Part 5
When sorrows oppress you and sickness comes on, You'll cry for your mother, but, oh, she is gone; Your father, in anger, struck her on the head, She bled, groan'd, and languish'd, and now she is dead.
My heart swells with sorrow, my eyes overflow, Soon, oh my dear children, I'll bid you adieu; Oh may my kind neighbors your guardians prove, And heaven, kind heaven, protect you above.
My soul to His pleasure I humbly submit, And with my last burthen fall down at His feet; To plead for His mercy that flows from above, That pardons poor drunkards, and crowns them above.
John G. McCurry, compiler of the _Social Harp_, claims this song and dates it 1851. The tune is identical with that of 'When Boys Go A-Courting', Sharp, ii., 206. The "drunkard" theme may have been the textual source of 'Way Up On Clinch Mountain', where, to the same tune, the singer glories in his excesses including that of whiskey drinking. See Sandburg, 307. Miss Scarbrough has a negro adoption of the same tune in 'Noble Skewball'; see _On the Trail of the Negro Folk-Song_, 63. An English folk-song 'Sweet England' has a variant tune. See _English Folk-Songs for Schools_, 46. For an Irish variant see Petrie, No. 1172. A Scotch variant is 'My Ain Fireside', _Lyric Gems of Scotland_, 186, which in turn borrowed its tune from 'Todlen Hame'.
No. 12 REDEMPTION (C), KHN 185
Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII)
[Music]
Come all ye young people of every relation, Come listen a while and to you I will tell, How I was first called to seek for salvation, Redemption through Jesus which sav'd me from hell. I scarcely was sixteen when I was first called To think of my soul and the state it was in; I saw myself standing a distance from Jesus; Between him and me was a mountain of sin.
The devil perceived that I was convicted, And strove to persuade me that I was too young, That I would get wearied before my days ended, And wish that I had not so early begun; Sometimes he persuaded me that Jesus was partial, When he was a-setting of poor sinners free, That I was forgotten and was reprobated, And there was no mercy at all for poor me.
But glory to Jesus, his love's not confined, To princes or men of a nobler degree; His love it is boundless to all human creatures, He died for poor sinners when nail'd to the tree. For while I lay groaning in sad lamentation, My soul overwhelmed in sorrow and grief, He drew near in mercy, looked on me in pity, He pardon'd my sins and he gave me relief.
The tune is practically the same as 'Grenadier and the Lady', JFSS, viii., 194.
No. 13 WEDLOCK (A), SOC 188
Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII)
[Music]
When Adam was created, He dwelt in Eden's shade, As Moses has related, Before a bride was made.
Ten thousand times ten thousand Things wheeled all around, Before a bride was formed, Or yet a mate was found.
Another tune and additional stanzas of the text are given in this collection under the title 'Wedlock (B)'. The song is attributed, in the _Social Harp_, to Henry F. Chandler and is dated 1854. The tunes of 'Johnny German', Sharp, ii., 256; 'I Rode My Little Horse', Baring-Gould, _Songs of the West_, No. 101; 'The Auld House', _Lyric Gems of Scotland_, 49; and 'Joe Bowers', are similar to the above air. Another ballad in this collection using this tune in variant form is 'Little Family'. Stephen Foster's song 'Virginia Belle' leans melodically on 'Wedlock (A)'. (See my article in _The Musical Quarterly_, xxii., No. 2.)
No. 14 PATTON, OL 40
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III -- V VI VII)
[Music]
Young people all, attention give, While I address you in God's name, You who in sin and folly live, Come hear the counsel of a friend. I sought for bliss in glitt'ring toys, And ranged th' alluring scenes of vice, But never found substantial joys Until I heard my Savior's voice.
He spake at once my sins forgiven And wash'd my load of guilt away; He gave me glory, peace and heaven, And thus I found the heav'nly way. And now with trembling sense I view The billows roll beneath your feet; For death eternal waits for you Who slight the force of gospel truth.
Youth, like the spring, will soon be gone By fleeting time or conquering death; Your morning sun may set at noon And leave you ever in the dark. Your sparkling eyes and blooming cheeks Must wither like the blasted rose; The coffin, earth and winding-sheet Will soon your active limbs enclose.
Ye heedless ones that wildly stroll, The grave will soon become your bed, Where silence reigns and vapors roll In solemn darkness round your head. Your friends will pass the lonesome place And with a sigh move slow along; Still gazing on the spires of grass With which your graves are overgrown.
