  William (Singin’ Billy) Walker, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was perhaps the foremost among those singing masters who welded folk to folk-song. In all his singing schools throughout the southeastern states his handbook was his own excellent collection of spiritual folk-tunes, The Southern Harmony. In the neglected Magnolia Cemetery in Spartanburg this grave stone was recently found lying flat on the ground. The wording below the representation of Walker’s last song book, The Christian Harmony, reads: IN
Memory of
Wm. WALKER, A. S. H.[17] Died Sept. 24th, 1875, in the 67th year of his age. He was a devoted Husband & kind Father. A consistent Baptist 47 years. Taught music 45 yrs. The Author of 4 Books of sacred music. He rests from his labors. He died in the triumphs of faith.
Sing praises unto the Lord. No. 150
JESUS IS MY FRIEND (A), OSH 345 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Come life, come death, come then what will, Jesus is my friend. His foot-steps I will follow still, Jesus is my friend. Jesus is my friend, O hallelujah! Jesus is my friend. In the Sacred Harp of 1859 this song, tune and words, is attributed to the Georgian, J. P. Rees. I have heard my negro servant, Annie Ware, singing it, or fragments of it including the final phrase, “Jesus is my friend,” in Nashville, Tennessee, 1932. It is found also GOS 652. No. 151
LOST CITY or TO GLORY I WILL GO, OSH 320 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) O when shall I see Jesus And reign with him above, And from the flowing fountain Drink everlasting love, And to glory I will go, And to glory I will go, will go, will go, And to glory I will go. The words are by John Leland. The old tune seems to have been wedded to the above text by E. L. King, about 1844, according to the Original Sacred Harp. John G. McCurry applied the same tune to a text beginning: I’d rather live a beggar While here on earth I stay and ending with the refrain And to begging I will go. See ‘Beggar’ in this collection where there are references to the seventeenth century prototype of the above song. Further stanzas of the above spiritual text are given under ‘Faithful Soldier’. No. 152
GOLDEN HARP or TO PLAY ON THE GOLDEN HARP, OSH 274 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) Farewell, vain world, I’m going home, To play on the golden harp; My Savior smiles and bids me come, To play on the golden harp. Chorus I want to be where Jesus is, To play on the golden harp. To play on the golden harp, To play on the golden harp; I want to be where Jesus is, To play on the golden harp. Sweet angels beckon me away To sing God’s praise in endless day. I’m glad that I am born to die, From grief and woe my soul shall fly. Bright angels shall convey me home, Away to New Jerusalem. I’ll praise my Master while I’ve breath, I hope to praise him after death. I hope to praise him when I die, And shout salvation as I fly. I soon shall pass this vale of death, And in his arms I’ll lose my breath. And then my happy soul shall tell My Jesus hath done all things well. Recorded in 1869 for the edition of the Sacred Harp which appeared in that year. The tune stems from some variants of ‘Come all ye Faithful Christians’, cf. JFSS, ii., 115ff. No. 153
I CAN’T STAY AWAY, CSH 95 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Farewell, vain world, I’m going home, I can’t stay away, My Savior smiles and bids me come, I can’t stay away. I can not stay much longer here, I can’t stay away, For the gospel ship is passing by, I can’t stay away. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Golden Harp’. Compare, for melodic similarities ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’, Sharp, i., 161, 162, 164, 168, and 170. No. 154
MY HOME IS OVER JORDAN, REV 390 Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II 3 IV V — —) My home is over Jordan, My home is over Jordan, My home is over Jordan, Where pleasures never die. Where the wicked cease from troubling, etc. And the weary are at rest. Farewell to sin and sorrow, etc. I bid you all adieu. And you, my friends, prove faithful, etc. And on your way pursue. This spiritual tune has been widely used as a chorus to other songs. An example is ‘Wings of the Morning’ in this collection. No. 155
O I’M SO HAPPY Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II — IV V VI —) O I am so happy in Jesus, His blood has redeem’d me from sin; I shout and I sing in my gladness, To know he is dwelling within. O I am so happy in Jesus, His blood has redeem’d me from sin, So happy that he is my Savior, So happy he’s dwelling within. Recorded by the author, September 21, 1932, in Nashville, Tennessee, from the singing of Samuel E. Asbury who learned it from hearing it sung at camp meetings in western North Carolina in the 1880’s. The tune is quite evidently an orally transmitted version of that of ‘Faithful Soldier’, in this collection, which first appeared in the Southern Harmony (1835) and was claimed by William Walker, the compiler of that collection. See also ‘Hallelujah’ in this collection, a type tune to which the above melody is organically related, for further data as to kindred tunes. No. 156
CUBA or GO PREACHERS or POOR MOURNER’S FOUND A HOME, OSH 401 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Go, preachers, and tell it to the world; Go, preachers, and tell it to the world; Go, preachers, and tell it to the world: Poor mourner’s found a home at last. Through free grace and a dying Lamb; Through free grace and a dying Lamb; Through free grace and a dying Lamb, Poor mourner’s found a home at last. This typical spiritual was taken into the 1859 edition of the Sacred Harp. Other stanzas were added by simply substituting in the place of “preachers,” the words “fathers,” “mothers,” etc. A negro version of tune and words is in Slave Songs, No. 24. No. 157
SINNERS TURN, OL 266 Heptatonic, essentially aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 [III] IV V 6 [VI] 7) Sinners, turn, why will ye die? God, your maker asks you why. God who did your being give, Made you with himself to live. Chorus Oh! turn, sinners, turn! May the Lord help you turn, Oh! turn, sinners, turn, Why will you die? He the fatal cause demands, Asks the work of his own hands, Why, ye thankless creatures, why Will you cross his love and die? Chorus Sinners, turn, why will ye die? God, your Savior, asks you why! God, who did your souls retrieve, Died himself that ye might live. Chorus This tune is closely related to ‘Animation’ and, like it, to the worldly tune ‘Ropesman’ in Thomas, p. 164. The melody of the above chorus seems to have been derived from ‘Willy Taylor’, Petrie, No. 745. Compare for similarities ‘Run Nigger Run’, SS 89. No. 158
DEATH AIN’T YOU GOT NO SHAME Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II III IV V — —) Death, ain’t you got no shame, shame? Death, ain’t you got no shame, shame? Death, ain’t you got no shame, shame? Death, ain’t you got no shame? Recorded by the compiler of this collection from the singing of Francis Arthur Robinson, Nashville, Tennessee, as he had heard it in the backwoods of Wayne County, Tennessee, in 1926. Mr. Robinson called it a “barefoot white” song. The tied notes are sung in a skid or scoop. Subsequent stanzas: Left his pappy to moan, moan, etc. Left his widder alone, lone, etc. Left his mammy to weep, weep, etc. and many more. In The Carolina Low-Country, page 249, a version of the song is given as sung by a negro congregation in Beaufort, South Carolina. This song is one of the most primitive in the present collection. It is valuable, however, in that it exemplifies well a lyric level which suited both whites and blacks of a certain cultural status. No. 159
COME TO JESUS, REV 142 Hexatonic, 6th missing, cannot be classified but obviously ionian (I II III IV V — VII) Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, Come to Jesus just now, Just now come to Jesus, Come to Jesus just now. Subsequent verses are built up on: He will save you; O, believe him; He is able; He is willing; He’ll receive you; Call upon him; He will hear you; Look unto him; He’ll forgive you; He will cleanse you; He will clothe you; Jesus loves you; Don’t reject him; and, Only trust him. A negro version of tune and text is in Slave Songs, No. 85. Was ‘Come to Jesus’ a tune importation from Germany? Erk and BÖhme (Deutscher Liederhort, vol. iii., p. 735) bring several variants of what is called an “altes Fastenlied.” I reproduce one of them: Es sangen drei Engel einen sÜßen Gesang, sie sangen, daß es Gott in dem Himmel erklang. The first part of the German tune is almost identical with the corresponding part of the one, heard widely among American students, with such texts as ‘O My Darling Clementine’ and ‘Found a Horseshoe Just Now’—evident parodies on the ‘Come to Jesus’ tune and words. The second part of the German melody is strikingly like that of the above mentioned negro version in Slave Songs. No. 160
GLAD NEWS or WE’LL LAND ON SHORE, SOC 18 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. And we’ll land on shore, Yes, we’ll land on shore, And we’ll land on shore And be safe for evermore. A variant of the above text and tune is ‘when we pass over Jordan’, Mason’s Harp of the South, p. 295. No. 161
CHRISTIAN PROSPECT or THERE’S A BETTER DAY, SOH 323 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) We have our trials here below, O glory hallelujah! We have our trials here below, O glory hallelujah! There’s a better day a-coming, Hallelujah! There’s a better day a-coming, Hallelujah! A few more beating winds and rains, O glory hallelujah! A few more beating winds and rains, O glory hallelujah! And the winter will be over, Hallelujah! And the winter will be over, Hallelujah! A few more rising and setting suns And we’ll all cross over Jordan. I feel no ways like getting tired, I am making for the harbor. I hope to get there by and by, My home is over Jordan. There are four more stanzas. The song is found also in KNH 52. Both Walker, compiler of the Southern Harmony, and Davisson, compiler of the Kentucky Harmony, laid claim to its authorship. They were doubtlessly both recorders of this same piece of unwritten music. That was in the 1830’s. See the first phrase of ‘Glorishears’ (Sharp, Morris Dances Set 5, No. 6) for melodic similarities. The above song, both tune and words, inspired the composition of ‘Christian’s Hope’ in this collection. A negro remake of tune and words is in Dett, p. 36. No. 162
CHRISTIAN’S HOPE or WHERE ALL IS PEACE AND LOVE, OSH 506 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) We have our troubles here below, We’re trav’ling through this world of woe, To that bright world where loved ones go, Where all is peace and love. Where all is peace and love, To that bright world where loved ones go, Where all is peace and love. We’re fettered and chained up in clay, While in this body here we stay; By faith we know a world above, Where all is peace and love. I feel no way like getting tired, I’m trusting in his holy word, To guide my weary feet above, Where all is peace and love. The Sacred Harp, edition of 1911, has the following note: “H. A. Parris, who composed the words and music to the ‘Christian’s Hope’, resides at this time, 1911, at Helicon, Alabama. He is a great lover of the old Sacred Harp tunes.” Mr. Parris composed the song by assembling, happily withal, wandering distichs and melodic phrases from songs of much older times. His chief source, both tonally and textually, was ‘Christian Prospect’ in this collection. I have been told that this spiritual grips the Sacred Harp singers’ emotions so deeply that they can hardly get to the third verse before many burst into tears. No. 163
