dreadful is our God in arms! The great Immanuel! Sinners, enlist with Jesus Christ, th’ eternal Son of God, And march with us to Canaan’s land, beyond the swelling flood. There is a green and flow’ry field, where fruits immortal grow; There, clothed in white, the angels bright, our great Redeemer know. We’ll shout and sing forever more in that eternal world; But Satan and his armies too, shall down to hell be hurled. Hold up your heads, ye soldiers bold, redemption’s drawing nigh, We soon shall hear the trumpet sound; ’Twill shake both earth and sky; In fiery chariots then we’ll fly, and leave the world on fire, And meet around the starry throne to tune th’ immortal lyre. The tune is attributed to Wm. Bradshaw. Found also HH 159 and SWP 90. Dett, p. 180, and SOH 301, have the same words but different tunes. No. 71
BACKSLIDER, REV 208 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) How can I vent my grief? My comforter is fled! By day I sigh without relief And groan upon my bed. How little did I think when first I did begin To join a little with the world it was so great a sin. I thought I might conform, nor singular appear, Converse and dress as others did, but now I feel the snare. My confidence is gone, I find no words to say, Barren and lifeless is my soul when I attempt to pray. The tune is similar to those used with several text variants of ‘The Wife of Usher’s Well’. Sharp, i., 150ff. The oldest American song book record of the ‘Backslider’ tune is in Ingalls’ Christian Harmony of 1805, p. 55, where it is entitled ‘The General Doom’ and begins: Behold! with awful pomp, The Judge prepares to come; Th’ archangel sounds the awful trump And wakes the general doom. No. 72
GOOD OLD WAY (B), OL 8 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Lift up your heads, Emmanuel’s friends, And taste the pleasure Jesus sends; Let nothing cause you to delay, But hasten on the good old way. Our conflicts here, tho’ great they be, Shall not prevent our victory, If we but watch, and strive, and pray! Like soldiers in the good old way. O good old way, how sweet thou art! May none of us from thee depart; But may our actions always say We’re marching in the good old way! “A tune and song [words] of the Granade period”, William Hauser, compiler of the Olive Leaf suggests. John Adam Granade was an evangelist of the “wild” sort who lived 1775 to 1806. A negro tune which combines elements of the above and ‘I Went Down to the Valley’, in this collection, is in Slave Songs, No. 104. No. 73
REST IN HEAVEN, OL 358 Hexatonic, mode 2 A minorized (I II 3 IV V — 7 [VII]) My rest is in heaven, my rest is not here, Then why should I murmur at trials severe. Be tranquil, my spirit, the worst that can come But shortens thy journey and hastens thee home. Let trouble and danger my progress oppose; They’ll only make heaven more bright at the close; Come joy, then, or sorrow—whate’er may befall— One moment in glory will make up for all. A scrip on my back, and a staff in my hand, I march on in haste thro’ an enemy’s land; The road may be rough, but it cannot be long; I’ll smooth it with hope, and I’ll cheer it with song. The tune is related to ‘Be Gone Unbelief’, in this collection, and to the worldly tunes listed under that song. Negro adoptions of the tune are Marsh, pp. 144 and 173, and SS 33. No. 74
TO DIE NO MORE, GOS 363 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) My heav’nly home is bright and fair, No pain nor death can enter there; Its glitt’ring tow’rs the sun outshine, I hope that mansion shall be mine. Chorus I’m going home to Christ above, I’m going to the Christian’s rest, To die no more to, die no more, I’m going home to die no more. My Father’s house is built on high, Far, far above the starry sky; When from this earthly prison free, I hope that mansion mine shall be. Chorus I envy not the rich and great, Their pomp of wealth and pride of state; My Father is a richer King, That heav’nly mansion still I sing. Chorus The tune is identical with one used with the worldly ballad ‘Three Ravens’, see Davis 562. No. 75
COLUMBUS, OSH 67 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) Oh, once I had a glorious view Of my redeeming Lord; He said, I’ll be a God to you, And I believ’d his word. But now I have a deeper stroke Than all my groanings are; My God has me of late forsook, He’s gone I know not where. Oh, what immortal joys I felt On that celestial day, When my hard heart began to melt, By love dissolved away! But my complaint is bitter now, For all my joys are gone; I’ve strayed! I’m left! I know not how; The light’s from me withdrawn. Once I could joy the saints to meet, To me they were most dear; I then could stoop to wash their feet, And shed a joyful tear; But now I meet them as the rest, And with them joyless stay; My conversation’s spiritless, Or else I’ve nought to say. The words appeared in Mercer’s Cluster, a Georgia hymn and spiritual-song collection of the 1820’s. The earliest appearance of the tune seems to have been in the Southern Harmony (1835). Found also in HH 128, UH 57, KNH 42, HOC 37, SOC 109, GOS 380, PB 343. The tune is a variant of ‘Antioch’, in this collection. For negro tune derivatives see White Spirituals, 259. Among the tunes in secular environment, ‘Virginian Lover’, Sharp, ii., 149, tune B, shows closest relationship to the above. See also ‘Flat River Girl’, Rickaby, p. 6; and ‘Driving Saw Logs on the Plover’, Rickaby, p. 89. No. 76
YONGST, BS 203 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Father, I sing thy wondrous grace And bless my Savior’s name, Who bought salvation for the poor, And bore the sinner’s shame. His deep distress has raised us high; His duty and his zeal Fulfilled the law which mortals broke, And finished all thy will. Zion is thine, most holy God; Thy Son shall bless her gates; And glory, purchased by his blood, For thine own Israel waits. The tune is attributed to W. B. Gillham. It is member of the ‘Lord Lovel’ group mentioned in the Introduction, page 14. Noteworthy in this connection is a variant of the above tune as sung by a negro in North Carolina; see Scarbrough, p. 55. Further tunes belonging to the ‘Lord Lovel’ group are listed under ‘Dulcimer’ in this collection. No. 77
DOWN IN THE GARDEN, REV 108 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) Dark was the hour, Gethsemane, When through thy walks was heard The lowly Man of Galilee, Still pleading with the Lord. Down in the garden, hear that mournful sound; There behold the Saviour weeping, Praying on the cold damp ground. Jesus, my Saviour, let me weep with thee; Mercy, O thou Son of David, Mercy’s coming down to me. Alone in sorrow see him bow, As all our griefs he bears; Not words may tell his anguish now, But sweat and blood and tears. Down in the garden etc. Four more stanzas of the text are given in the Revivalist. The last part of the tune and the whole text are obvious parodies of the Foster song ‘Massa’s in the Cold, Cold Ground’. For possible folk sources of Foster’s song, see my article “Stephen Foster’s Debt to American Folk-Song”, The Musical Quarterly, xxii (1936), No. 2, p. 159. No. 78
ALBION, MOH 49 Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II III IV V — —) Come, ye that love the Lord, And let your love be known; Join in a song of sweet accord And thus surround the throne, And thus surround the throne. The sorrows of the mind Be banished from this place; Religion never was designed To make our pleasures less, To make our pleasures less. Let those refuse to sing, Who never knew our God; But fav’rites of the heav’nly King May speak their joys abroad, May speak their joys abroad. The words are by Watts. The tune is ascribed to R(obert) Boyd. It is found also, KYH 18, GCM 171, SOH 23, UH 21, GOS 126, KNH 51, OSH 52, HH 201, HOC 12. It sounds like one of the old psalm tunes. No. 79
DUNLAP’S CREEK, SOH 276 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) My God, My Portion, and my Love, My everlasting all, I’ve none but thee in heav’n above, Or on this earthly ball. What empty things are all the skies, And this inferior clod! There’s nothing here deserves my joys, There’s nothing like my God. In vain the bright, the burning sun Scatters his feeble light; ’Tis thy sweet beams create my noon; If thou withdraw, ’tis night. The words are Watts’. The tune is given as by F(reeman) Lewis. Found also, GCM 63, SOC 238, WP 44, TZ 77, GOS 650, SKH 83, CM 120, Baptist Hymn and Tune Book (1857), p. 106, where it is called a ‘Western Melody’. It is practically the same as ‘Wife of Usher’s Well’, Sharp, i., 160, Q. See Introduction, page 14, for mention of the ‘Lord Lovel’ type of tune to which ‘Dunlaps’ Creek’ belongs. No. 80
SINNER’S INVITATION, OL 211 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Sinner go, will you go To the highlands of heaven, Where the storms never blow And the long summer’s given, Where the bright blooming flow’rs Are their odors emitting And the leaves of the bow’rs In the breezes are flitting. Where the rich golden fruit Is in bright clusters pending, And the deep laden boughs Of life’s fair tree are bending; And where life’s crystal stream Is unceasingly flowing, And the verdure is green, And eternally growing. The tune and words which are parodied here are those of the ‘Braes o’ Balquhidder’. The text is attributed, by the compiler of the Olive Leaf, to “Rev. Wm. McDonald, I guess”. The Scotch song begins: Will you go, lassie, go to the braes o’Balquhidder, Where the blackberries grow in the bonnie blooming heather. See Gilchrist, JFSS, viii., 77. Another variant of the ‘Braes o’ Balquhidder’ tune in this collection is ‘Lone Pilgrim’. Gilchrist traces the Scotch tune back still farther to ‘Brochan Buirn’, an old Gaelic air. See JFSS, viii., 76. It influenced Stephen Foster in his making of the tune ‘Linda Has Departed’. (See my article in The Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii, No. 2.) No. 81
LAND OF REST, OL 117 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) There is a land of pure delight Where saints immortal reign, Infinite day excludes the night And pleasures banish pain. O the land of rest, O the land of rest, Where Christ and His people meet; The land of the blest, all in beauty drest, Where the saints all their lov’d ones greet. “Inspiration of this tune,” says the compiler of the Olive Leaf, “caught from a female voice at a distance, at Barbee Hotel, High Point, N. C., June 9th, 1868.” The mountain woman must have been singing ‘Lord Lovel’; for the tunes of that ballad, as found for example in Davis, p. 574, O; and Sharp, i., 148, are practically the same as ‘Land of Rest’. See Introduction, page 14. No. 82
