Part 14
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 --)
[Music]
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 --)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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 -- --)
[Music]
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 --)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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 --)
[Music]
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_.
[Music]
No. 194 HEBREW CHILDREN, OSH 481
Hexatonic, mode 5 A (I -- 3 IV V 6 7)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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])
[Music]
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])
[Music]
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 -- --)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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 --)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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.
_Chorus_: Hallelujah.
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)
[Music]
_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 --)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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 --)
[Music]
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)
[Music]
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.
_American "ship" songs_
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 groszen 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)
[Music]
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.