DULCIMER or BELOVED, PB 309 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) O thou in whose presence my soul takes delight, On whom in afflictions I call, My comfort by day and my song in the night, My hope, my salvation, my all. The poem is by Joseph Swain of England (1762-1796). The tune is attributed to Freeman Lewis whom Tillett calls merely “an American musician.” His dates are 1780-1859. Found also GCM 65, Baptist Hymnal (1902), No. 389. Methodist Hymnal (1905), No. 530; GOS 102, SOH 15. Miss Gilchrist (op. cit.) compares this tune with ‘Fair Rosie Ann’ in Greig’s Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads, p. 771. The chorus of ‘The Sinking of the Titanic’ a phonograph-recorded song of wide popularity in America during the 1920’s, is practically the same melodic trend as that of ‘Dulcimer’. Its text is: It was bad when that great ship went down, It was bad when that great ship went down, There was husbands and wives, Little child’en lost their lives, It was bad when that great ship went down. A song curiously similar to the ‘Titanic’ song is in The Carolina Low-Country, page 296, as sung by the negroes on the Santee River in South Carolina. The tune is changed but little. The words are: It was sad w’en duh grabe sinkin’ down, It was sad w’en duh grabe sinkin’ down, Ain’ dat uh awful time, People keep awake all night, It was sad w’en duh grabe sinkin’ down. The tune of ‘Dulcimer’ is of the ‘Lord Lovel’ type mentioned in the Introduction, p. 14. Other songs in this collection belonging to this type are ‘Yongst’, ‘Dunlap’s Creek’, ‘Liverpool’, ‘Ester’, ‘Lonesome Grove’, and ‘Land of Rest’. Other spiritual folk-tunes of the same type are ‘Eden’, GOS 558; ‘Thy Way O God’, PB 29; ‘Charlestown’, GOS 255; ‘Lord of Glory’, PB 374; ‘New Hope’, PB 373; ‘Golden Hill’, HH 211; ‘Webster’, OSH 31; ‘Hollis’, GOS 73; ‘Edneyville’, HH 193; ‘Blissful Hope’, REV 140; and ‘Tedious Hours’, SOC 69. Further secular tunes of the type are ‘Lord Lovel’, Sharp, i., 148; ‘The Two Brothers’, Davis, 563; ‘The Mermaid’, Sharp, i., 293; ‘Every Night When the Sun Goes In’, Sharp, ii., 269; ‘Three Little Babes’, Davis, 576; ‘Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies’, Sharp, ii., 135; ‘Barbara Allen’, Sharp, i., 195; ‘Gypsy Laddie’, Sharp, i., 237; ‘Horn Fair’, JFSS, ii., 204; and ‘The Cuckoo’, Sharp, ii., 177. No. 164
WEEPING MARY (A), SOC 98 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Are there anybody here like Mary a-weeping? Call to my Jesus and he’ll draw nigh. Are there anybody here like Peter a-sinking? Call to my Jesus and he’ll draw nigh. Glory, glory, glory, glory, Glory be to my God on high. Attributed in the Sacred Harp to “John G. McCurry & Power” and dated 1852. For a variant of this tune used among the negroes see White Spirituals, 256. Miss Gilchrist states that the text of this song is No. 51 in the first English Primitive Methodist Hymn Book, about 1823. No. 165
GREAT DAY or WHERE WILL YOU STAND, OSH 386 Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II 3 IV V — —) I’ve a long time heard that there will be a judgment That there will be a judgment in that day. O there will be a judgment in that day, O sinner, where will you stand in that day? I’ve a long time heard that the moon will be bleeding, That the moon will be bleeding in that day. I’ve a long time heard that the stars will be falling, etc. I’ve a long time heard that the earth will be burning, etc. This song bears the date 1859 and the composer’s name, John P. Rees. But beside the title we read: “As sung by Judge Falkerner of Ala.” We may therefore conclude that Rees recorded on that date this older tune from the singing of the Alabama magistrate. Melodic similarities are seen in ‘Trooper and the Maid’, Sharp, i., 305. A recent negro version from Beaufort, S. C., is in The Carolina Low-Country, p. 250. No. 166
SHOUT ON, PRAY ON or ANTIOCH, OSH 277 Hexatonic, mode 2 b (I — 3 IV V 6 7) I know that my Redeemer lives, Glory hallelujah. What comfort this sweet sentence gives, Glory hallelujah, Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground, Glory hallelujah, The dead’s alive and the lost is found, Glory hallelujah. There are three more stanzas of this hymn, the core of which is attributed to Daniel Medley “about 1784.” The tune first appeared in the Social Harp, 1855, where it is attributed to F. C. Wood, a Georgian. A tune and text variant is ‘We’ll Go On’, REV 252. A negro version of this spiritual may be seen in Dett, 195. See also White Spirituals, 259. ‘Antioch’ looks like a make-over from ‘Columbus’ in this collection. The tune is cleverly fitted also to a worldly ballad ‘Edward’, found in eastern Tennessee; see Sharp, i., 47. It is found also fitted to the worldly ballad ‘Cruel Mother’ in North Carolina; see Sharp, i., 58. ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’, Sharp, i., 162, shows definite influence of ‘Antioch’. See also for melodic similarities ‘Trooper and the Maid’, Sharp, i., 305; and ‘Bridle and Saddle’, Sharp, i., 305; and ‘Bridle and Saddle’, Sharp, ii., 329. No. 167
WE’LL SHOUT AND GIVE HIM GLORY or REVIVAL SONG, OL 254 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Oh, how I love my Savior! Oh, how I love my Savior! Oh, how I love my Savior, because he first lov’d me. Chorus We’ll shout and give him glory, We’ll shout and give him glory, We’ll shout and give him glory, For glory is his own. I feel the work reviving, etc. Reviving in my soul. Chorus I’m on my way to Zion, etc. The New Jerusalem. Chorus O Christians, will you meet me? etc. On Canaan’s happy shore? Chorus By the grace of God, I’ll meet you, etc. On Canaan’s happy shore. Chorus O brothers, will you meet me? etc. O sisters, will you meet me? etc. O mourners, will you meet me? etc. O sinners, will you meet me? etc. The Olive Leaf editor calls it a “refrain song.” No. 168
SWEET MORNING, OSH 421 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) The happy day will soon appear, And we’ll all shout together in that morning; When Gabriel’s trumpet you shall hear, And we’ll all shout together in that morning. Sweet morning, sweet morning, And we’ll all shout together in that morning. Behold the righteous marching home, And we’ll all etc. And all the angels bid them come, And we’ll all etc. Found also in GOS 254. How the post-Civil War negroes sang this song to pieces and then patched it together with fragments of ‘Exhilaration’, another song in this collection, is made clear by reference to Slave Songs, p. 74, No. 97. The tune of ‘Trooper and the Maid’, Sharp, i., 305, is the same as that of ‘Sweet Morning’. No. 169
GOOD OLD WAY (A), OSH 213 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Lift up your heads, Immanuel’s friends, O halle, hallelujah; And taste the pleasure Jesus sends, O halle, hallelujah. Let nothing cause you to delay, O halle, hallelujah; But hasten on the good old way, O halle, hallelujah. The words of the above song appeared in the Dover Selection in the early years of the nineteenth century and in the Zion Songster, a spiritual-song collection which appeared in 1832. The first appearance of the tune seems to have been in the Southern Harmony of 1835. A related tune in this collection is ‘All the Way ’Long’. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Good Old Way (B)’. No. 170
ALL THE WAY ’LONG, REV 172 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Oh, good old way, how sweet thou art, All the way ’long it is Jesus. May none of us from thee depart, All the way ’long it is Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Why, all the way ’long it is Jesus. But may our actions always say, We’re marching in the good old way. This note above the rest shall swell, That Jesus doeth all things well. Related songs in this collection are ‘Good Old Way (A)’, ‘Good Old Way (B)’, and ‘’Tis a Wonder’. No. 171
’TIS A WONDER, SOC 44 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) O ’tis a glorious mystery, ’Tis a wonder, a wonder, a wonder; That I should ever saved be ’Tis a wonder, a wonder, a wonder. No heart can think or fully tell, ’Tis a wonder, a wonder; My God has sav’d my soul from hell, ’Tis a wonder, a wonder, a wonder. Two further stanzas of the text taken from Good Old Songs, No. 511, are: Great mystery that God should place, ’Tis a wonder etc. His love on any of Adam’s race, ’Tis a wonder etc. That I should also share a part, ’Tis a wonder etc. And find a mansion in his heart, ’Tis a wonder etc. Great mystery, I can’t tell why That Christ for sinful worms should die; Should leave the boundless realms of bliss, And die for sinners on the cross. The song is accredited in the Social Harp to Henry F. Chandler and dated 1854. A North Carolina variant, recorded in 1916, is in Sharp, ii., 294. A variant in the present collection is ‘Look Out’, which see for references to related secular tunes. The earliest American recording of this melody known to me is that in Jeremiah Ingalls’ Christian Harmony of 1805, p. 15. It begins: When converts first begin to sing, wonder, wonder, wonder, Their happy souls are on the wing, wonder, wonder, wonder. Their theme is all redeeming love, glory hallelujah, Fain would they be with Christ above, sing glory hallelujah. No. 172
BOWERS or HAPPY SOULS (B), SOC 82 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) My soul’s full of glory, Inspiring 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. To his loving arms, To his loving arms; And beg them to bear me To his loving arms. John G. McCurry places his name as composer at the top of the page where this song is found in the Social Harp and dates it 1852. A note at the bottom says: “This tune was arranged as sung by William Bowers, Eagle Grove, Georgia.” Eagle Grove is a few miles south of Hartwell. The tune is a clear borrowing from ‘Wearing of the Green’. See also ‘Our Goodman’, Sharp, i., 269, for melodic similarities. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Glorious Prospect’. In The Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii., No. 2, I have called attention to melodic similarities between the above tune (with its variants ‘Oh For my Soul’s Happy’, ‘We’ll Wait Till Jesus Comes’, and ‘O When Shall I see Jesus’ in this collection) and Stephen Foster’s ‘Annie My own Love’ and ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’. No. 173
HEAVEN’S MY HOME, OSH 119 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Come, all my dear brethren and help me to sing, I’m going to Jesus, he’s heaven’s great King; He died to atone for the sins of the world, His banner is flying his sails are unfurled. Heaven’s my home, heaven’s my home; I’m going to Jesus for heaven’s my home. While here in the valley of conflict I stay, Oh, give me submission and strength as my day; In all my afflictions to thee I would come, Rejoicing in hope of my glorious home. I long, dearest Lord, in thy beauties to shine, No more as an exile in sorrow to pine; And in thy dear image arise from the tomb, With glorified millions to praise thee at home. The song is ascribed in the Original Sacred Harp to Dr. R. H. Davis and J. S. Terry. This is a re-make of an older tune in four-four time called ‘Old Troy’ in this collection, and ‘Old Troy’ in turn is almost identical with, and probably made out of ‘Wearing of the Green’. No. 174