FLORENCE, OSH 121 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Not many years their rounds shall roll, Each moment brings it nigh, Ere all its glories stand revealed, To our admiring eye. Ye wheels of nature, speed your course, Ye mortal pow’rs decay; Fast as ye bring the night of death, Ye bring eternal day. “It is an old melody”, J. S. James, editor of the 1911 Original Sacred Harp, says. “Prof. T. S. Carter of Georgia took the outlines and arranged it in 1844.” The tune is found also, SOC 77, GOS 178. A variant is GOS 165, entitled ‘Lonesome Dove’. Another variant is ‘The Weary Soul’, OSH 72. I find this tune to be a member of the group which I have called the ‘Roll Jordan’ family of melodies. See the song with that title in this collection. No. 83
ALBERT, SOC 153 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) My brethren all, on you I call, Arise and look around you, How many foes bound to oppose, Who’re waiting to confound you; How many foes bound to oppose, Who’re waiting to confound you. Credited in the Social Harp to E. R. White and dated 1855. The tune is a clear adaptation of ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me’. No. 84
ROYAL PROCLAMATION, SOH 146 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Hear the royal proclamation, The glad tidings of salvation, Publishing to every creature, To the ruin’d sons of nature. Jesus reigns, he reigns victorious, Over heaven and earth most glorious, Jesus reigns. See the royal banner flying, Hear the heralds loudly crying: “Rebel sinners, royal favour Now is offer’d by the Saviour.” Jesus reigns, etc. Hear, ye sons of wrath and ruin, Who have wrought your own undoing, Here is life and free salvation, Offered to the whole creation. Jesus reigns, etc. Although Ananias Davisson claims, in the Supplement to The Kentucky Harmony, to have made the tune, no subsequent user of the song seems to have looked on him as its author. It has all the earmarks of an eighteenth century fife-and-drum-corps tune which was appropriately set to the religio-martial text. Found also, UH 91, KNH 91, HH 468, SKH 107, GOS 643. No. 85
CARRY ME HOME or PENICK, OSH 387 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) While trav’ling through this world below, Where sore afflictions come, My soul abounds with joy to know That I will rest at home. Carry me home, carry me home, When my life is o’er; Then carry me to my long sought home where pain is felt no more. Yes, when my eyes are closed in death, My body cease to roam, I’ll bid farewell to all below And meet my friends at home. Carry me home etc. And then I want these lines to be Inscribed upon my tomb: “Here lies the dust of S. R. P., His spirit sings at home.” Carry me home etc. The initials in the third stanza belonged to “Professor S. R. Penick, a devoted Christian man, and one who was very fond of music,” according to James, 1911 editor of the OSH. But he ascribes tune and words to M. Sikes, a singing-school teacher in Georgia before the Civil War. The tune is a variant of ‘Dying Boy’ in this collection. No. 86
JORDAN, SKH 86 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand And cast a wishful eye, To Canaan’s fair and happy land Where my possessions lie. O the transporting rapt’rous scene That rises to my sight, Sweet fields arrayed in living green And rivers of delight. There generous fruits that never fail On trees immortal grow; There rocks and hills and brooks and vales With milk and honey flow. Soon will the Lord my soul prepare For joys beyond the skies, Where never-ceasing pleasures roll, And praises never die. The tune belongs to the ‘Roll Jordan’ group; see Introduction, page 14. See also the song by that title in this collection. No. 87
ENQUIRER, OSH 74 Hexatonic, mode 4 a (I II — IV V 6 7) I’m not asham’d to own my Lord, Or to defend his cause, Maintain the honor of his word, The glory of his cross. Jesus, my God, I know his name; His name is all my trust; Nor will he put my soul to shame, Nor let my hope be lost. Firm as his throne his promise stands, And he can well secure What I’ve committed to his hands, Till the decisive hour. Then will he own my worthless name, Before his Father’s face, And in the new Jerusalem Appoint my soul a place. The words are attributed to Isaac Watts; the tune to B. F. White of Georgia, and dated 1844. The tune is a member of the ‘Babe of Bethlehem’ group. See Introduction, p. 14, and, ‘Babe of Bethlehem’ in this collection. A secular related tune is ‘Lowlands of Holland’, Sharp, i., 200. Since the tune has clear dorian implications, its proper key signature is one flat. No. 88
WONDROUS LOVE, OSH 159 Hexatonic, mode 4 a (I II — IV V 6 7) What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul; What wondrous love is this, O my soul; What wondrous love is this That caused the Lord of bliss To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, To bear the dreadful curse for my soul. When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down; When I was sinking down, sinking down; When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown, Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul; Christ laid aside his crown for my soul. To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing; To God and to the Lamb I will sing; To God and to the Lamb who is the great I AM, While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing; While millions join the theme I will sing. And when from death I’m free I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on; And when from death I’m free I’ll sing on. And when from death I’m free I’ll sing and joyful be, And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on, And through eternity I’ll sing on. The song is found also, SOH (1854) 252, GOS 436, PB 384, OL 371, and in various tune books of the Baptists up to the present time. The Southern Harmony attributes the tune to “Christopher”; Good Old Songs, to “J. Christopher”; and the Hesperian Harp attributes the words to the “Rev. Alex Means, A. M., M. D., D. D., LL. D.”, a Methodist minister of Oxford, Ga. It looks as though tune and words were born together, so beautifully they fit. The stanzaic form is that of the ‘Captain Kidd’ ballad which has been widely sung and parodied since the beginning of the eighteenth century. A spiritual song tune related to ‘Wondrous Love’ is ‘Villulia’ in this collection. I have heard the country folk sing this tune with the dorian raised sixth. No. 89
SALVATION (A), BS 127 Hexatonic, mode 1 B (I II — IV V VI VII) O thou God of my salvation, My Redeemer from all sin, Moved by thy divine compassion, Who hast died my heart to win. I will praise thee, I will praise thee; Where shall I thy praise begin? Angels now are hov’ring round us, Unperceived amid the throng; Wond’ring at the love that crown’d us, Glad to join the holy song; Hallelujah, hallelujah, Love and praise to Christ belong. The tune is evidently a remake of ‘Locks and Bolts’. Compare, for example, Sharp, ii., 19. The difference between the two tunes is probably due in part to their structure, which provided real difficulties for their recorders, and in part to the efforts of the Bible Songs arranger to make the apparently dorian tune fit into current scale formulas. Compare also ‘Bed of Primroses’, Thomas, p. 176. No. 90
MOUNT WATSON, OL 272 Heptatonic dorian, mode 2 A + B (I II 3 IV V VI 7) Death shall not destroy my comfort, Christ shall guide me thro’ the gloom; Down he’ll send some heav’nly convoy, To escort my spirit home. Chorus O hallelujah! how I love my Savior, O hallelujah! that I do; O hallelujah! how I love my Savior! Mourners, you may love him too. Jordan’s stream shall not o’erflow me, While my Savior’s by my side; Canaan, Canaan lies before me! Soon I’ll cross the swelling tide. O hallelujah etc. See the happy spirits waiting, On the banks beyond the stream! Sweet responses still repeating, “Jesus! Jesus!” is their theme. O hallelujah etc. William Hauser, compiler of the Olive Leaf, informs us that “this tune [is] called after Rev. John H. Watson, whom, in my youth [in the 1820’s], I used to hear sing [it]”. It is a variant of the beautiful traditional secular ballad ‘The Poor Little Fisherman Girl’ or ‘Green Willow’. No. 91
CROSS OF CHRIST, GOS 504 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Did Christ the great example lead For all his humble train, In washing the disciples’ feet And wiping them again? And did my Lord and Master say: “If I have wash’d your feet, Ye also ought to watch and pray And wash each other’s feet.” O blessed Jesus, at thy board I have thy children met; The bread I’ve broke, the wine I’ve poured, We’ve washed each other’s feet. In imitation of my Lord Whose blood for me did sweat, I yield unto his sacred word And wash the pilgrims’ feet. Yea, blessed Jesus, I, like thee, Would Christians often meet; The least of all the flock would be, And wash his children’s feet. For this let men reproach, defame, And call me what they will; I still would follow Christ the Lamb, And be his servant still. The loving labor I repeat, Obedient to his word, And wash his dear disciples’ feet And wait upon the Lord. Shall I, a worm, refuse to stoop? My fellow worm disdain? I give my vain distinctions up, Since Christ did wait on man. The words were quite evidently made to go with the celebration of the footwashing rite still observed by the Primitive Baptists, from whose hymn book the song is taken. The tune is ascribed to L. P. Breedlove of Georgia. I find it to be a close variant of ‘James Harris’ (or ‘Daemon Lover’ or ‘House Carpenter’) turned around; that is, with the second part of the above tune coming first in the secular ballad tune. For versions of the ‘James Harris’ tune see Thomas 172, Davis 592-594, Cox 524, and Sharp, i., 244-258. The oldest variant tune known to me is that in Motherwell associated with ‘Blue Flowers and Yellow’ (Appendix, Musick, No. 17.) After comparing the above tune with its worldly relatives, it becomes evident that the GOS signature of b-flat should be changed to that of f-natural, raising the sixth and restoring what was evidently a dorian tune. No. 92
ROSE TREE, KNH 165 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) There is a land of pleasure Where streams of joy forever roll; ’Tis there I have my treasure, And there I long to rest my soul. Long darkness dwelt around me With scarcely once a cheering ray, But since my Savior found me, A lamp has shown along the way. My way is full of danger, But ’tis the path that leads to God, And like a faithful soldier I’ll march along the heav’nly road. Now I must gird my sword on, My breast plate, helmet and my shield, And fight the host of Satan, Until I reach the heav’nly field. I’m on the way to Zion, Still guided by my Saviour’s hand, O come along dear sinners And see Emanuel’s happy land. To all that stay behind me, I bid a long, a sad farewell. Come now, or you’ll repent it When you do reach the gates of hell. Echoes of ‘Turkey in the Straw’ (see Sandburg, p. 94) are heard in this tune. Compare also ‘My Grandma Lived on Yonder Little Green’, WS 166. The immediate ancestor of the tune, and the source of its title, is the secular song ‘A Rose-Tree in Full Bearing’, The English Musical Repository, Edinburgh, 1811, p. 127. It appeared in William Shield’s ballad opera ‘The Poor Soldier’, 1783. The ‘Rose Tree’ air was known in Ireland also as ‘Moreen O’Cullenan’ and was associated, among other texts, with Moore’s ‘I’d Mourn the Hopes that Leave Us’. See Joyce, p. 40. No. 93
CLAMANDA, OSH 42 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Say now, ye lovely social band, Who walk the way to Canaan’s land; Ye who have fled from Sodom’s plain, Say do you wish to turn again? O have you ventured to the field, Well arm’d with helmet, sword and shield? And shall the world with dread alarms, Compel you now to ground your arms? Beware of pleasure’s siren song, Alas, it cannot soothe thee long. It cannot quiet Jordan’s wave, Nor cheer the dark and silent grave. O what contentment did you find, While love of pleasure ruled your mind? No sweet reflection lulled your rest, Nor conscious virtue calmed your breast. O, come, young soldiers, count the cost, And say, what pleasures have you lost? Or what misfortune does it bring, To have Jehovah for your king? Shall sin entice you back again, And bind you with its iron chain? Has vice to you such lovely charms, That you must die within its arms? Is folly’s way the way of peace, Where fear, and pain, and sorrow cease? Does pleasure roll its living stream, And is religion all a dream? Say, what contentment did you find When love of pleasure ruled your mind? No sweet reflection gave you rest, Nor conscious virtue calm’d your breast. Tune found also in CHI 12, KNH 109, UH 63, SOC 168, HH 28, SKH 47, GOS 26. The text, taken from the Dover Selection, as well as the tune, attributed to ‘Chapin’, seem to be closely related to a Christmas carol in JFSS, ii., 115. Its first stanza begins: “Come all ye faithful Christians, That dwell within this land. That pass your time in rioting, Remember you are but man.” The English folk-song, ‘Just as the Tide Was a-Flowing’, has an almost identical tune. See Gould and Sharp, English Folk-Songs for Schools, p. 52. No. 94
MECKLINBURG, SKH 30 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Bright scenes of glory strike my sense, And all my passions capture; Eternal beauties round me shine, Infusing warmest rapture. I dive in pleasure deep and full, In swelling waves of glory; And feel my Savior in my soul, And groan to tell my story; And feel my Savior in my soul, And groan to tell my story. I feast on honey, milk and wine, I drink perpetual sweetness; Mount Zion’s odours through me shine, While Christ unfolds his glory. No mortal tongue can lisp my joys, Nor can an angel tell them; Ten thousand times surpassing all Terrestrial worlds [words?] or emblems. My captivated spirit flies, Through shining worlds of beauty; Dissolv’d in blushes, loud I cry, In praises loud and mighty; And here I’ll sing and swell the strains Of harmony delighted, And with the millions learn the notes Of saints in Christ united. The compiler of the SKH attributes the tune to Lowry. See White Spirituals, p. 167, for a secular relative of the tune. See also ‘St. Patrick was a Gentleman’, Petrie, No. 346; and I’m Seventeen Come Sunday’, JFSS, ii., 269f. No. 95
SALVATION (B), SOH 84 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Come, humble sinner in whose breast A thousand thoughts revolve; Come with your guilt and fear opprest And make this last resolve. I’ll go to Jesus though my sin Hath like a mountain rose. I know his courts, I’ll enter in, Whatever may oppose. Prostrate I’ll lie before his throne, And there my guilt confess; I’ll tell him I’m a wretch undone, Without his sovereign grace. I’ll to the gracious King approach, Whose sceptre pardon gives; Perhaps he may command my touch, And then the suppliant lives. Of the text which the compiler of the Southern Harmony found in “Rippon”, three further stanzas are found in Caldwell’s Union Harmony, p. 35. The tune, ascribed to Robert Boyd, is found also KYH 22, GCM 136, UH 34, KNH 32, HH 71, HOC 24, TZ 101, and GOS 144. A variant tune is ‘Come All Ye Worthy Christian Men’, Sharp, One Hundred English Folksongs, No. 91. Note similarity in the opening words of both songs. See also Sharp’s note as to other old related songs. The first melodic sentence is quite similar to that of the tune to ‘The Three Ravens’ as Motherwell gives it in Minstrelsy Ancient and Modern, Edition 1873, Appendix, Musick, No. 12: No. 96
FRENCH BROAD, SOH 265 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) High o’er the hills the mountains rise, Their summits tow’r toward the skies; But far above them I must dwell, Or sink beneath the flames of hell. Although I walk the mountains high, Ere long my body low must lie, And in some lonesome place must rot, And by the living be forgot. There it must lie till that great day, When Gabriel’s awful trump shall say, “Arise, the judgment day is come, When all must hear their final doom.” Four more stanzas in the Southern Harmony. Found also GOS 218, CHH 208. William Walker, compiler of the Southern Harmony, appends the note: “This song was composed by the author in the fall of 1831, while traveling over the mountains, on French Broad River, in North Carolina and Tennessee”. Walker must have been referring simply to the words. He was melodizing, probably unconsciously, in beaten paths. For his tune is almost identical with the older ‘Kedron’ (this collection) which was attributed to “Dare”. Walker declares, in his later song book, Christian Harmony, 1866, p. 208, that he “learned the air of this tune from my mother when only five years old.” That would have been 1814. Both the Dare and the Walker tunes are closely related to the melody of ‘McAfee’s Confession’, Sharp, ii., 16, lower tune, a western North Carolina recording of 1918; and to the Old World song, ‘The Wraggle Taggle Gipsies O’, One Hundred English Folk-Songs, p. 13. No. 97
DAVISSON’S RETIREMENT, KNH 117 Pentatonic, mode 4 (I II — IV V — 7) Jesus, and shall it ever be A mortal man asham’d of thee, Asham’d of thee whom angels praise, Whose glories shine through endless days. Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far Let evening blush to own a star; He sheds the beams of light divine O’er this benighted soul of mine. Ashamed of Jesus! just as soon Let midnight be ashamed of noon: ’Tis midnight with my soul till he, Bright morning star, bid darkness flee. The poem is by Joseph Grigg (b. 1720). Ananias Davisson of the Valley of Virginia named and claimed the tune in his Kentucky Harmony (1815). Annabel Morris Buchanan has found a tune with the title ‘Retirement’ in a manuscript tune book which she judges to be from the eighteenth century. No text accompanies the tune, and no source is given. It follows: A comparison of the two tunes indicates rather plainly that Davisson wrote the tune down from oral tradition, and that his noting was indicative of the manner in which it was actually sung. No. 98
PILGRIM, OSH 201 Hexatonic, mode 2 b (I — 3 IV V 6 7) Come, all ye mourning pilgrims dear, Who’re bound for Canaan’s land, Take courage and fight valiantly, Stand fast with sword in hand. Our Captain’s gone before us, Our Father’s only Son; Then pilgrims dear, pray do not fear, But let us follow on. We have a howling wilderness To Canaan’s happy shore, A land of dearth and pits and snares, Where chilling winds do roar. But Jesus will be with us And guard us by the way, Though enemies examine us, He’ll teach us what to say. Come all you pilgrim travelers, Fresh courage take with me; Meantime I’ll tell you how I came This happy land to see: Through faith, the glorious telescope, I view’d the worlds above, And God the Father reconciled, Which fills my heart with love. The tune is found also CHI 54, MOH 147, KNH 57, HH 392, SOC 117, and WP 46. Among the many secular songs using this tune are ‘Daniel Monroe’, dating from around 1785, Rickaby, pp. 184 and 229; ‘Lady and the Dragoon’, Sharp, i., 337, recorded in North Carolina in 1918; ‘Sheffield Apprentice’, Sharp, ii., 66; ‘Loving Reilly’, Sharp, ii., 81 and 82; ‘Rebel Soldier’, or ‘Poor Stranger’ Sharp, ii., 215; ‘Sons of Liberty’, Sharp, ii., 225; ‘John Barleycorn’, noted by Sharp in England in 1909; ‘Gallant Poachers’ or ‘Van Diemen’s Land’, also in England, see JFSS, vii., 42, for references; ‘I Wish I Was in Dublin Town’, or ‘The Irish Girl’, JFSS, viii., 263; and ‘Barley and the Rye’, JFSS, viii., 273; ‘High Germany’ and ‘Erin’s Lovely Home’, One Hundred English Folk-Songs, pp. 124 and 127; ‘King’s Lynn’, Christian Science Hymnal; and ‘Rise Up Young William Reilly’, Petrie, No. 510. Stephen Foster’s tune ‘Way Down in Ca-i-ro’ shows influence from this tune formula. See The Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii., No. 2. No. 99
MISSISSIPPI, SKH 34 Heptatonic aeolian, mode A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) When Gabriel’s awful trump shall sound, And rend the rocks, convulse the ground And give to time her utmost bound, Ye dead arise to judgment. See lightnings flash and thunders roll; See earth wrapt up like parchment scroll, Comets blaze, sinners raise, Dread amaze, horrors seize The guilty sons of Adam’s race, Unsav’d from sin by Jesus. The Christian, fill’d with rapturous joy, Midst flaming worlds he mounts on high, To meet his Savior in the sky And see the face of Jesus. The soul and body reunite, And fill with glory infinite. Blessed day, Christians say, Will you pray that we may All join that happy company To praise the name of Jesus. The compiler of the Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony attributed the song to “Bradshaw”. I find distinct ancestral traces of its tune in ‘Princess Royal’ given in a number of traditional forms as a morris dance tune in Sharp, The Morris Dance Book. Assuming these to be the oldest forms of the tune, the next younger form seems to have been what was called in Walsh’s Compleat Dancing Master (ca. 1730), “The Princess Royal, the new way”. In 1796 Shield adapted the air to the words of ‘The Saucy Arethusa’ in the ballad opera The Lock and Key. It may be found entitled ‘The Arethusa’ in The English Musical Repository, p. 32. At about the same time—around the end of the eighteenth century—the tune was used also for ‘Bold Nelson’s Praise’ a version of which was recently recorded by Sharp, One Hundred English Folk-Songs, No. 88. The as yet unidentified “Bradshaw” seems to have taken one of these late-eighteenth-century tunes—probably ‘Arethusa’—as his model when he made the ‘Mississippi’ song as it appeared in the Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony in 1820. No. 100