OLD TROY or IN JESUS’ BLOOD, SOC 75 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) The news of his mercy is spreading abroad, And sinners come crying and weeping to God. Their mourning and praying is heard very loud, And many find favor in Jesus’es blood. In Jesus’es blood, In Jesus’es blood, And many find favor in Jesus’es blood. For tune relationships see ‘Heaven’s My Home’ and ‘Happy Souls (B)’ in this collection. John G. McCurry claims the tune in the Social Harp. It is taken bodily from ‘Wearing of the Green’. A very similar negro spiritual tune is in Dett, p. 42. No. 175
THERE WILL BE MOURNING or JUDGMENT SCENES, OL 337 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Judgment day is rolling on, Judgment day is rolling on, Judgment day is rolling on As fast as time can move. Oh, there will be mourning, Mourning, mourning, mourning, Oh, there will be mourning At the judgment seat of Christ. Wives and husbands there shall part, etc. Shall part to meet no more. Chorus Brothers and sisters there shall part, etc. Pastors and people there shall part, etc. Parents and children there shall part, etc. This old air and its words portray, as the Olive Leaf author declares, “the gloomy side” of the Last Day. But, he adds consolingly, “Now sing the joyous side, with every verse,” thus: The judgment day is rolling on, etc. And we shall all be there. Oh, there will be shouting Shouting, shouting, shouting, Oh, there will be shouting At the judgment seat of Christ. Wives and husbands then shall meet, etc. Shall meet to part no more. Chorus and so on also for the “parents and children,” and the rest. ‘Parting Hymn’, in this collection, uses a similar chorus but has a different verse and tune. A negro version is in Slave Songs, p. 52. No. 176
WEEPING PILGRIM or YOU MAY TELL THEM FATHER or I’M A POOR MOURNING PILGRIM, OSH 417 Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II — IV V VI —) You may tell them, father, when you see them, I’m a poor mourning pilgrim, I’m bound for Canaan’s land. I weep and I mourn, and I move slowly on, I’m a poor mourning pilgrim, I’m bound for Canaan’s land. The text is probably a parody of ‘Rebel Soldier’ or ‘Poor Stranger’, Sharp, ii., 212ff. Especially the refrain verses of the two songs show textual and tonal resemblances. The secular refrain runs: I am a rebel soldier and far from my home. The cowboys, too, made use of the ‘Rebel Soldier’ or ‘Mourning Pilgrim’ in the song ‘Poor Lonesome Cowboy’, Sandburg, p. 273, which reads: I’m a poor lonesome cowboy, and a long way from home. The spiritual song appeared first in the 1859 edition of the Sacred Harp. No. 177
EXHILARATION or THEN MY TROUBLES WILL BE OVER or I NEVER SHALL FORGET THE DAY, OSH 170 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) O may I worthy prove to see The saints in full prosperity, Then my troubles will be over. To see the bride, the glitt’ring bride, Close seated by my Savior’s side, Then my troubles will be over. I never shall forget the day When Jesus wash’d my sins away, And then my troubles will be over; Will be over, will be over and rejoicing, And then my troubles will be over. I’ll praise him while he gives me breath, I hope to praise him after death. Then my troubles will be over. I hope to praise him when I die, And shout salvation as I fly, Then my troubles will be over. Chorus I soon shall pass the vale of death, And in his arms resign my breath. O then my happy soul shall tell, My Jesus has done all things well. Chorus Then shall I see my blessed God, And praise him in his bright abode. My theme to all eternity Shall glory, glory, glory be. Chorus. I have no information as to the tune excepting that it appeared in the earliest edition of the Sacred Harp, that is, in 1844. The tune and the words of its chorus have served the negroes in the construction of ‘Almost Over’, SS, No. 97. No. 178
RESURRECTED or MY FATHER’S GONE or AWAY OVER YONDER or TO WEAR A STARRY CROWN, OSH 524 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) My father’s gone to view that land, My father’s gone to view that land, My father’s gone to view that land To wear a starry crown, Away over yonder, away over yonder, Away over yonder to wear a starry crown. Seaborn M. Denson, widely known fasola country singing-school teacher and musical editor of the 1911 edition of the Original Sacred Harp, and author of this song, told me he had heard this song sung in camp meetings around Civil War times in northern Alabama. He recorded it from memory and published it first in the Union Harp in 1909. The tune is a member of the ‘Roll Jordan’ group. See Introduction, page 14, and the song by that name in this collection. Further stanzas read “My mother’s gone”, “My sister’s gone” etc. The wide spread of this song in the American oral tradition and especially at the time when Mr. Denson heard it in northern Alabama, is indicated by the variant and musically somewhat inferior recording in the Revivalist, Albany, New York, 1868. It is there called ‘Away over Jordan’. It runs: My brother’s going to wear that crown etc. To wear that starry crown. Away over Jordan, with my blessed Jesus, Away over Jordan, to wear that starry crown. My father’s gone to wear that crown etc. My mother’s gone etc. John Wesley’s gone etc. You must live right etc. No. 179
WINGS OF THE MORNING or WESTERN MELODY, BHTBK, p. 213 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) O thou almighty Father, Come help me now to praise thy glory (These words lacking in my recording) Oh, had I the wings of the morning, I’d fly away to Canaan’s shore; Bright angels should convey me home To the new Jerusalem. The tune trend of the chorus is found also in ‘Rocky Mountain Top’, Sharp, ii., 110; and it is the whole tune of ‘My Home is Over Jordan’ in this collection. No. 180
WE’LL MARCH AROUND JERUSALEM, REV 358 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) O brethren, will you meet me On that delightful shore? O brethren, will you meet me Where parting is no more? And we’ll march around Jerusalem, We’ll march around Jerusalem, We’ll march around Jerusalem When we arrive at home. Subsequent stanzas use instead of brethren, sister, leader, preacher, young convert, and backslider, with the conclusion: Yes, bless the Lord, I’ll meet you, etc. The above tune, with some alterations, is found as a negro spiritual in Dett, p. 78. No. 181
RAGAN or I BELONG TO THIS BAND (B), OSH 176 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Fare-well, vain world, I’m going home, I belong to this band, hallelujah, My Savior smiles and bids me come, I belong to this band, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I belong to this band, hallelujah. The above melodic trend will be recognized as that of ‘Roll Jordan’ and Stephen Foster’s ‘Susanna’. Compare ‘Roll Jordan’ in this collection. The chorus—both tune and words—appears also in ‘I Belong to This Band (A)’. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Golden Harp’. No. 182
DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE or WE’LL END THIS WAR, REV 68 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Hark! listen to the trumpeters, I mean to go! They call for valiant volunteers, I mean to go! Oh! we’ll end this war. Down by the river, We’ll end this war down by the riverside. See Gideon marching out to fight, I mean to go! He had no weapon but a light, I mean to go! Chorus He took his pitcher and a lamp, And stormed with ease the Midian camp. I’ve listed during all this war, Content to have a soldier’s fare. The war is all my soul’s delight, I love the thickest of the fight. The hottest fight is just begun, And who will stand and never run? We want no cowards in our band, We call for valiant-hearted men. Fight on, ye conq’ring souls, fight on, Until the conquest you have won. I have some friends before me gone, And I’m resolved to travel on. Farewell, vain world, I’m going home, My Savior smiles and bids me come. I’ll tell you what I mean to do, I mean to go to glory too. The song bears the name of “Rev. J. K. Tinkham” as its purveyor to the Revivalist. A version of the spiritual song, as sung at about the same time (in the 1870’s) by the negroes, is in Marsh, No. 85, under the title ‘Down by the River’. Another by the same title is in Dett, p. 55; and still another in Dett, p. 74. No. 183
I’M GOING HOME or I DON’T CARE TO STAY HERE LONG, OSH 282 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Farewell, vain world, I’m going home, My Savior smiles and bids me come, And I don’t care to stay here long. Sweet angels beckon me away To sing God’s praise in endless day, And I don’t care to stay here long. Right up yonder, Christians, Away up yonder; O yes, my Lord, For I don’t care to stay here long. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Golden Harp’. This tune was recorded for the 1850 edition of the Sacred Harp, evidently by the Georgian, Leonard P. Breedlove. No. 184
ROLL JORDAN, OSH 501 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) He comes, he comes, the Judge severe, Roll, Jordan, roll; The seventh trumpet speaks him near, Roll, Jordan, roll. I want to go to heav’n, I do, Hallelujah Lord; We’ll praise the Lord in heav’n above, Roll, Jordan, roll. His lightnings flash, his thunders roll, Roll, Jordan, roll; How welcome to the faithful soul, Roll, Jordan, roll. Charles Wesley wrote the text. According to Lightwood, p. 132, it is a parody on a popular secular song which celebrated Admiral Vernon’s return to England after taking Portobello in 1739. Its first stanza is: He comes! He comes! The hero comes! Sound your trumpets, beat your drums! From port to port let cannons roar His welcome to the British shore. It is found also in SOC, published in 1855. In the Introduction p. 14, I have mentioned the ‘Roll Jordan’ type of melody; it was named after the above tune. Other melodies of the type in this collection are ‘Florence’, ‘I Belong to this Band (B)’, ‘Tennessee’, ‘Jordan’, and ‘Resurrected’. It is this tune type which influenced Stephen Foster in the making of his ‘Susanna Don’t You Cry’ and ‘De Camptown Races’. See in this connection my article in The Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii., No. 2. For samples of negro borrowings of ‘Roll Jordan’ see White Spirituals, 264; Dett, p. 76; and Slave Songs, Nos. 1 and 10. No. 185
WE’LL ALL PRAISE GOD, REV 381 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Come and taste along with me Consolation running free From my Father’s wealthy throne, Sweeter than the honey comb. I’ll praise God, and you’ll praise God, We’ll all praise God together; I’ll praise the Lord for the work that he has done, And we’ll bless his name forever. Why should Christians feast alone? Two are better far than one; The more that comes with free good will Makes the banquet sweeter still. Now I go to heaven’s door, Asking for a little more; Jesus gives a double share, Calling me his chosen heir. Goodness, running like a stream Through the new Jerusalem; By its constant breaking forth Sweetens earth and heaven both. Two more stanzas are in the Revivalist. The relationship between this tune and that of Stephen Foster’s ‘Long-Ago Day’ was noted by me in The Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii., No. 2. No. 186