PLEADING SAVIOR, OSH 234 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Now see the Savior stands pleading At the sinner’s bolted heart. Now in heav’n he’s interceding, Undertaking sinners’ part. Sinners, can you hate this Savior? Will you thrust him from your arms? Once he died for your behavior, Now he calls you to his arms. Sinners, hear your God and Savior, Hear his gracious voice today; Turn from all your vain behavior, Oh repent, return, and pray. Sinners, can you hate this Savior? Will you thrust him from your arms? Once he died for your behavior, Now he calls you to his arms. The first line of the text above should probably read Now the Savior stands a-pleading. The Methodist Hymn Book of England, London, 1933, has the above tune under the title ‘Saltash’, and its source is given as the Plymouth Collection, 1855. No. 101
NETTLETON or SINNER’S CALL, PB 4 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Come, thou fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing thy grace! Streams of mercy never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet Sung by flaming tongues above: Praise the mount! O fix me on it, Mount of God’s unchanging love. Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by thy help I’m come; And I hope, by thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me, when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to save my soul from danger, Interposed his precious blood! The words are the widely sung ones of Robinson. Metcalf (Frank J., Stories of Hymn Tunes, p. 141) thinks the tune belongs to John Wyeth (1770-1858). It is the tune that has been used for the Parody ‘Tell Aunt Rhody.’ And its close relative ‘Sweet Affliction’ or ‘Greenville’, in this collection, has been used for the ‘Go Tell Aunt Rhody’ parody. No. 102
CHARIOT OF MERCY, HH 290 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) The chariot of mercy is speeding its way, Far, far through the shadowy gloom, Where the lands that in death’s dark obscurity lay, Are bursting the bars of their tomb. etc. This familiar tune continues with the words: I see where ’tis shedding its luminous ray, Dispersing the shadows of night; And wondering nations are hailing the day, And rejoice in its glorious light. The Hesperian Harp gives the tune as an “Irish Air”. We recognize it as the melody to which ‘Believe Me, If all Those Endearing Young Charms’ is sung universally. Woolridge tells us it is the setting for the popular ballad ‘My Lodging, It is on the Cold Ground’ as printed “on all broadsides, with music, of the last century”, meaning the eighteenth century. The ballad, in connection with a different tune, had been popular from around the middle of the seventeenth century in England. With the above tune its singing vogue seems not even yet to have abated. See Chappell’s Old English Popular Music, ii., 137ff. An old Irish version of the tune is ‘Oh Shrive me Father’, Petrie, No. 632. Stephen Foster undoubtedly had this popular tune formula in mind when he composed ‘Old Folks at Home’. See Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii., No. 2, pp. 158-160. No. 103
STOCKWOOD or SISTER THOU WAST MILD, OSH 118 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Sister, thou wast mild and lovely, Gentle as the summer breeze, Pleasant as the air of evening When it flows among the trees. Peaceful be thy silent slumber, Peaceful in the grave so low; Thou no more wilt join our number, Thou no more our songs shalt know. Dearest sister, thou hast left us, Here thy loss we deeply feel; But ’tis God that hast bereft us, He can all our sorrows heal. Yet again we hope to meet thee, When the day of life is fled, Then in heaven with joy to greet thee, Where no farewell tear is shed. The words are attributed in the Sacred Harp to Samuel Francis Smith, author of ‘My Country, ’Tis of Thee’. No. 104
ROSE, REV 332 Heptatonic aeolian or dorian minorized, cannot be classified (I II 3 IV V [VI] 6 [VII] 7) O tell me no more Of this world’s vain store, The time for such trifles With me now is o’er. A country I’ve found Where true joys abound, To dwell I’m determined On that happy ground. The souls that believe, in paradise live, And me in that number will Jesus receive; My soul, don’t delay, he calls thee away; Rise, follow the Savior, and bless the glad day. Four more stanzas of the text are given in the Revivalist. The tune was recorded “as sung by Rev. A. C. Rose” from whom it got its title. The oldest recording of the melody known to me is on page 38 of Ingalls’ Christian Harmony, 1805. The Reverend Rose’s song appears in this collection also as ‘O Tell Me No More’, in its standardized tune-book form, whereas the recorder of the above variant has caught much of the folk-singing manner. Both of the tunes in question are related to the ‘Lord Randal’ melodies which are found in Sharp, i., 43, G. No. 105
SUPPLICATION, OSH 45 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) O thou who hear’st when sinners cry, Tho’ all my crimes before thee lie, Behold them not with angry look, But blot their mem’ry from thy book. Create my nature pure within, And form my soul averse to sin; Let thy good spirit ne’er depart, Nor hide thy presence from my heart. I cannot live without thy light, Cast out and banished from thy sight; Thy holy joys, my God, restore, And guard me that I fall no more. Words attributed to Watts; tune to Chapin. Found also, Choral-Music, p. 48, KYH 20, MOH 26, GCM 110, SOH 5, GOS 589, UH 14. See WS 190 for the tune’s use with the ‘Wicked Polly’ ballad which is also to be found in this collection. It is a variant also of ‘Lord Bateman’, Sharp, One Hundred English Folk-songs, No. 6; and of ‘Hind Horn’, British Ballads from Maine, pp. 73 and 78. The Singer’s Companion (New York, 1854) has a strikingly similar tune under the title ‘Hame, Hame, Hame’, a Jacobite song whose words tell of a Scotch exile and his longing for home. The editor of that collection found it in the Garland of Scotia. The old Scotch tune is doubtless the source of ‘Supplication’. No. 106
PRAISE GOD, OSH 528 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Oh, for a heart to praise my God, A heart from sin set free; A heart that’s sprinkled with his blood, So freely shed for me, Oh, for a heart submissive, meek; Oh, for a heart submissive, meek, My great Redeemer’s throne, Where only Christ is heard to speak, Where Jesus reigns alone. Oh, for an humble, contrite heart, believing, true and clean, Which neither life nor death can part from him that dwells within. A heart in every thought renewed, and full of love divine; Perfect, and right, and pure, and good, a copy, Lord, of thine. Seaborn M. Denson composed this tune as a setting to Charles Wesley’s text and inserted it, in a fuguing-tune setting, in the Original Sacred Harp of 1911. The tune is testimony to the fact that its composer was steeped in the traditional Anglo-American folk-melodism and in that particular direction which it took in the hands of the eighteenth century fuguing-song makers. Compare for melodic similarities ‘Geordie’, JFSS, iii., 191. White Spirituals tells more about Mr. Denson who died in 1936. No. 107
LEANDER, SOH 128 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) My soul forsakes her vain delight, And bids the world farewell, Base as the dirt beneath thy feet And mischievous as hell. No longer will I ask your love, Nor seek your friendship more; The happiness that I approve Is not within your pow’r. There’s nothing round this spacious earth That suits my soul’s desire; To boundless joy and solid mirth My nobler thoughts aspire. O for the pinions of a dove To mount the heav’nly road; There shall I share my Savior’s love, There shall I dwell with God. The tune is ascribed to “Austin”, and the words to Watts. Found also, UH 66, OSH 71, HOC 61, WP 52, TZ 100, MOH 129. The second part of the tune reminds of the second part of ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home’. Variants of the melody are ‘Jubilee’, CHI 62 and REV 355; and ‘This Is the Jubilee’, OL 113. No. 108
THERE IS A REST REMAINS, REV 135 Hexatonic, minorized, cannot be classified (I II 3 IV [IV'] V — 7 [VII]) Lord, I believe a rest remains To all thy people known; A rest where pure enjoyment reigns, And thou art loved alone. There is a rest remains, There is a rest remains, There is a rest remains For all the people of God. A rest where all our soul’s desire Is fixed on things above; Where fear, and sin, and grief expire, Cast out by perfect love. O that I now the rest might know, Believe and enter in; Now, Savior, now the power bestow, And let me cease from sin. Remove this hardness from my heart, This unbelief remove; To me the rest of faith impart— The Sabbath of thy love. A remarkably close remake of this peculiar song by the negroes is given in Dett, p. 108, under the title ‘Go Down, Moses’, where we see the melodic setting of the above words “To all thy people known” and “For all the people of God” fitted note for note to “Let thy people go”. The tunes of ‘Rejected Lover’, Sharp, ii., 96ff., show similarities. No. 109
BOURBON, COH 67 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) ’Twas on that dark and doleful night, When pow’rs of earth and hell arose Against the Son of God’s delight, And friends betray’d him to his foes. Before the mournful scene began, He took the bread and blest and brake; What love through all his actions ran, What wondrous words of love he spake. “This is my body, broke for sin, Receive and eat the living food;” Then took the cup and bless’d the wine— “’Tis the new cov’nant in my blood.” “Do this,” he cried, “till time shall end, In mem’ry of your dying Friend; Meet at my table and record The love of your departed Lord.” Jesus, thy feast we celebrate, We show thy death, we sing thy name. Till thou return, and we shall eat The marriage supper of the Lamb. Words attributed sometimes to Watts. Tune attributed to Freeman Lewis. Found also, HH 8, GCM 159, SKY 61, MOH 60 and 143, UH 17, GOS 575. This is the same tune which is used for ‘McFee’s Confession’, Cox, p. 525; ‘Samuel Young’, Sharp, ii., 271; ‘Come, Father Build Me’ (as sung in England), JFSS, viii., 212; and it is similar to ‘Lord Bateman’, One Hundred English Folksongs, No. 6. For further tune relationship see ‘Kedron’ in this collection. No. 110