HEAVENLY HOME, SWP 150 Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II — IV V VI —) O who will join and help me sing, I never will turn back while heaven’s in my view. The praise of Zion’s conqu’ring King, I never will turn back while heaven’s in my view. Heaven is my home, my journey I’ll pursue, I never will turn back while heaven’s in my view. By faith my journey I’ll pursue, I never etc. And bid all earthly things adieu, I never etc. I want my friends to go with me, I’m bound fair Canaan’s land to see. I want to take them by the hand And march unto the promised land. My Jesus dwells on Zion’s hill, And faithful to his promise still. Then whosoever will, may come, For Jesus Christ refuseth none. O what a Captain I have got! O is not mine a happy lot! He surely is the sinner’s friend, And one that loves unto the end. I’m travelling through the wilderness And seeking for a heavenly rest. That rest in Jesus Christ is found, And I will sing it all around. For fight I must, while here below; The word of God has taught me so. Has taught me I shall conqueror be, In death and through eternity. My Jesus bids me still press on, And reaches out to me a crown. He says to me, be not afraid, For I can save beyond the grave. O while I’m singing of his name, My soul begins to feel the flame. When he to me his presence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives. No. 187
WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN or RELIGION IS A FORTUNE, OSH 319 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) O when shall I see Jesus And reign with Him above, Shout glory, halle, hallelujah; And from the flowing fountain Drink everlasting love? Shout glory, halle, hallelujah. When we all get to heaven we will shout aloud and sing, Shout glory halle, hallelujah. Religion is a fortune And heaven is a home, Shout glory, halle, hallelujah. When shall I be delivered from this vain world of sin, And with my blessed Jesus drink endless pleasures in? The text core is generally ascribed to John Leland (1754-1844). See White Spirituals, 217ff. Further stanzas are given under ‘Faithful Soldier’. No. 188
BATES or TO HEAR THE TRUMPET SOUND, REV 158 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Oh, brother, in that day We’ll take wings and fly away, And we’ll hear the trumpet sound in the morning. Oh glory! how I want to go To hear the trumpet sound in the morning. Oh, sister, in that day, etc. Oh, preachers, in that day, etc. Oh, leaders, in that day, etc. Oh, converts, in that day, etc. You may bury me in the east, You may bury me in the west, etc. You may bury me in the north, You may bury me in the south, etc. A close negro variant of the above spiritual song is in Marsh, p. 136. Both the Marsh song and the present one are rather degenerate descendants, apparently, of ‘Morning Trumpet’ in this collection. See also White Spirituals, 254. No. 189
RIVER OF JORDAN or HAPPY IN THE LORD, OSH 493 Hexatonic, Mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Jesus, my all, to heav’n is gone, Happy, O happy, He who I fixed my hopes upon, Happy in the Lord; His tracks I see and I’ll pursue, Happy, O happy, The narrow way till him I view, Happy in the Lord. We’ll cross the river of Jordan, Happy, O happy, We’ll cross the river of Jordan, Happy, in the Lord. The way the holy prophets went, The road that leads from banishment; I’ll go, for all his paths are peace, The King’s highway of holiness. Then I will tell to sinners round, What a dear Savior I have found. I’ll point to thy redeeming blood And say, “Behold the way to God.” The core of the text is attributed to John Cennick, the English hymn writer. Also found in the Social Harp of 1855. No. 190
I’M BOUND FOR THE LAND OF CANAAN or SWEET CANAAN, OSH 87 Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II III IV V — —) O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the land of Canaan; I’m bound fair Canaan’s land to see, I am bound for the land of Canaan. O Canaan, sweet Canaan, I’m bound for the land of Canaan; Sweet Canaan ’tis my happy home, I’m bound for the land of Canaan. I’ll join with those who’re gone before, I am etc. Where sin and sorrow are no more, I am etc. Chorus If you get there before I do, I am etc. Look out for me, I’m coming too, I am etc. Chorus Text is based on a poem by Watts. The stanzas which are associated with the above are numerous, as are also the refrains and choruses. Found also BHTBK (1857), p. 334; and MHTBK (1889), No. 885. In The Musical Quarterly, vol. xxii., No. 2, I have shown the relationship between the above tune and Stephen Foster’s ‘The Glendy Burk’ and ‘Old Uncle Ned’. See also Dett, p. 188, for a negro song showing some textual and melodic influences. No. 191
OLD SHIP OF ZION (A), OSH 79 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) What ship is this that will take us all home? O glory hallelujah, And safely land us on Canaan’s bright shore? O glory hallelujah. ’Tis the old ship of Zion, hallelujah, hallelu, ’Tis the old ship of Zion, hallelujah. The winds may blow and the billows may foam, But she is able to land us all home. She’s landed all who’ve gone before, And yet she’s able to land still more. If I arrive there before you do, I’ll tell them that you are coming up too. The text is said to have been written around 1800 by Rev. Samuel Hauser of North Carolina. The tune is called the “North Carolina Version” of the immensely popular song. See White Spirituals, 257-258. Closely related to the above tune is ‘Sweet Canaan’ in this collection. No. 192
BABYLON IS FALLEN, GOS 613 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Hail the day so long expected, Hail the year of full release; Zion’s walls are now erected, And her watchmen publish peace. Throughout Shiloh’s wide dominion, Hear the trumpet loudly roar. Babylon is fallen, is fallen, is fallen, Babylon is fallen to rise no more. All her merchants stand with wonder, What is this that comes to pass? Murmuring like the distant thunder, Crying “O, alas, alas!” Swell the sound, ye kings and nobles, Priest and people, rich and poor; Babylon is fallen etc. Blow the trumpet in Mount Zion! Christ shall come the second time; Ruling with a rod of iron, All who now as foes combine. Babel’s garments we’ve rejected, And our fellowship is o’er. Babylon is fallen etc. Negro borrowings of this chorus and the changing of its tune to a major key are to be seen in Dett, p. 2. No. 193
MARTIN or WAY OVER IN THE PROMISED LAND, SOC 29 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) We have fathers in the promised land, We have mothers in the promised land; I hope one day we’ll all get there, Way over in the promised land. Chorus Away over in the promised land, Away over in the promised land; I hope one day we’ll all get there, Way over in the promised land. John G. McCurry, the compiler of the Social Harp, and William C. Davis, both of Georgia, seem to have been the first to record this tune. McCurry dates it 1854. A recently recorded variant of this tune is ‘Long White Robe’, Richardson, p. 67. Compare for melodic similarities the country dance ‘Once I Loved a Maiden Faire’ on page 47 of Playford’s The English Dancing Master. No. 194
HEBREW CHILDREN, OSH 481 Hexatonic, mode 5 A (I — 3 IV V 6 7) Where are the Hebrew children? Where are the Hebrew children? Where are the Hebrew children? Safe—in the promised land. Though the furnace flamed around them, God while in their troubles found them, He with love and mercy bound them, Safe—in the promised land. Where are the twelve apostles? etc. They went up through pain and sighing, Scoffing, scourging, crucifying, Nobly for their Master dying, Safe etc. Where are the holy Christians? etc. Those who’ve washed their robes and made them White and spotless pure and laid them Where no earthly stain can fade them, Safe etc. Of the author, the editor of the OSH says: “Peter Cartwright [the presumptive author of tune and words] was a minister of the gospel, and used this tune in his camp meetings long before it was ever placed in notation.—Peter Cartwright was born in Amherst County, Va., 1785, and died in Sangamond [sic] County, Ill., 1872.” The song has been widely sung by the negroes who have added numerous stanzas. See White Spirituals, 263. A pre-Civil War secular negroid parody on ‘Hebrew Children’ was published by C. Bradlee & Co., Boston, 1844. Its first stanza is: O whar is de spot dat we was born on, (three times) Way down in Car’line State. Mrs. Annabel Morris Buchanan has made an excellent arrangement of a version of ‘Hebrew Children’ for chorus. It is published by J. Fischer and Brother, New York. No. 195
COME ALONG AND SHOUT ALONG or HEAVEN BORN SOLDIERS or NEVER GET TIRED, SOC 184 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) O thou by long experience tried, Never get tir’d a-serving of the Lord; Near whom no griefs can long abide, Never get tir’d a-serving of the Lord. Come along and shout along, Ye heav’n born soldiers, Come along and shout along And pray by the way. The misfit of words and notes in the first part of the song is quite evident. The compiler of the Social Harp credits J. F. Wade with the song and dates it 1854. The popularity of the melodic trend in the above chorus may be realized when we see it in ‘Ecstacy’ in this collection; in the negro Slave Songs, Nos. 78 and 114; in ‘William and Polly’, Sharp, ii., 141; and ‘Rebel Soldier’, Sharp, ii., 212-215. No. 196
TO LAY THIS BODY DOWN or WHITE or I’M A LONG TIME TRAVELING, OSH 288 Hexatonic, mode 1 b (I II — IV V VI 7) Ye fleeting charms of earth, farewell, Your springs of joy are dry; My soul now seeks another home, A brighter home on high. I’m a long time trav’ling here below, I’m a long time trav’ling away from home; I’m a long time trav’ling here below To lay this body down. Farewell, my friends, whose tender care Has long engaged my love; Your fond embrace I now exchange For better friends above. Elder Edmund Dumas of Georgia is supposed to have made the tune. He very likely was the first to record it, that is, for the 1859 edition of the Sacred Harp. A variant is ‘Converted Thief (A)’ in this collection. The negroes have caught the significant part of the chorus in their song ‘Lay This Body Down’, Slave Songs, No. 26. One couplet of this song is And my soul an’ your soul will meet in de day When we lay dis body down. No. 197
HAD I WINGS or ECSTACY, OSH 106 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) O when shall I see Jesus, And reign with Him above, And from the flowing fountain Drink everlasting love? O had I wings, I would fly away and be at rest, And I’d praise God in his bright abode. Further stanzas of the John Leland text are given under ‘Faithful Soldier’. The tune seems, according to the note in the Sacred Harp, to have been first recorded by T. W. Carter of Georgia in the 1840’s. The tune of the chorus is essentially the same as in ‘Heaven-Born Soldiers’; in the negro tune ‘Every Hour in the Day’, SS p. 58; the negro tune ‘O Daniel’, SS p. 94; ‘William and Polly’, Sharp, ii., 141; ‘Rebel Soldier’, Sharp, ii., 212-215; and Petrie, Nos. 1191 and 1290. No. 198