GLORIOUS PROSPECT, OL 363 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) My soul’s full of glory, which inspires my tongue; Could I meet with angels, I’d sing them a song; I’d sing of my Jesus and tell of his charms; And beg them to bear me to his loving arms. Methinks they’re descending to hear while I sing; Well pleased to hear mortals sing praise to their King. O angels! O angels! my soul’s in a flame! I sink in sweet raptures at Jesus’ dear name. O Jesus! O Jesus! thou balm of my soul! ’Twas thou, my dear Savior, that made my heart whole; Oh bring me to view thee, thou precious, sweet King, In oceans of glory thy praises to sing! The author of the Olive Leaf tells us: “This is the first tune I ever harmonized; about 1833. I had learned the air—which I suspect John Adam Granade originated, before I was born—when a boy, to these words.” That the tune went earlier with some secular ballad, seems evident from the resemblances found, for example, in ‘Pretty Nancy of Yarmouth’, Sharp, i., 379; ‘Lamkin’, Sharp, i., 201ff.; ‘The Silk Merchant’s Daughter’, Sharp, i., 383f.; and ‘Green Grows the Laurel’, Sharp ii., 211. No. 111
O YE YOUNG AND GAY AND PROUD or ETERNITY Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II III IV V — —) O ye young and gay and proud, You must die and wear the shroud, Time will rob you of your bloom, Death will drag you to the tomb. Chorus Then you’ll cry and want to be Happy in eternity. Eternity, eternity, Happy in eternity. The white throne will soon appear, All the dead will then draw near. Then you’ll go to heav’n or hell. There you must forever dwell. Chorus Recorded by the author from the singing of Mrs. Elizabeth Showalter-Miller, Dayton, Virginia, Jan. 20, 1930. Further stanzas of the text and variant melodies may be found in Thomas, p. 118, and Richardson, p. 73. No. 112
FRIENDS OF FREEDOM, CH 285 Heptatonic, mode 1 b (I II — IV V VI 7) Friends of freedom, swell the song! Young and old, the strain prolong! Make the temp’rance army strong, And on to victory. Lift your banners, let them wave; Onward march, a world to save; Who would fill a drunkard’s grave And bear his infamy? Shrink not when the foe appears; Spurn the coward’s guilty fears; Hear the shrieks, behold the tears Of ruined families! Raise the cry in every spot: “Touch not, taste not, handle not!” Who would be a drunken sot, The worst of miseries. Give the aching bosom rest; Carry joy to every breast; Make the wretched drunkard blest, By living soberly. Raise the glorious watchword high: “Touch not, taste not till you die” Let the echo reach the sky, And earth keep jubilee. God of mercy, hear us plead, For thy help we intercede; See how many bosoms bleed! And heal them speedily. Hasten, Lord, the happy day, When, beneath thy gentle ray, Temp’rance all the world shall sway, And reign triumphantly. Evidently the time should be six-eight. It is found, measured thus, in the 1859 edition of the Sacred Harp, p. 152, under the title ‘Bruce’s Address, Spiritualized’, and begins, Soldiers of the cross, arise! Lo, your Captain from the skies, Holding forth the glitt’ring prize, Calls to victory. Fear not though the battle lower, Firmly stand the trying hour, Stand the tempter’s utmost power, Spurn his slavery. The earlier tune is given, in Lyric Gems of Scotland, p. 242, as that of ‘Hey tutti tattie’. It is there associated with the text ‘Scots wha ha’e wi’ Wallace bled’, the same as ‘Bruce’s Address’, of which both the texts cited here are parodies. No. 113
PILGRIM’S SONG, REV 369 Heptatonic mixolydian, mode 1 A + b (I II III IV V VI 7) Oh, brethren I have found a land that doth abound With fruit as sweet as honey; The more I eat, I find, the more I am inclined To shout and sing hosanna. And as I pass along I’ll sing the Christian’s song, I’m going to live forever. My soul doth long to go where I may fully know The glories of my Savior; Perhaps you think me wild, or simple as a child; I am a child of glory; I am born from above, my soul is filled with love; I love to tell the story. My soul now sits and sings, and practices her wings, And contemplates the hour When the messenger shall say: “Come quit this house of clay, And with bright angels tower.” The tune is a variant of ‘The Winter it is Past’, Petrie, No. 439. No. 114
HOLY MANNA, HOC 122 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Brethren, we have met to worship And adore the Lord our God, Will you pray with all your power While we try to preach the word? All is vain unless the spirit Of the holy One comes down; Brethren, pray, and holy manna Will be showered all around. Brethren, see poor sinners round you, Trembling on the brink of wo; Death is coming, hell is moving, Can you bear to let them go? See our fathers, see our mothers And our children sinking down; Brethren, pray, and holy manna Will be showered all around. Is there here a trembling jailor Seeking grace and fill’d with fears? Is there here a weeping Mary, Pouring forth a flood of tears? Brethren, join your cries to help them; Sisters, let your prayers abound; Pray, O pray that holy manna May be scatter’d all around. Two more stanzas are in SOH 103. This rousing song, still immensely popular, was claimed (probably first recorded) by William Moore, compiler of the Columbian Harmony, in 1825. Subsequent compilers have allowed his claim to stand. Found also, KNH 88, OSH 59, HH 244, SOC 191, HOC 107, WP 89, TZ 301, GOS 340, PB 291. The numerous imitations which flattered this tune are exemplified by GOS 243 and 633, and REV 148. For negro adoptions see WS 268. No. 115
WAR DEPARTMENT, SOH 94 Chinese pentatonic, cannot be classified (I II — IV V 6 —) No more shall the sound of the war-whoop be heard, The ambush and slaughter no longer be fear’d, The tomahawk buried shall rest in the ground, And peace and goodwill to the nations abound. All spirit of war to the gospel shall bow, The bow lie unstrung at the foot of the plow; To prune the young orchard the spear shall be bent, And love greet the world with a smile of content. The words were found by the Southern Harmony compiler in Mercer’s Cluster. The tune is found also HH 277, OSH 160, SOC 167. It is possibly related to Petrie, Nos. 1030 and 1285. No. 116
DROOPING SOULS, OL 184 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Drooping souls, no longer grieve, Heaven is propitious; If on Jesus you believe, You will find him precious. Jesus now is passing by, Calling mourners to him; Drooping souls, you need not die; Now look up and view him. For complete text see ‘Lebanon’. The song is inscribed “Wm. Hauser, M. D., May 29th, and July 18th, 1874.” No. 117
BE GONE UNBELIEF, OL 187 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) Be gone unbelief, my Savior is near, And for my relief will surely appear; By prayer let me wrestle and He will perform; With Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm. Tho’ dark be my way, since He is my guide, ’Tis mine to obey, ’Tis His to provide; Tho’ cisterns be broken, and creatures all fail, The word He has spoken will surely prevail. His life in time past forbids me to think He’ll leave me at last, in trouble to sink; Each sweet Ebenezer, I have in review, Confirms His good pleasure to bring me quite thro’. Since all that I meet shall work for my good; The bitter, the sweet; the medicine, food; Tho’ painful at present ’twill cease before long, And then, O how pleasant the conqueror’s song! William Hauser, compiler of the Olive Leaf tells that this “air [was] learned of Reverend Samuel Anthony, of Georgia, in 1841.” The tune of a Virginia version of the ‘Brown Girl’ (Sharp, i., 303) is very close to this in note-trend and character. Also ‘Pretty Saro’, Sharp, ii., 10-12; ‘Cuckoo’, Sharp, ii., 180; ‘Green Bushes’, Sharp, ii., 155; ‘Farewell, Dear Rosanna’, Sharp, ii., 243 and 244, are the same type. Negro adoptions of the tune are Marsh, pp. 144 and 173, and SS, p. 33. A variant in this collection is ‘Rest in Heaven’. For its relationship to the ‘I Will Arise’ tune family, see the song with that title in this collection. The errors in Hauser’s notation of the tune (second, fourth, sixth measures etc.) have been left uncorrected. No. 118
PILGRIM’S TRIUMPH, OL 61 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) To see a pilgrim as he dies, With glory in his view; To heav’n he lifts his longing eyes And bids the world adieu. While friends are weeping all around, And loth to let him go, He shouts with his expiring breath, And leaves them all below. O Christians, are you ready now, To cross the rolling flood? On Canaan’s happy shore to stand, And see your smiling God? The dazzling charms of that bright world Attract my soul above; My tongue shall shout redeeming grace, When perfected in love. Come on, my brethren in the Lord, Whose hearts are join’d in one; Hold up your heads with courage bold, Your race is almost run: Above the clouds behold Him stand, And smiling bid you come; And angels whisper you away, To your eternal home. “This enrapturing song [the text] was written by Rev. Jno. Adam Granade, about 1802”, the compiler of the Olive Leaf says. And he adds, “Structure of this air learned of a negro, Mark Hull, 1843.” The tune belongs to the ‘Hallelujah’ group, which see for many related tunes. No. 119
TO BE WITH CHRIST, REV 14 Hexatonic, mode 2 b (I — 3 IV V 6 7) This world is beautiful and bright, O scarce one cloud has dimmed my sky, And yet no gloomy shades of night Are gath’ring ’round me though I die; Yet there’s a lovelier land of light, Illum’d by Bethle’m’s beaming star; E’en now it bursts upon my sight, To be with Christ is better far. True, life is sweet and friends are dear, And youth and health are pleasant things; Yet, leave I all, without a tear, No sad regret my bosom wrings. The ties of earth are broken all, My chainless soul, above yon star, Shall wing its way beyond recall, To be with Christ is better far. And is this death? My soul is calm, No sting is here, the strife is done; Glory to God and to the Lamb! Sweet triumph! I have won, I’ve won! A crown immortal, robes of white, For me, for me in waiting are; Arrayed in glory, clothed in light, To be with Christ is better far. One more stanza of the text is in the Revivalist. The tune is notated “as sung by Rev. B. I. Ives.” No. 120
DEVOTION, OSH 48 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Sweet is the day of sacred rest; No mortal cares shall seize my breast; O may my heart in tune be found, Like David’s harp of solemn sound. Then shall I share a glorious part, When grace hath well refined my heart, And fresh supplies of joy are shed, Like holy oil, to cheer my head. Then shall I see, and hear, and know All I desired and wished below; And ev’ry power find sweet employ, In that eternal world of joy. Watts wrote the words. The tune is ascribed in the Sacred Harp to Americk Hall. Found also, MOH 34, GCM 91, SOH 13, UH 48, WP 17, SKH 9, GOS 548; and in Social Hymn and Tune Book (Philadelphia, 1865) under the title ‘Penitent’. In JFSS, viii., 72, Miss Gilchrist calls attention to the likeness of the above tune to Sharp’s Appalachian versions of ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’. She also notes Miss Broadwood’s discovery of its likeness to two Gaelic tunes, ‘Tearlach Og’ in the Gesto Collection, and ‘Muile nam Morbheann’ in the Celtic Lyre. I append also ‘Lost Babe’, Sharp, ii., 161, as a further relative. No. 121
TENDER CARE, GOS 291 Hexatonic, mode 1 b (I II — IV V VI 7) When all thy mercies, O my God, My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view, I’m lost In wonder, love and praise. Unnumber’d comforts on my soul Thy tender care bestow’d, Before my infant soul conceiv’d From whom those comforts flow’d. When in the slippery paths of youth, With heedless steps I ran, Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe, And led me up to man. Ten thousand thousand precious gifts My daily thanks employ; Nor is the least a cheerful heart, That tastes those gifts with joy. Through every period of my life, Thy goodness I’ll pursue; And after death in distant worlds, The pleasing theme renew. In all eternity to Thee A grateful song I’ll raise; But! O eternity’s too short To utter all thy praise. Ascribed to P. M. Atchley who was a singing-school man in eastern Tennessee in the early part of the nineteenth century. The tune belongs to the ‘Hallelujah’ family. See the song by that name in this collection for many related melodies. No. 122
REFLECTION, MOH 444 Hexatonic, mode 1 b (I II — IV V VI 7) No sleep nor slumber to his eyes, Good David would afford, Till he had found below the skies A dwelling for the Lord, A dwelling for the Lord. The Lord in Zion placed his name, His ark was settled there; And there th’assembled nation came, To worship twice a year, To worship twice a year. We trace no more those toilsome ways, Nor wander far abroad; Where e’er thy people meet for praise, There is a house for God, There is a house for God. The tune is usually attributed to Davisson, and this probably as a result of Davisson’s own claim in the Kentucky Harmony. Found also, KYH 42, UH 31, KNH 22, HOC 13, WP 36. No. 123
PISGAH, OSH 58 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Jesus, thou art the sinner’s friend, As such I look on thee, Now in the bowels of thy love, O Lord remember me. O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me; Now in the bowels of thy love, O Lord remember me. Remember thy pure words of grace, remember Calvary, Remember all thy dying groans, and then remember me. O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me; Remember all thy dying groans, and then remember me. Thou wondrous advocate with God, I yield myself to thee, While thou art sitting on thy throne, O Lord remember me. O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me; While thou art sitting on thy throne, O Lord remember me. And when I close my eyes in death, and creature helps all flee, Then O my great Redeemer, God, I pray remember me. I pray remember me, I pray remember me; Then O my great Redeemer, God, I pray remember me. The poem is attributed in the Sacred Harp to Richard Burnham. The tune there, and generally in the southern books, is credited to J. C. Lowry. Found also, MOH 59, GCM 104, SOH 80, UH 23, KNH 56, HH 112, SOC 205, WP 83, TZ 92, SKH 25, GOS 311. A negro spiritual inspired by this song is ‘Lord, Remember Me’, SS 12, No. 15. Miss Gilchrist sees in ‘Pisgah’ a variant of ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’ as found in the Appendix of Motherwell, Minstrelsy, and later published in Chappell’s Popular Music. (See JFSS, viii., 61-95.) Despite the apparently English source of ‘Pisgah’, the Methodist Hymn Book of England reproduces the tune under the title ‘Covenanters’ and calls it “an American Melody.” No. 124
GAINES, HH 122 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) O for a thousand tongues to sing, My great Redeemer’s praise! The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of his grace, The triumphs of his grace. My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread through all the earth abroad The honors of thy name, The honors of thy name. Jesus! the name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease; ’Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ’Tis life and health and peace, ’Tis life and health and peace. Charles Wesley wrote the words. William Hauser, Hesperian Harp compiler, claims the tune. For melodic similarities in other spiritual songs see ‘One More River to Cross’, in this collection; ‘Cherry Tree Carol’, Sharp, i., 92 and 93; and ‘Geordie’, Sharp, i., 240. No. 125
HUMBLE PENITENT, SKH 14 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Stay, thou insulted spirit, stay! Though I have done thee such despite, Cast not a sinner quite away, Nor take thine everlasting flight. Though I have most unfaithful been, of all whoe’er thy grace received; Ten thousand times thy goodness seen, ten thousand times thy goodness griev’d. But O, the chief of sinners spare, in honor of my great priest; Nor in thy righteous anger swear I shall not see thy people rest. If yet thou canst my sins forgive, e’en now, O Lord, relieve my woes; Into thy rest of love receive, and bless me with the calm repose. E’en now my weary soul release, and raise me by thy gracious hand; Guide me into thy perfect peace, and bring me to the promis’d land. Davisson, the compiler of the Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony, claims this tune. It is similar to ‘The Bird Song’, Sharp, ii., 215. For other tune relationships see ‘I Will Arise’ in this collection. No. 126
CHARMING NAME, CHH 90 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A b (I II III IV V VI VII) Jesus, I love thy charming name, ’Tis music to my ear; Fain would I sound it out so loud That earth and heav’n should hear, That earth and heav’n should hear. Yes, thou art precious to my soul, My transport and my trust; Jewels, to thee, are gaudy toys, And gold is sordid dust. I’ll speak the honors of thy name With my last lab’ring breath; Then speechless clasp thee in mine arms, The antidote of death. The notated form of this tune (the work is claimed by, and is doubtless that of, William Walker) illustrates excellently the manner of singing in rural America in earlier times. See also WS, p. 211 f. No. 127
BALM IN GILEAD, REV 15 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) How lost was my condition Till Jesus made me whole There is but one Physician Can cure a sin-sick soul. There’s a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; There’s pow’r enough in Jesus to cure a sin-sick soul. I have reproduced the notation of the Revivalist tune with all its mistakes. A fuller text is given under ‘Good Physician’ in this collection. A negro version entitled ‘There is a Balm in Gilead’ is given in Dett, p. 88. Another is in Work, p. 43. No. 128
PLENARY, SOH 262 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Hark, from the tombs a doleful sound, Mine ears, attend the cry; “Ye living men, come view the ground, Where you must shortly lie, Where you must shortly lie, Where you must shortly lie; Ye living men come view the ground Where you must shortly lie. “Princes, this clay must be your bed, In spite of all your towers; The tall, the wise, the reverend head Must lie as low as ours.” Grant us the power of quickening grace, To fit our souls to fly; Then, when we drop this dying flesh, We’ll rise above the sky. The tune is the same as the popular ‘Old Grimes is Dead’ and ‘Auld Lang Syne’. It occurs also OSH 162 and CHH 94. The Methodist Hymnal (1935) attributes it to William Shield. In the Southern Harmony its author is given as A. Clark. No. 129
SAWYER’S EXIT, OSH 338 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) How bright is the day when the Christian Receives the sweet message to come, To rise to the mansions of glory Chorus And be there forever at home; And be there forever at home, To rise to the mansions of glory, And be there forever at home. The angels stand ready and waiting, The moment the spirit is gone, To carry it upward to heaven, And welcome it safely at home. Chorus The saints that have gone up before us, All raise a new shout as we come, And sing hallelujah the louder, To welcome the travelers home. Chorus For source of tune and words see WS, p. 167. The tune is borrowed from ‘Old Rosin the Bow’, see Sandburg, p. 167. See also ‘My Sister She Works in a Laundry’, Sandburg, 381; ‘When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea’, Dolph, 347; ‘Washington Badge’, HH 536; ‘Lord Randal’, Sharp, i., 39; and ‘I wonder When I’m to Be Married’, from Dumphriesshire, England, 1855, see JFSS, viii., 142. No. 130
O TELL ME NO MORE, OL 301 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) O tell me no more of this world’s vain store; The time for such trifles with me now is o’er. A country I’ve found, where true joys abound, To dwell I’m determin’d on that happy ground. The souls that believe, in Paradise live; And me in that number will Jesus receive: My soul, don’t delay, he calls thee away; Rise, follow thy Savior, and bless the glad day. No mortal doth know what he can bestow, What light, strength, and comfort; go after him, go! Lo! onward I move, to a city above; None guesses how wondrous my journey will prove. The text is attributed to “John Gambold, of England.” I find the tune to be a relative of a ‘Lord Randal’ variant which Sharp (i., 43, G) found in eastern Tennessee. The resemblance of the two tunes runs throughout; but in the last four-measure phrase (going with the worldly sentence “I’m sick to the heart and I fain would lie down”) they are practically identical. ‘Rose’ in this collection is a variant of this tune, notated in the folk manner of singing. No. 131