SAVE MIGHTY LORD, OSH 70 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) Jesus, my all, to heav’n is gone, Save, mighty Lord; He whom I fix my hopes upon, Save, mighty Lord. O save, save, mighty Lord, And send converting power down, Save, mighty Lord. Further stanzas of the John Cennick text are given under ‘River of Jordan’. The tune is attributed, in the Social Harp, p. 99, to J. A. and J. F. Wade. No. 199
GRACE IS FREE, REV 50 Heptatonic aeolian, minorized, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7 [VII]) Thy ceaseless, unexhausted love, Unmerited and free, Delights our evil to remove, And helps our misery. O! hallelujah! grace is free; There’s enough for each there’s enough for all, There’s enough for evermore. Thou waitest to be gracious still; Thou dost with sinners bear; That, saved, we may thy goodness feel, And all thy grace declare. Thy goodness and thy truth to me, To every soul abound; A vast unfathomable sea Where all our thoughts are drowned. Its streams the whole creation reach, So plenteous is the store; Enough for all, enough for each, Enough for evermore. Two more stanzas of text are in the Revivalist. The tune is of the type seen in ‘The Rejected Lover’, Sharp, ii., 96ff.; and a closer variant is ‘Come All You Worthy Christians’, JFSS, ii., 117. No. 200
FOR ME THE SAVIOR DIED or ATONEMENT, REV 13 Hexatonic, mode 2 b, with cadentially raised seventh (I — 3 IV V 6 7 [VII]) For ever here my rest shall be Close to thy bleeding side; This, all my hope and all my plea, For me the Savior died. For me the Savior died, For me the Savior died, This, all my hope and all my plea, For me the Savior died. My dying Savior and my God, Fountain for guilt and sin, Sprinkle me ever with thy blood, And cleanse and keep me clean. Wash me and make me thus thine own, Wash me and mine thou art; Wash me, but not my feet alone— My hands, my head, my heart. Th’ atonement of thy blood apply Till faith to sight improve; Till hope in full fruition die, And all my soul be love. The tune is related to ‘The Greenwood Siding’, Cox, p. 522; ‘Babe of Bethlehem’ in this collection; and ‘Come all you Worthy Christians’, fourth version, JFSS, ii., 117. No. 201
HEAVENLY PORT or WE’LL STEM THE STORM, OSH 378 Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II III IV V — —) On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand And cast a wishful eye To Canaan’s fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie. Chorus We’ll stem the storm, it won’t be long, The heav’nly port is nigh. We’ll stem the storm, it won’t be long, We’ll anchor by and by. The words, given more fully under ‘Jordan’, are Samuel Stenett’s. The Sacred Harp editors attribute the tune to Elder Edmund Dumas, the Georgia Primitive Baptist preacher, who was at the same time a zealous musician of the fasola variety. A close melodic relative is ‘O How I love Jesus’, REV 456. It will be seen as akin to ‘Merrily we Roll Along’. The tune as adopted by the negroes is found in Dett, p. 189. No. 202
SAY BROTHERS, REV 173 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) Say, brothers, will you meet us? Say, brothers, will you meet us? Say, brothers, will you meet us on Canaan’s happy shore? Glory, glory hallelujah! Glory, glory hallelujah! Glory, glory hallelujah! We are marching on. Subsequent stanzas are made by substituting for “brothers” the word “sisters” etc., then come phrases like By the grace of God we’ll meet you, etc. Where parting is no more. That will be a happy meeting, etc. On Canaan’s happy shore. Jesus lives and reigns forever, etc. On Canaan’s happy shore. Glory, glory hallelujah, etc. Forever, evermore. This will be recognized as the tune which Julia Ward Howe used for the chorus of her ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’. It is still popular in the above form in negro churches of the South. No. 203
O BROTHER BE FAITHFUL, REV 433 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) O brother, be faithful, O brother, be faithful, O brother, be faithful, faithful, faithful, Till we all arrive at home. Further stanzas are constructed on: O sister, be faithful; There we shall see Jesus; There we shall shout glory; There’ll be no more parting; etc. Miss Gilchrist found the above song in the Wesleyan Psalmist (1842); see JFSS, viii., 67. In Flanders and Brown’s Vermont Songs and Ballads the song (dating from 1831) entitled ‘The Gospel Ship’ has a chorus text which is identical with the above. A negro version of both tune and words is in Slave Songs, No. 71. No. 204
SOON WE SHALL LAND or AUTAUGA, OSH 322 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) O when shall I see Jesus, And reign with him above, And from the flowing fountain Drink everlasting love; Soon we shall land on Canaan’s shore, Soon we shall land on Canaan’s shore; Soon we shall land on Canaan’s shore to live forevermore. The text by John Leland is given more fully under ‘Faithful Soldier’. The tune reappears with unimportant changes as a negro spiritual in Slave Songs, No. 115. The first melodic sentence of the tune is almost identical with the opening of ‘The Winter it is Past’, Petrie, No. 439. No. 205
WARRENTON or I AM BOUND FOR THE KINGDOM, GOS 275 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Whither goest thou, pilgrim stranger, Passing thro’ this darksome vale? Know’st thou not ’tis full of danger, And will not thy courage fail? Chorus I am bound for the kingdom, Will you go to glory with me? Hallelujah, praise the Lord. Pilgrim, thou dost justly call me, Wand’ring o’er this waste so wide; Yet no harm will e’er befall me, While I’m blessed with such a Guide. Chorus Such a Guide!—no guide attends thee, Hence for thee my fears arise; If a guardian pow’r befriend thee, ’Tis unseen by mortal eyes. Chorus Four more stanzas are in Good Old Songs. It is found also as ‘Pilgrim Stranger’ in Dadmun’s Melodeon, Boston, 1861, and as ‘Female Pilgrim’ in the Christian Lyre, 18th edition, New York, 1835. The song is apparently one of the so called dialogue hymns of the early English Methodists. The men sitting on one side of the meeting house, and the women sitting opposite, sang alternate stanzas. Lightwood cites one as follows: Men: Tell us, O women, we would know Whither so fast ye move. Women: We’re called to leave the world below, Are seeking one above. See Hymn Tunes and Their Story, p. 144. No. 206
SEND US A BLESSING, SOG 100 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) Chorus O Lord, send us a blessing, And O Lord, send us a blessing, And O Lord, send us a blessing, O send us a blessing from heaven above. Verse Of him who did salvation bring, I could forever think and sing; Arise, ye needy,—he’ll relieve; Arise, ye guilty,—he’ll forgive. I ask but grace, and lo, ’tis given; Ask, and he turns your hell to heaven. Though sin and sorrow wound my soul, Jesus, thy balm will make it whole. Six more stanzas are in Songs of Grace under the song ‘He was Found Worthy’. This tune is a clear adaptation of ‘Johnny’s So Long at the Fair.’ No. 207
I WENT DOWN TO THE VALLEY Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II — IV V VI —) I went down to the valley to pray, Studying about the good old way. Who will wear the starry crown? Oh Lord, teach me to pray. Recorded by the author from the singing of Donald Davidson, in Nashville, Tennessee, January 20, 1932. He had heard his father, W. B. Davidson, sing it twenty years before in Fayetteville, Tennessee. Negro versions are in Marsh, p. 156, and Slave Songs, No. 104. No. 208
GIVE ME JESUS, REV 89 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) When I’m happy, hear me sing, When I’m happy, hear me sing, When I’m happy, hear me sing, Give me Jesus; Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus; You may have all the world, Give me Jesus. When in sorrow, hear me pray, three times Give me Jesus, etc. When I’m dying, hear me cry, three times Give me Jesus, etc. When I’m rising, hear me shout, three times Give me Jesus, etc. When in heaven, we will sing, three times Blessed Jesus, etc. By thy grace we are saved, three times Blessed Jesus, etc. The noting of this tune, evidently from oral tradition, will be seen as quite faulty. A close variant of the song was found by Miss Gilchrist in the Wesleyan Psalmist and reproduced by her, JFSS, viii., 88. ‘Sweet William and Lady Margaret’, Davis, p. 570, is similar throughout to this tune. A negro version is in Marsh, p. 140, under the same title. The compilers of Slave Songs rejected a song called ‘Give Me Jesus’ as “spurious”, that is, as being of white origin. (See Slave Songs, p. vi.) No. 209
I DON’T EXPECT TO STAY or DONE WITH THE WORLD, OSH 88 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Jesus, my all, to heav’n is gone, And I don’t expect to stay much longer here; He whom I fix my hopes upon, And I don’t expect to stay much longer here. I am done with the world, and I want to serve the Lord, And I don’t expect to stay much longer here. This spiritual with its text core made of the John Cennick words (given more fully under ‘River of Jordan’) seems to have been first recorded for the earliest edition of the Sacred Harp, that is, in the early 1840’s. A negro version of the chorus is in Marsh, p. 188. No. 210
OLD SHIP OF ZION (B) or HAPPY SAILOR, HH 355 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) Come along, come along and let us go home; O glory hallelujah! Our home is over Jordan, hallelujah! Our home is over Jordan, Hallelujah! What ship is this that will take us all home? O glory hallelujah! ’Tis the old ship of Zion etc. Do you think she’ll be able to take us all home? I think she’ll be able etc. We have some friends who’re gone before; By and by we’ll go and see them. If you get there before I do, You may tell them that I’m coming. What will the Christian do when his lamp burns out? Go shouting home to heaven. It is found also in OSH 388. Negro adoptions under the same tide are Dett, p. 81, and Slave Songs, p. 125. For additional stanzas of the text see ‘Old Ship of Zion (A)’. The Sacred Harp (1844) version of the text begins: Come tell me of your ship and what is her name? Oh, tell me happy sailor. Come tell me of your captain and what is his fame? Oh, tell me happy sailor. She’s the old ship of Zion, hallelu, hallelu, And her captain, Judah’s Lion, hallelujah. An interesting dressing-up of this straightforward folk-text came from Boston in Dadmun’s Melodeon in 1860, p. 102, where we read: What vessel are you sailing in? Pray tell me its name; Our vessel is the ark of God, And Christ our Captain’s name. How old the American versions of the ‘Ship of Zion’ songs are I have not been able to learn. Newman I. White points to versions in the 1820’s (American Negro Folk-Songs, p. 94). An early use of the same allegory in religious song is seen in the German folksong collection of Erk and BÖhme, Deutschyer Liederhort, vol. iii., p. 628f. I find no melodic similarities between the German and the American songs; but the texts show remarkable parallels. To make this clear I shall cite a few of the German stanzas, comparing with them passages taken from various “ship” songs as sung by whites and blacks in America. From a German manuscript of 1470-1480 Uf einem stillen wage kumpt uns das schiffelin, es bringt uns riche gabe die heren kÜnigin. Das schiflin das gat stille und bringt uns richen last, der segel ist diu minne, der heilig geist der mast. O she runs so level and steady. O see that ship come sailing. Dat ship is heavy loaded. King Jesus is the captain. O she runs so level and steady. Dat ship is heavy loaded. Behold the sails expanded, Around the towering mast. A song from the year 1608 Uns kompt ein Schiff gefahren, Es bringt ein schÖne Last, Darauf viel Engelscharen Und hat ein großen Mast. O see that ship come sailing. Dat ship is heavy loaded. She’s loaded with bright angels. No. 211
ANGELS HOVERING ROUND, REV 74 Pentatonic, cannot be classified (I II III — V — VII) There are angels hov’ring round, There are angels hov’ring round, There are angels, angels hov’ring round. To carry the tidings home etc. To the new Jerusalem etc. Poor sinners are coming home. And Jesus bids them come. Let him that heareth come. We’re on our journey home. The song is found also in Mason’s Harp of the South, p. 272, where the composer is given as “Husband”. The same tune with minor variations appeared in the 1859 edition of the Sacred Harp, p. 425, where it was attributed to J. L. Pickard. Its two one-line verses are: I am on my journey home etc. To the New Jerusalem etc. No. 212
HOLY WAR, SWP 170 For mode see note below I’ve listed in the holy war, Content to suffer soldier’s fare, Natural key Chorus And we’ll all shout for joy, And we’ll give God the glory, And I hope to join the army by and by. I’ve fought through many a battle sore, And I must fight through many more; And we’ll etc. I take my breastplate, sword and shield, And boldly march into the field. The banner o’er my head is love, I draw my rations from above. The world, the flesh and Satan too Unite and strive what they can do. On thee, O Lord, I humbly call, Uphold me, or my soul must fall. I’ve listed and I mean to fight, Till all my foes are put to flight. And when the victory I have won, I’ll give the praise to God alone. Come, fellow-Christians, join with me, Come, face the foe and never flee. The heavenly battle is begun, Come, take the field and win the crown. With listing orders I have come; Come rich, come poor, come old or young. Here’s grace’s bounty Christ has given, And glorious crowns laid up in heaven. But if you will not list and fight, You’ll sink into eternal night. The tune as it stands is heptatonic dorian. And that is probably a correct notation. The interesting thing is the device employed to legitimize the dorian raised sixth, namely, the device of modulation. The writer of the tune, knowing presumably nothing about the old modes, set his first melodic phrase in g-major with a semi-cadence on two of the scale. All went well because the f-sharp of that key was not represented. But in the second part of the tune the actual f-natural appeared; and the only way he saw of handling it was to change the signature to a “natural key chorus” as he specifically calls it. And the final note in the tune agreed with the key which he took to be a-minor. No. 213
O GOD WHAT SHALL I SAY or ALVERSON, REV 181 Hexatonic, mode 5 A (I — 3 IV V 6 7) When pity prompts me to look round Upon my fellow clay, See men reject the gospel sound, O God, what shall I say? O God, what shall I say? My bowels yearn for dying men, Doom’d to eternal woe, Fain would I speak, but ’tis in vain If God does not speak too. O sinner, sinner, won’t you hear When in God’s name I come? Upon your peril don’t forbear, Lest hell should be your doom. One more stanza is in the Revivalist. This is a phrygian tune with the second of its scale unused. It reminds one strongly of the melody of ‘Gala Water’, Lyric Gems of Scotland, p. 84. No. 214
THAT LONESOME VALLEY, Author’s recording Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) You got to go that lonesome valley, You got to go there by yourself. There’s no one can go there for you; You got to go there, you got to go there by yourself. Recorded by the author, February 11, 1933, from the singing of Don West of the Highlander Folk School, Monteagle, Tennessee. Mr. West told me that the two subsequent stanzas began, “You got to lie in that lonesome graveyard” and “Some folks say that John was a Baptist.” After each verse the tune is repeated to the words of the first stanza. The source of this spiritual song is very likely ‘In Seaport Town’, see Sharp, i., 310, in which there is the recurring phrase: Till at last they came to a lonesome valley, and where considerable melodic similarity is to be found. Further traces of this typical folk-tune are in ‘Young Beichan’, Sharp, i., 79; ‘My Mother Bid Me’, Sharp, ii., 94, tune D; ‘Opossum’, Sharp, ii., 353; ‘Drivin’ Steel’, Sandburg, p. 150; the negro song ‘You Got to Cross it for Yourself’, Sandburg, p. 486; and ‘That Lonesome Valley’, Grissom, p. 2. In The Carolina Low-Country, pp. 284ff., there are two negro spirituals which lean heavily on ‘That Lonesome Valley’. The “lonesome valley” symbolized, among both negroes and whites, also the mourning period which was a necessary forerunner of religious conversion. No. 215
I’M BOUND TO DIE IN THE ARMY or SERVICE OF THE LORD, OSH 80 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Farewell, vain world, I’m going home, I am bound to die in the army; My Savior smiles and bids me come, I am bound to die in the army; I am bound to live in the service of my Lord, I am bound to die in the army. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Golden Harp’. A variant of this tune is ‘Promise’ in this collection. ‘Antioch’ in this collection, is also related. The tune ‘Service of the Lord’ or ‘Antioch’ seems to have been borrowed by those who sang ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’ as it is found in Sharp, i., 162. Indications that the direction of borrowing was as suggested may be found in the misfit of words to tune in the secular song. See for example where the “ar-my” of the above tune and the “-lu-jah” of ‘Antioch’ correspond to a mere repetition, “all, all”, in the ‘Little Musgrave’ song. ‘Cruel Mother’, Sharp, i., 61, tune K, is also closely related to ‘Service of the Lord’. For negro adoptions and adaptations see Grissom, p. 60; Marsh, p. 169; White Spirituals, pp. 266 and 267; and Dett, p. 120. No. 216
PROMISE or WITH US TO THE END, SOC 73 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Jesus my all to heav’n is gone, And he’s promis’d to be with us to the end; He whom I fix my hopes upon, And he’s promis’d to be with us to the end; Chorus Jesus has been with us and he is still with us And he’s promis’d to be with us to the end. The text is given more fully under ‘River of Jordan’. The song is ascribed by the compiler of the Social Harp to Henry F. Chandler and dated 1854. The tune has evidently been used for the worldly ballad ‘Cruel Mother’, see Sharp, i., 61. The chorus reappears in the Wesleyan Psalmist (1842) attached to a text which begins: Children of God, renounce your fears, Jesus says he will be with us to the end. Lo, Jesus for your help appears, Jesus says he will be with us to the end. Chorus For he has been with us etc. This chorus material, words and tune, is used also in ‘He’s Promised to be With You’ in this collection. See for tune relationships also ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’, Sharp, i., 162. No. 217
NEVER TURN BACK (A), OSH 381 Pentatonic, cannot be classified (I II 3 — V — 7) When to that blessed world I rise, I’ll never turn back any more; And join the anthems in the skies, I’ll never turn back any more. Any more, any more, any more, my Lord, I’ll never turn back any more. This was a recording from the 1840’s. Another, in the Social Harp of 1855, p. 52, has the more indigenous reading “I’ll never turn back no more.” See ‘Never Turn Back (B)’ in this collection. A negro variant is in Marsh, p. 174. John Powell tells me that Lydia, negro servant in the Powell house in Richmond, Virginia, and a remarkable singer, sings a variant of this tune to the words: King cried: “no mo’, no mo’, my Lord, I’ll never turn to go back to E-jup Land no mo’.” No. 218
OLD-TIME RELIGION Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) ’Tis the old-time religion, The old-time religion, ’Tis the old-time religion, It’s good enough for me. Subsequent verses have “It was good for Paul and Silas” and for practically everybody. It is the author’s recording from memory of hearing it sung at meetings of both negroes and whites. Sharp, ii., 291, has the above tune with a judgment-day text under the title ‘Sinner Man’, a song which had come from negro sources. No. 219
TAKE ME HOME or I’M ALONE IN THIS WORLD Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) My father’s gone to glory, I’m alone in this world, my father’s gone to glory, I’m alone. My father’s gone to glory, I’m alone in this world; Take me home, dear Savior take me home. Recorded by the author from the singing of Samuel E. Asbury, September 10, 1932, at Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Asbury learned it in his boyhood in the 1880’s, from hearing it at camp meetings in western North Carolina. Subsequent verses substitute “my mother,” “my sister,” etc. A negro version of the tune is in Slave Songs, p. 18. No. 220
JESTER or I BELONG TO THIS BAND (A), OSH 531 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) If our fathers want to go, Why don’t they come along? I belong to this band, Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I belong to this band, hallelujah. The tune was first printed in the Union Harp as recorded by S. M. Denson of Alabama. Subsequent verses are made by the use of “mothers”, “sisters,” etc. That the negroes used this formula is shown in White Spirituals, 247. The refrain “I belong to this band, hallelujah” reappears in ‘I Belong to This Band (B)’ in this collection. No. 221
LONG-SOUGHT HOME, CHH 159 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Jerusalem, my happy home, Oh how I long for thee! When shall my sorrows have an end, Thy joys when shall I see. Home, sweet home, my long-sought home, My home in heav’n above. Thy walls are all of precious stone, Most glorious to behold; Thy gates are richly set with pearl, Thy streets are paved with gold. Thy garden and thy pleasing green My study long have been; Such sparkling light by human sight Has never yet been seen. The Christian Harmony credits the song to William Bobo, Union, S. C. The words are credited, in the Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book, No. 453, to Cowper. No. 222
BEAUTIFUL HOME SWEET HOME Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Beautiful home, sweet home, Beautiful home, sweet home, Beautiful home, sweet home, Lord, I want to join the angels, beautiful home. Recorded by the author from the singing of Samuel E. Asbury, September 10, 1932, as he remembered its being sung in the 1880’s in camp meetings in western North Carolina. The above is merely the chorus of the song. But it is essentially the same, melodically, as the verse. The text proceeds: Fathers have a home, sweet home etc. Mothers have a home, sweet home etc. By and by we’ll go and see them etc. Won’t that be a happy meeting etc. No. 223