HEAVENLY DOVE, SOC 23 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly dove, With all thy quick’ning powers; Come shed abroad a Savior’s love, And that will kindle ours. This is quite clearly the ‘Barbara Allen’ tune as it is seen, for example, in Sharp, i., 183ff. It is also related to ‘Lonesome Grove’ in this collection. The “dove” theme in the text of the above song and in the ‘Lonesome Grove’ song was possibly the magnet which attracted the texts to variant tunes. No. 132
CEYLON, PB 372 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI VII) How long, O Lord our Savior, wilt thou remain away? Our hearts are growing weary of thy so long delay. O when will come the moment when, brighter far than morn, The sun-shine of thy glory will on thy people dawn. How long, O gracious Saviour, wilt Thou Thy household leave? So long hast Thou now tarried, few Thy return believe; Immersed in sloth and folly, Thy servants, Lord, we see; And few of us stand ready, with joy to welcome Thee. How long, O heav’nly Bridegroom, how long wilt Thou delay? And yet how few are grieving, that Thou dost absent stay; Thy very bride her portion and calling hath forgot, And seeks for ease and glory, where Thou, her Lord, art not. The tune is a close relative of ‘Love Divine’ CHI 63, ‘Heavenly Welcome’ HH 482, ‘Baltimore’ SKH 53, ‘Garden Hymn’ REV 164, and a less close one to ‘Heavenward’, Christian Science Hymnal (1932), No. 136, which is an ancient Irish tune from the Petrie collection. Compare Petrie, No. 993. No. 133
NEW PROSPECT or O LAND OF REST, OSH 390 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) O land of rest, for thee I sigh, When will the moment come When I shall lay my armor by And dwell in peace at home, And dwell in peace at home; When shall I lay my armor by And dwell in peace at home. No tranquil joy on earth I know, No peaceful, sheltering dome; This world’s a wilderness of woe, This world is not my home. Our tears shall all be wiped away When we have ceased to roam, And we shall hear our Father say, “Come, dwell with me at home.” J. S. James, editor of the 1911 Original Sacred Harp, attributes tune and words to W. S. Turner of Georgia. It is found also, GOS 390. Close relatives of this tune are ‘Deep Spring’ in this collection, ‘Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor’, Sharp, i., 118; and ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’, Sharp, i., 166. No. 134
I LOVE THEE, OL 318 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, my Lord. I love thy dear people, thy ways and thy word. I love thee, I love thee, and that thou dost know; But how much I love thee, I never can show. I’m happy, I’m happy, O wondrous account! My joys are immortal, I stand on the mount! I gaze on my treasure, and long to be there, With Jesus and angels, my kindred so dear. O Jesus, my Savior, with thee I am blest! My life and salvation, my joy and my rest! Thy Name be my theme, and thy love be my song! Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my tongue. O who’s like my Savior? He’s Salem’s bright King; He smiles, and he loves me, and helps me to sing: I’ll praise him and bless him, with notes loud and shrill, While rivers of pleasure my spirit do fill: O Jesus, my Savior! I know thou art mine; For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign: Of objects most pleasing I love thee the best; Without thee I’m wretched, but with thee I’m blessed. Tho’ weak and despised, by faith I now stand, Preserv’d and defended by Heaven’s kind hand: By Jesus supported, I’ll praise his dear name, Regardless of danger, of praise, or of blame. I find him in singing, I find him in prayer; In sweet meditation he always is near: My constant companion, Oh may we ne’er part! All glory to Jesus, who dwells in my heart! The text is attributed to John Adam Granade, the “Billy Sunday” of the revival movement which reached a high point in its trend at about the beginning of the nineteenth century. Granade was the author of many widely sung texts. The tune is clearly of the ‘Lord Lovel’ family. Compare, for example, the melody which Sharp found in North Carolina; see Sharp, i., 38, A. Its earliest appearance in American religious song books seems to have been in Ingalls’ Christian Harmony, 1805, p. 44. No. 135
NEW BRITAIN or HARMONY GROVE, SOH 8 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. The poem is by Newton. The tune’s source is unknown to the southern compilers. It goes also under the names ‘Symphony’, ‘Solon’, and ‘Redemption’. Found also, WP 27, GCM 105, OSH 45, HH 104, SOC 190, TZ 90, VH 19, Church Harmony 91. A close relative of the tune is ‘Primrose’ in this collection. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Melody’. I recorded this tune also as it was sung by F. Fagan Thompson of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, February, 1936. I reproduce here his version, one in which the tune is slowed and many graces are introduced, as an excellent illustration of the widespread southern folk-manner in the singing of hymns of this sort. very slow Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I’m found, Was blind but now I see. No. 136
SPIRITUAL SAILOR, SOH 41 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) The people called Christians have many things to tell About the land of Canaan where saints and angels dwell; But here a dismal ocean enclosing them around, With its tides still divides them from Canaan’s happy ground. Many have been impatient to work their passage through, And with united wisdom have tried what they could do; But vessels built by human skill have never sailed far, Till we found them aground on some dreadful, sandy bar. The everlasting gospel hath launch’d the deep at last; Behold the sails expanded around the tow’ring mast! Along the deck in order, the joyful sailors stand, Crying, “Ho!—here we go to Immanuel’s happy land!” We’re now on the wide ocean, we bid the world farewell! And though where we shall anchor no human tongue can tell; About our future destiny there need be no debate, While we ride on the tide, with our Captain and his Mate. To those who are spectators what anguish must ensue, To hear their old companions bid them a last adieu! The pleasures of your paradise no more our hearts invite; We will sail—you may rail, we shall soon be out of sight. The passengers united in order, peace, and love; The wind is in our favour, how swiftly do we move! Though tempests may assail us, and raging billows roar, We will sweep through the deep, till we reach fair Canaan’s shore. The Southern Harmony gives the maker of this song as I. Neighbours, who may indeed have been the author of the text. This text is clearly a parody, and the tune a close variant, of ‘When the Stormy Winds do Blow’ or ‘You Gentlemen of England’, a song of seafaring which appears to have been widely sung in England over a long period. References to a ‘Stormy Winds’ ballad reach back to 1660. The tune with different texts appeared as ‘Saylers for my Money’, ‘The Bridegroom’s Salutation’, ‘You Calvinists of England’ and ‘England’s Valour and Holland’s Terrour’. See Vincent Jackson, English Melodies from the 13th to the 18th Century, p. 114. Other melodic relatives which have come to my notice are ‘The Trees do Grow High’, Sharp, One Hundred English Folk-Songs, No. 25; and ‘John Anderson My Jo John’, The Singer’s Companion, p. 72, and SMM, No. 146. No. 137
IDUMEA, OSH 47 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) And am I born to die, To lay this body down? And must this trembling spirit fly Into a world unknown? Waked by the trumpet’s sound, I from the grave shall rise, To see the Judge with glory crowned, And view the flaming skies. How shall I leave the tomb? With triumph or regret? A fearful or a joyful doom? A curse or blessing meet? I must from God be driv’n, Or with my Saviour dwell; Must come at His command to heav’n, Or else depart—to hell. The words are by Charles Wesley. The tune is claimed by Ananias Davisson in his Kentucky Harmony (1815) whence it was borrowed by practically all the subsequent book compilers in the South. The tune was used for the secular ballad ‘Lord Lovel’; see White Spirituals, 177. Also found KYH 33, GCM 36, SOH 31, UH 19, KNH 36, HH 224, SOC 55, HOC 44, TZ 122, MOH 38, Church Harmony, p. 35, GOS 184, PB 246. An imitation of this tune is GOS 325. ‘Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor’, Davis, p. 570, shows the same trend, as does also ‘Young Hunting’, Sharp, i., 112. No. 138
BOZRAH, GOS 59 Hexatonic, mode 2 b (I — 3 IV V 6 7) Who is this that comes from far With his garments dipt in blood? Strong, triumphant traveler, Is he man or is he God? “I that reign in righteousness, Son of God and man I am, Mighty to redeem your race, Jesus is your Savior’s name. “Wide, ye heavenly gates, unfold, Closed no more by death and sin; Lo, the conquering Lord behold; Let the King of glory in.” Hark, th’angelic host inquire, “Who is He, th’almighty King?” Hark again, the answering choir Thus in strains of triumph sing: “He whose powerful arm, alone, On His foes destruction hurled; He who hath the victory won; He who saved you by His blood; He who God’s pure law fulfilled; Jesus, the incarnate Word; He whose truth with blood was sealed; He is heaven’s all-glorious Lord.” The melodic sentence at the beginning and at the end is a favorite. It may be found, for example, also in ‘Greenwood Siding’, Cox, p. 522. A variant of the tune is ‘When I First Left Old Ireland’, Petrie, No. 863. See ‘I Will Arise’ in this collection for further tune relationships. No. 139
NEW ORLEANS, PB 255 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Why do we mourn departing friends Or shake at death’s alarms? ’Tis but the voice that Jesus sends To call them to his arms. Are we not tending upward too, As fast as time can move? Nor would we wish the hours more slow, To keep us from our love. For variant forms of the tune see ‘Marion’ and ‘I Will Arise’ in this collection. Among its related secular tunes are ‘Greenwood Siding’ (‘Cruel Mother’), Cox, p. 522; an unnamed tune in Petrie, No. 193; ‘Oh Love it is a Killing Thing’, Petrie, No. 469; and ‘When First I left Old Ireland’, Petrie, No. 863. A remarkable tune resemblance and one which opens to the imagination surprising vistas as to the possible age of the ‘New Orleans’ tune, is to be seen in the Whitsuntide church melody ‘Iam Christus astra ascenderat’ from the eleventh century: Iam Christus astra ascenderat regressus unde venerat. The same melodic trend is seen also in the German tune set to ‘Christ der du bist der helle Tag’ from the year 1568. See Hymns Ancient and Modern, Nos. 178 and 604. No. 140