COME FRIENDS GO WITH ME, CSH 206 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) Alas! and did my Savior bleed, Alas! and did my Savior bleed, Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sov’reign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I. Chorus I want my friends to go with me, I want my friends to go with me, I want my friends to go with me To the new Jerusalem. I wonder, Lord, shall I ever get to heaven, The new Jerusalem. William Hauser included the above tune, with different text, in his Olive Leaf. Of the above chorus, “sometimes sung after each verse,” he says: “Not worth while to criticise this chorus. Does anybody criticise a camel? No; they take him for his usefulness”. No. 224
I LOVE JESUS, REV 254 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Jesus, my all, to heav’n has gone, Glory hallelujah, He whom I fix my hopes upon, Glory hallelujah. Chorus I love Jesus, glory hallelujah, I love Jesus, glory hallelujah. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘River of Jordan’. The tune is found in a negro version in Marsh, No. 65. I have, in manuscript, practically the same tune which I recorded from the dulcimer playing of F. S. Russell, Marion, Virginia. He called the tune ‘Bonaparte’s Retreat’. Compare also the sixteenth century carol tune ‘Tempus adest floridum’, The Oxford Book of Carols, No. 99. No. 225
HALLELUJAH, OSH 146 Hexatonic, mode 1 b (I II — IV V VI 7) And let this feeble body fail, And let it faint or die; My soul shall quit this mournful vale And soar to worlds on high. And I’ll sing hallelujah, And you’ll sing hallelujah, And we’ll all sing hallelujah, When we arrive at home. This text by Charles Wesley, supplemented by the infectious chorus and sung to this swingful tune, was widely popular in the first part of the nineteenth century. It is given more fully under ‘Pleasant Hill’. The song is found, SOH 107 and HH 102. The tune had qualities which made it widely popular. There is of course no knowing whether the many variant forms which I have found derive from the above tune; but I have given them collectively the name the ‘Hallelujah’ tune family. Other members of the family in this collection are ‘Stephens’, ‘Pilgrim’s Triumph’, ‘Faithful Soldier’, ‘Tender Care’, ‘Sawyer’s Exit’, ‘O I’m So Happy’, and ‘Converted Thief (a)’. Related melodies with secular texts are ‘The Reilly Song’, Thomas, p. 166; ‘Chickens They are Crowing’, Sharp, ii., 378; ‘Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor’, Sharp, i., 125; ‘Virginian Lover’, Sharp, ii., 149f.; ‘Banks of Sweet Dundee’, Sharp, i., 399; ‘The Pinery Boy’, Shoemaker, p. 262; ‘Kilrush Air’ Petrie, Nos. 167 and 283; and ‘Tweed Side’, SMM, p. 9. No. 226
FEW DAYS, SOC 209 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) I pitch my tent on this camp ground, Few days, few days, And give old Satan another round, And I am going home; I can’t stay in these diggings, Few days, few days, I can’t stay in these diggings, I am going home. The compiler of the Social Harp, John G. McCurry, claims this song and dates it 1855. A variant of the tune is in Richardson, p. 72. A negro adoption is given in White Spirituals, 266. No. 227
PARTING HYMN or JOYFUL or O THAT WILL BE JOYFUL, PB 303 Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII) How pleasant thus to dwell below In fellowship of love! And tho’ we part ’tis bliss to know The good shall meet above! The good shall meet above, The good shall meet above. And tho’ we part, ’tis bliss to know The good shall meet above. O that will be joyful, joyful, joyful. O that will be joyful To meet and part no more; To meet and part no more, On Canaan’s happy shore, And sing the everlasting song With those who’ve gone before. James, editor of the 1911 Original Sacred Harp, says that ‘Joyful’ was composed by Rev. Abraham D. Merrell. He was born in New Hampshire 1796 and died in 1878. The first lines of a widely sung parody of this song (or is the above the parody?) are: The man who has plenty of good peanuts And giveth his neighbor none, Shan’t have any of my peanuts When his peanuts are gone. Miss Gilchrist informs us as to the relatives of tune and words in England. One parody familiar to her was: John Wesley had a little ghost, The color of it was white; It used to swarm up his bed-post And frighten him at night. Another, known to Miss Gilchrist, was ‘Three Little Kittens’, (See JFSS, viii, 86). I also heard this song as a nursery ditty in my early youth in Monson, Maine, in the 1880’s. Compare ‘Judgment Scenes’ in this collection. The tune was used also for the carol ‘Joys Seven’, The Oxford Book of Carols, No. 70. No. 228
SOMETHING NEW, UHH 35 Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —) Since man by sin has lost his God, He seeks creation through; And vainly strives for solid bliss In trying something new. In trying something new, And vainly strives for solid bliss In trying something new. The new, possessed like fading flowers, Soon loses its gay hue; The bubble now no longer stays, The soul wants something new. And could we call all Europe ours, With India and Peru, The mind would feel an aching void And still want something new. But when we feel a Savior’s love, All good in him we view; The soul forsakes its vain delights— In Christ finds all things new. Also found, SOC 250, GOS 365, SOH 254. A negro adoption and adaptation is cited in White Spirituals, 249. No. 229
VICTORIA or ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS, OSH 290 Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII) Alas! and did my Savior bleed, Alas! and did my Savior bleed, Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovreign die? I have but one more river to cross, I have but one more river to cross; I have but one more river to cross, And then I’ll be at rest. The text theme of the chorus is seen in the negro spiritual SS 4: And I hain’t but one more river to cross. The tune is closely related to ‘Gaines’, HH 122, this collection; ‘Geordie’, Sharp, i., 240; ‘John of Hazelgreen’, Sharp, i., 294; ‘False Young Man’, (2), Sharp, ii., 52; ‘True Lover’s Farewell’, Sharp, ii., 113ff. The ‘Geordie’ text begins with ‘As I crossed over London’s Bridge’. This may indicate where the revival folk got their suggestion for tune and text of ‘One More River to Cross’. No. 230
NEW INDIAN SONG or WALK AND TALK WITH JESUS, SOC 45 Heptatonic ionian, mode 1 A + B (I II III IV V VI VII) When I can read my title clear To mansions in the skies, I’ll bid farewell to ev’ry fear And wipe my weeping eyes. Oh, walk and talk with Jesus, Halle, hallelujah, Oh, there’s glory in my soul. Ah, poor sinner, you run from the rock, When the moon goes down in blood, To hide yourself in the mountain top, For to hide yourself from God. Should earth against my soul engage, And hellish darts be hurled, Then I can smile at Satan’s rage, And face a frowning world. Let cares like a wild deluge come, And storms of sorrow fall; May I but safely reach my home, My God, my heaven, my all. The compiler of the Social Harp ascribes this song to J. A. & J. F. Wade and dates it 1854. The words, excepting those of the chorus, are by Watts. No. 231
SUBSTANTIAL JOYS or I WANT TO GO THERE TOO, SOC 28 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) Jesus, my all, to heav’n is gone, I want to go there too; He whom I fix my hopes upon, And I want to go there too. Chorus I want to go, I want to go, I want to go there too, Substantial joys shall fill my soul, And I want to go there too. John G. McCurry, compiler of the Social Harp, recorded it, according to his note, in 1854. In the 1880’s in Monson, Maine, I heard almost precisely the same tune sung to the words: Johnny Morgan played the organ, His father beat the drum; His sister played the tambourine And his brother went bum-bum. The text of the spiritual song is given more completely under ‘River of Jordan’. The tune is akin to ‘One Man Shall Mow my Meadow’ and ‘The Knight and the Shepherd’s Daughter’, in Sharp, One Hundred English Folksongs, Nos. 3 and 100. No. 232
O HE’S TAKEN MY FEET, REV 114 Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —) I’ll praise him while he gives me breath, I hope to praise him after death. Chorus O he’s taken my feet from the mire and the clay, And he’s placed them on the Rock of Ages. I hope to praise him when I die, And shout salvation as I fly. Chorus And I will tell to sinners round What a dear Savior I have found. Chorus No. 233
MY BIBLE LEADS TO GLORY, REV 385 Hexatonic, 6th missing, cannot be classified, obviously ionian (I II III IV V — VII) My bible leads to glory, My bible leads to glory, My bible leads to glory, Ye foll’wers of the Lamb, Sing on, pray on, Foll’wers of Immanuel; Sing on, pray on, Soldiers of the cross. Subsequent stanzas are constructed from such sentences as: Religion makes me happy. King Jesus is my captain. I long to see my Savior. Then farewell, sin and sorrow. We’ll have a shout in glory. We’ll wave our palms forever. A variant of tune and words is in Richardson, p. 68. The melody is the same as ‘Bobbing Around’ which was published by Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston, about 1855, as one of a series called Melodies of the day. No. 234
I’M TRAVELING TO MY GRAVE or TRAVELER SOC 37 Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II — IV V VI —) I’m trav’ling to my grave, I’m trav’ling to my grave, I’m trav’ling to my grave To lay this body down. My fathers died a-shouting, rejoicing in the Lord; The last word I heard them say Was about Jerusalem, The saints’ delightful home. The song is ascribed in the Social Harp to John G. McCurry and Wm. C. Davis and dated 1853. For a variant among the negro spiritual tunes see White Spirituals, p. 261. Compare ‘I’m a Long Time Traveling’ in this collection. Similarity is seen also between the above melody and ‘The Merchant’s Daughter’, second tune, JFSS, i., 160. No. 235
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF JORDAN, REV 465 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, And cast a wishful eye, On the other side of Jordan, hallelujah! To Canaan’s fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie, On the other side of Jordan, hallelujah! On the other side of Jordan, hallelujah! On the other side of Jordan, hallelujah! Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Jordan’. The tune is reminiscent of ‘Morning Trumpet’ in this collection. No. 236
JESUS IS MY FRIEND (B), REV 311 Hexatonic, mode 4 b (I II 3 IV V — 7) There is a heav’n o’er yonder skies, A heav’n where pleasure never dies, A heav’n I sometimes hope to see, But fear again ’tis not for me; But Jesus, Jesus is my friend, O, hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus, Jesus is my friend. The chorus of the above tune has features similar to ‘Jesus Is My Friend (A)’, in this collection. The whole tune seems to be a degenerate offspring of ‘Davisson’s Retirement’, in this collection. No. 237
DERRETT or IT WON’T BE LONG, SOC 108 Hexatonic, mode 4 a (I II — IV V 6 7) Jesus, my all, to heav’n is gone, O hallelujah; He whom I fix my hopes upon, O hallelujah. And it won’t be long, Nor it can’t be long, O halle, hallelujah, And it won’t be long till Christ will come, O hallelujah. The compiler of the Social Harp, John G. McCurry, claims the song and dates it 1847. We know the words as those of John Cennick. Additional stanzas are given under ‘River of Jordan’. No. 238