HOLY SON OF GOD, REV 365 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) I love the holy Son of God, Who once this vale of sorrows trod, And bore my sins, a heavy load, Up Calv’ry’s gloomy mountain. High on the cross he shameful hung, The sport of many an envious tongue, While pains severe his nature wrung, And streamed life’s crimson fountain. Oh, why did not his fury burn, And floods of vengeance on them turn? Amazing! See his bowels yearn In soft compassion on them. No fury kindles in his eyes; They beam with love, and when he dies, Father, forgive, the sufferer cries, They know not—Oh, forgive them. No. 141
WORTHY THE LAMB, SWP 92 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV 6 7) Glory to God on high; Let earth and skies reply, Praise ye his name, praise ye his name; His love and grace adore, Who all our sorrows bore, Sing aloud evermore, Worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb. Jesus, our Lord and God, Bore sin’s tremendous load, Praise ye his name, praise ye his name; Tell what his arm has done, What spoils from death he won; Sing his great name alone; Worthy the Lamb. While they around the throne Cheerfully join as one, Praising his name, praising his name, Those who have felt his blood Sealing their peace with God, Sound his dear fame abroad, Worthy the Lamb. Three more stanzas of the text are in the Southern and Western Pocket Harmonist. The tune is attributed to Bradshaw. No. 142
CAPTAIN KIDD, COH 73 Hexatonic, mode 4 b (I II 3 IV V — 7) Through all the world below God is seen all around, Search hills and valleys through, There he’s found. The growing of the corn, The lily and the thorn, The pleasant and forlorn, All declare, God is there; In meadows drest in green, There he’s seen. See springing waters rise, Fountains flow, rivers run; The mist that veils the sky Hides the sun; Then down the rain doth pour, The ocean it doth roar, And beat upon the shore; And all praise in their ways The God who ne’er declines His designs. The sun with all his rays Speaks of God as he flies; The comet in her blaze, God she cries. The shining of the stars, The moon when she appears, His awful name declares; See them fly through the sky, And join the solemn sound All round. Not India’s hills of gold, Where the wonders are told, Nor zephyrs strong and bold Can unfold The mountain Calvary, Where Christ our Lord did die. Hark, hear the Savior cry, Mountains quake, heavens shake, Christ, call’d to heaven’s host, Left their coast. The tune is ascribed to Nicholson. The oldest American recording known to me is in the four-shape-note manuscript song collection made by Catherine Alderice in or near Emmittsburg, Md., 1800-1830, p. 37. Miss Gilchrist calls attention to the secular ‘Captain Kidd’ ballad, of which the above is a parody, as it appeared, twenty-five verses long, in Our Familiar Songs and Who Made Them, published in America, 1889. She describes it as “a sort of dying speech and testament probably dating from about 1701 in which year Kidd and nine of his associates were hanged in Execution Dock.... There were many other eighteenth century songs, built on this peculiar stanzaic plan, celebrating other notorious characters, ‘Admiral Benbow,’ ‘Jack (or Sam) Hall.’” Other American spiritual songs in this collection having the same stanzaic form are ‘Wondrous Love’ and ‘Remember Sinful Youth’. No. 143
JERUSALEM, SOH (1835) 60 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 VII). Jerusalem, my happy home, O how I long for thee! When will my sorrows have an end, Thy joys when shall I see! But O, the happy, happy place, The place where Jesus reigns; The place where Christians all shall meet, Never to part again. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Long-Sought Home’ in this collection. The song is attributed to Benjamin White. This is Benjamin Franklin White, brother-in-law of, and co-worker with, William Walker (compiler of the Southern Harmony) and author subsequently of the Sacred Harp. See White Spirituals, 84. No. 144
ROBY, OL 273 Heptatonic dorian, mode 2 A + B with altered 3rd (I II 3 [III] IV V VI 7) Tempest tossed, troubled spirit, Dost thou groan beneath thy load, Fearing thou shalt not inherit In the kingdom of thy God? View thy Savior on the mountain In temptation’s painful hour; Tho’ of grace himself the fountain, And the Lord of boundless pow’r. Do thy blooming prospects languish? Sayest thou still, “I’m not his child?” View thy Savior’s dreadful anguish, Famished in the gloomy wild. Not a step in all thy journey, Thro’ this gloomy vale of tears, But thy Lord hath trod before thee; He thy way to glory clears. The Olive Leaf compiler informs us that this song which was a favorite with the late Rev. Wesley P. Arnold, of Georgia, was “learned of some dear Baptist friends in Iridell Co., N. C., in 1839, and called ‘Roby’, their name.” No. 145
REMEMBER SINFUL YOUTH or SOLEMN THOUGHT, SOH 29 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) Remember, sinful youth, you must die, you must die, Remember, sinful youth, you must die; Remember, sinful youth, who hate the way of truth And in your pleasures boast, you must die, you must die; And in your pleasures boast, you must die. Uncertain are your days here below, here below, Uncertain are your days here below, Uncertain are your days, for God hath many ways To bring you to your graves here below, here below, To bring you to your graves here below. The God that built the sky, great I AM, great I AM, The God that built the sky, great I AM, The God that built the sky, hath said, (and cannot lie), Impenitents shall die, and be damn’d, and be damn’d, Impenitents shall die, and be damn’d. And, O my friends, don’t you, I entreat, I entreat, And, O my friends, don’t you, I entreat, And, O my friends, don’t you your carnal mirth pursue, Your guilty souls undo, I entreat, I entreat, Your guilty souls undo, I entreat. Unto the Saviour flee, ’scape for life! ’scape for life! Unto the Saviour flee, ’scape for life! Unto the Saviour flee, lest death eternal be Your final destiny, ’scape for life! ’scape for life! Your final destiny, ’scape for life! The mood of the poem indicates a considerable age for it. That the song as a whole was decidedly among the stock of orally transmitted ones is indicated by the many claimants to its authorship. Such claimants in the southern books are F. Price, William Caldwell, James Carrell and Ananias Davisson. Found also, UH 56, KNH 108, HH 225, SKH 66, CHH 361. The stanzaic form is that of ‘Captain Kidd’ in this collection. In his Christian Harmony, William Walker adds the note that “I learned it [the tune] from my dear mother (who now sings in heaven) when I was only three years old,—the first tune I ever learned.” That was in 1812. That the song was even older, however, is shown by its appearance in Ingalls’ Christian Harmony of 1805, p. 39. No. 146
WEEPING SAVIOR, OSH 33 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Did Christ o’er sinners weep? And shall our cheeks be dry? Let floods of penitential grief Burst forth from every eye. The Son of God in tears, Angels with wonder see; Be thou astonished, O my soul; He shed those tears for thee. He wept that we might weep; Each sin demands a tear; In heav’n alone no sin is found, And there’s no weeping there. The text is attributed to Benjamin Beddome, and the tune to Joseph Barnby, and to E. J. King. The first, sixth, and seventh measures had only quarter notes in the Sacred Harp. The slurred eighth notes are inserted from a variant of the tune found in the Olive Leaf. They represent probably an effort on the part of the editor of that song book to present the tune as really sung. No. 147
DETROIT, SOH 40 Hexatonic, mode 2, b (I — 3 IV V 6 7) Do I not love thee, O my Lord? Behold my heart and see; And turn each cursed idol out, That dares to rival thee. Hast thou a lamb in all thy flock I would disdain to feed? Hast thou a foe before whose face I fear thy cause to plead? Would not my ardent spirit vie With angels ’round thy throne, To execute thy sacred will, And make thy glory known? Thou know’st I love thee, dearest Lord, But Oh! I long to soar Far from the sphere of mortal joys, That I may love thee more. Philip Doddridge is credited with the words. The tune is attributed to ‘Bradshaw’ in the Southern Harmony. Found also, UH 33, KNH 23, OSH 39, HH 158, SOC 175, HOC 22, WP 24, SKH 85, GOS 282. The melody is similar to a number of those given by Sharp (i., 150ff.) with ‘The Wife of Usher’s Well’. No. 148
I SHALL BE SATISFIED, REV 62 Hexatonic, mode 4 b minorized (I II 3 IV V — 7 [VII]) If I in thy likeness, O Lord, may awake, And shine a pure image of thee; Then I shall be satisfied when I can break These fetters of flesh and be free. I know this stain’d tablet must first be wash’d white, To let thy bright features be drawn, I know I must suffer the darkness of night, To welcome the coming of dawn. Then I shall be satisfied when I can cast The shadows of nature all by, When this cold dreary world from my vision is past, And let this soul open her eye. I gladly shall feel the blest morn drawing near, When time’s dreary fancy shall fade, If then in thy likeness I may but appear, I rise with thy beauty arrayed. One more stanza of text in the Revivalist. The song is used “as sung by Rev. G. C. Wells.” It is reminiscent of the ‘Henry Martin’ tune; see Gould and Sharp, English Folk-Songs for Schools, p. 22. No. 149
EDGEFIELD, OSH 82 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) How tedious and tasteless the hours When Jesus no longer I see! Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers Have all lost their sweetness to me, Have all lost their sweetness to me. The tune is attributed, in the Sacred Harp, to J. T. White, a Georgian, and is dated 1844. It is a variant of ‘When the Cock Crows it is Day’, Petrie, No. 478. The fuller text, attributed to John Newton, is given under the song ‘Green Fields’ in this collection. From its first appearance in 1835 up to the time of the Civil War, 600,000 copies of The Southern Harmony went into southern homes. Twenty-four songs from this book are in the present collection.
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