CARTER or NEVER TURN BACK (B), SOC 52 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Jesus, my all, to heav’n is gone, I’ll never turn back no more; He whom I fix my hopes upon, I’ll never turn back no more. I’ll never turn back no more, my Lord, I’ll never turn back no more. A variant tune is ‘Never Turn Back (A)’, this collection. A negro variant is in Marsh, p. 174. Additional stanzas of the text are given under ‘River of Jordan’. No. 239
I WILL ARISE Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and pow’r. Chorus I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in his arms, In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms. Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness he requireth Is to feel your need of him. Chorus Agonizing in the garden, Lo, your Master prostrate lies; On the bloody tree behold him, Hear him cry before he dies. Chorus Lo, th’incarnate God ascended, Pleads the merit of his blood; Venture on him, venture wholely, Let no other trust intrude. Chorus I recorded this song from the singing of Donald Davidson, Vanderbilt University, June, 1935. Joseph Hart published this poem in 1759. The refrain text is probably of camp-meeting origin. The tune has been immensely popular for certainly more than a hundred years in the South. Found also SOH 5, HH 217, WP 25, PB 342, OSH 312 (tune with other words), OSH 81 (words with another tune). The tune is typical of a traditional trend. Many other songs show either close relationship throughout or use single phrases of this melody. The tunes in this collection which are close to the ‘I Will Arise’ type (mentioned in the Introduction, p. 14) are ‘Humble Penitent’, and ‘Be Gone Unbelief’. Others making use of the second phrase only, marked a, are ‘Bozrah’ and ‘New Orleans’. A secular tune in the ‘I Will Arise’ form is ‘The Bird Song’, Sharp, ii., 304; and among the secular tunes employing phrase a as their tune beginnings are ‘Oh Love It is a Killing Thing’ and ‘When I first Left Old Ireland’, Petrie, Nos. 469 and 863; and ‘The Cruel Mother’, Cox, p. 522. Thomas gives the beginning of a lullaby which doubtlessly belongs to this tune group, see Devil’s Ditties, p. 17. No. 240
I WANT A SEAT IN PARADISE or NORTH PORT, OSH 324 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Jesus, my all, to heav’n has gone, Glory hallelujah, He whom I fix my hopes upon, Glory hallelujah. I want a seat in paradise, Glory hallelujah, I love that union never dies, Glory hallelujah. The recording of this tune is credited to Dr. R. R. Osborne, a Georgian. The core of the words is by John Cennick, a text which is given more fully under ‘River of Jordan’. The tune is built up easily on the theme of the first two measures which is similar to the beginning of ‘Henry Martin’, see Rickaby, p. 161, and Sandburg, p. 176. ‘Henry Martin’ is based on an incident in British marine history which took place in the year 1476. See S. Baring-Gould, Songs of the West, song No. 53, and note. Another old relative of the tune seems to be ‘There were Three Ravens’ which was recorded in 1611 as follows: There were three ra’ens sat on a tree, Down a down hey down a down. See Jackson, English Melodies from the 13th to the 18th Century, p. 24. German tunes with practically the same opening phrase and dating from the sixteenth century are in Erk-BÖhme, Deutscher Liederhort, vol. iii., p. 718. No. 241
MORNING TRUMPET, OSH 85 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) O when shall I see Jesus And reign with him above, And from the flowing fountain Drink everlasting love, And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morning. Shout O glory, for I shall mount above the skies When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning. This is one of the best examples of the revival spiritual song. It has the John Leland words of matchless popularity in the southern song region, a refrain in clarion tones, a chorus with rare swing, and a primeval melodic mode. For a negro version and the black man’s story of the song’s source see White Spirituals, pp. 254-255. Found also SOH (1854) 195, SOC 111, HOC 99. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Faithful Soldier’. A later and simplified version of ‘Morning Trumpet’ is ‘To Hear the Trumpet Sound’ in this collection. No. 242
GREAT PROVIDER or HE’S PROMISED TO BE WITH YOU, UHP 112 Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7) Peace, troubled soul, thou need not fear, Jesus says he will be with you to the end. The great provider still is near, Jesus says he will be with you to the end. Chorus Hallelujah, hallelujah, And he’s promised to be with you to the end. The Lord who built the earth and sky, In mercy stoops to hear our cry; His promise all may truly claim, Ask and receive in Jesus’ name. The tune from the start to the chorus is practically the same as the chorus tune in ‘With Us to the End’ in this collection. It is claimed by S. M. Denson and dated 1908. Mr. Denson recorded many revival tunes. For data as to his life see White Spirituals, 107ff. He died 1936. See ‘Cruel Mother’, Sharp, i., 61, tune K, for melodic similarities. No. 243
WARFARE, SWP 130 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) Children of the heavenly King, Till the warfare is ended, hallelujah! As ye journey sweetly sing, Till the warfare is ended, hallelujah! Shout glory, children, Till the warfare is ended, hallelujah! Sing your Savior’s worthy praise, Till etc. Glorious in his works and ways, Till etc. We are travelling home to God In the way the fathers trod. They are happy now, and we Soon their happiness shall see. O ye banished seed, be glad! Christ our advocate is made. Us to save, our flesh assumes, Brother to our souls becomes. Shout, ye little flock, and blest You on Jesus’ throne shall rest. There your seat is now prepared, There your kingdom and reward. Fear not, brethren; joyful stand On the borders of your land. Christ, your Father’s darling son, Bids you undismayed go on. Lord, submissive make us go, Gladly leaving all below. Only thou our leader be, And we still will follow thee. See ’Till the Warfare is Over’, OSH 76, for melodic and textual relationships. No. 244
GENERAL ROLL CALL, REV 356 Pentatonic, mode 2 with cadentially raised seventh (I — 3 IV V — VII) If you get there before I do, When the gen’ral roll is call’d We’ll be there; Look out for me I’m coming too, When the gen’ral roll is call’d We’ll be there. We’ll be there, we’ll be there, we’ll be there, When the gen’ral roll is call’d we’ll be there. We’re pressing on to Canaan’s land, We’ll join the blood-wash’d pilgrim band. Then we’ll go up the shining way, And praise the Lord through endless day. The tune is attributed, in the Revivalist, to J. Baker. Two negro spirituals based melodically and textually on this song are in Dett, pp. 121 and 166. No. 245
SHOUTING PILGRIM, SWP 163 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) The trumpets are a-sounding And calling for more volunteers, The armies are in motion, Behold in front their officers. Shout Oh! glory, for the battle is begun, And I’ll shout glory while the Israelites go on. I love to live rejoicing, I cannot bear to live lukewarm, Although there’s many blames me for trusting in the Lord alone. Shout Oh! glory, for I love to praise the Lord, And I’ll shout glory while I hear the gospel word. I love to live a-shouting, I feel my Savior in my soul, Sweet heaven drawing nigher, I feel the living waters roll. Shout Oh! glory, for the glory is begun, And I’ll shout glory while the work is going on. The time is fast approaching when all religion will be tried, When Jesus with his jewels will ornament his lovely bride. Shout Oh! glory, for my soul is full of love, And I’ll shout glory when I meet you all above. I see the flame arising.—Had I the pinions of a dove, My soul would then realize the wonders of redeeming love. Shout Oh! glory, for there’s glory in my soul, And I’ll shout glory while I feel the current roll. The current is a-spreading and sinners coming home to God, A-weeping and a-mourning, and finding favor in the Lord. Shout Oh! glory, and my song shall never end, And I’ll shout glory to the sinner’s dearest friend. No. 246
BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND, OSH 128 Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7) On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand And cast a wishful eye, To Canaan’s fair and happy land Where my possessions lie. I am bound for the promis’d land, I’m bound for the promised land; Oh, who will come and go with me, I am bound for the promised land. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Jordan’. The combination here of the widely sung words of Samuel Stennett and an especially folkish revival phrase has resulted in an enormously well liked spiritual. Found also SOH 51, HH 154, SOC 114, HOC 47, WP 53, GOS 512. Its first appearance in the fasola books seems to have been in the Southern Harmony of 1835 where it is attributed to Miss M. Durham. The tune is like ‘I’ll Go and Enlist for a Sailor’, Sharp, Morris Dances, Set viii, No. 6. No. 247
LISBON or I CAN NOT TARRY HERE, SOC 182 Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7) Farewell, dear brethren in the Lord, And I can not tarry here; Yet we believe his gracious word, And I can not tarry here. And I can not tarry here, And I can not tarry here; The gospel sounds the jubilee, And I can not tarry here. This song is attributed to Henry F. Chandler and dated 1854. ‘The Irish Girl’, as sung in Virginia, shows a similar rhythmic trend but is less closely related tonally. See Sharp, ii., 254. Greater melodic resemblance is seen in ‘Our Goodman’ Sharp, i., 269, tune “D”. No. 248
I WANT TO GO TO GLORY, SWP 168 Hexatonic, cannot be classified (I II 3 IV V 6 —) Jesus, my all, to heav’n is gone, I want to go to glory; He whom I fix my hopes upon, I want to go to glory. I want to go, I want to go, I want to go to glory; We’ve so many trials here below, They say there are none in glory. The full text, by Samuel Medley (1738-1799), may be found under ‘River of Jordan’ in this collection. The Southern and Western Pocket Harmonist gives this tune “as sung by Rev. M. L. Little”. An old Irish song in Petrie, No. 1164, shows noteworthy similarities. See also ‘I Want a Seat in Paradise’, in this collection, for further tune relationships. No. 249
CHRISTIAN RACE, REV 76 Heptatonic dorian, mode 2 A + B (I II 3 IV V VI 7) The Christian race is now begun, O, glory, glory, hallelujah! We’re striving for a heav’nly crown, O, glory, glory, hallelujah! Chorus For the prize it lies at the end of the race, O, glory, glory, hallelujah! We’ll run the race and gain the prize, O, glory etc. Our heav’nly mansion in the skies, O, glory etc. Chorus We’ll lay aside our every weight, The way is narrow and straight the gate. In earnest cry we’ll wrestle along; Then on a kingly throne sit down. Omnipotence is on our side, And God himself will be our guide. Then when the race we’ve nobly run, He’ll count us worthy of a crown. The form of the above is “as sung by Rev. G. C. Wells”. No. 250
I YIELD, REV 443 Heptatonic, minor (I II 3 IV V 6 VII) Alas! and did my Savior bleed, And did my Sov’reign die? Would he devote that sacred head For such a worm as I? I yield, I yield, I yield, I can hold out no more; I sink by dying love compell’d, And own thee conqueror. I suggest the possibility that the editor of the Revivalist made his tune over from one which was originally in the dorian mode.
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