The compiler of _Olive Leaf_ gives the following notes: "From McAnally's _Western Harp_" and "Called after the late Wm. Patton, of Mo. Heard him sing it, first, at a camp-meeting, North Cove, Burk Co., N. C., in 1831 or 1832. Published by the admirable A. S. Hayden, perhaps in 1829." The Celtic melodic influence is clearly felt in the above tune.
No. 15 DYING BOY, OSH 398
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III -- V VI VII)
[Music]
I'm dying, Mother, dying now, Please raise my aching head; And fan my heated, burning brow, Your boy will soon be dead. Turn o'er my pillow once again, And kiss my fever'd cheek; I'll soon be free from all the pain, For now I am so weak.
Now light the lamps, my mother dear, The sun has pass'd away; I soon must go, but do not fear, I'll live in endless day. I'm sinking fast, my mother dear; I can no longer dwell; Yet I'll be with you, do not fear; But now, O now, farewell.
A band of angels beckon me, I can no longer stay; Hark! how they sing: "We welcome thee; Dear brother, haste away." The hour has come, my end is near; My soul is mounting higher. What glorious strains salute my ear From heaven's angelic choir.
Their flowing robes in brightness shine; A crown is on each head; Say, mother, will not such be mine When I am with the dead? Then do not weep, sweet mother, now, 'Twill break this body frail; Those burning tears fall o'er my brow, Farewell, O fare thee well.
The _Sacred Harp_ says this was "composed by H. S. Rees, 1859". Is it perhaps a parody of Wm. Haines Lytle's 'I'm Dying, Egypt, Dying'? Lytle was a cousin of Stephen Collins Foster whose own song 'For the Dear Old Flag I Die' shows close kinship in words and tune to 'Dying Boy'. (See my article in _The Musical Quarterly_, xxii., No. 2.) There is a resemblance also between the 'Dying Boy' tune and a seventeenth century psalm tune called variously 'Bella', 'Leeds', 'Needham' and 'Derby'; see _Hymns Ancient and Modern_, Historical ed., London, Clowes, 1909, p. 79.
No. 16 SAW YE MY SAVIOR, CH 42
Heptatonic ionian, mode 1 A + B (I II III IV V VI VII)
[Music]
Saw ye my Savior, saw ye my Savior, Saw ye my Savior and God? Oh! he died on Calvary to atone for you and me And to purchase our pardon with blood.
He was extended, he was extended, Painfully nailed to the cross; Then he bowed his head and died, thus my Lord was crucified, To atone for a world that was lost.
Jesus hung bleeding, Jesus hung bleeding, Three dreadful hours in pain; Whilst the sun refused to shine, when his majesty divine Was derided, insulted and slain.
Darkness prevail-ed, darkness prevail-ed, Darkness prevailed through the land; Oh, the solid rocks were rent, through creation's vast extent When the Jews crucified the God-Man.
When it was finish'd, when it was finish'd, And the atonement was made; He was taken by the great, and embalmed in spices sweet, And was in a new sepulchre laid.
Hail, mighty Savior, hail mighty Savior! Prince and the Author of peace! Oh, he burst the bars of death, and triumphing left the earth, He ascended to mansions of bliss.
Now interceding, now interceding, Pleading that sinners might live; Saying, "Father, I have died, (O, behold my hands and side!) To redeem them, I pray thee, forgive."
"I will forgive them, I will forgive them, When they repent and believe; Let them now return to thee, and be reconciled to me, And salvation they all shall receive."
This song occurs also in _Olive Leaf_, p. 203, where it is called "a Scotch air". Miss Gilchrist tells us, in the article often cited here, that 'Saw Ye My Savior' is 'Saw Ye My Father', or 'The Grey Cock', found in both Scotch and English versions. A text is in Herd's collections of 1769 and 1772, and another with the tune, in Chappell's _Popular Music_. Chappell's version begins:
Saw you my father, saw you my mother, Saw you my true love John? He told his only dear that he would soon be here, But he to another is gone.
The melodic phrase above, which coincides with the text "Oh ... me", is used to build up the tune for 'Simple Ploughboy', Sharp, i., 369. As to the influence of this impressive text on the crucifixion songs of the negroes, see _White Spirituals_, 277. Stephen Foster seems to have been influenced by the 'Saw Ye My Savior' tune or its secular relatives in composing his 'Old Black Joe'. (See my article in _The Musical Quarterly_, xxii., No. 2.) For further references as to 'The Grey Cock' see _British Ballads from Maine_, 310ff.
No. 17 ESTER, OSH 437
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III -- V VI --)
[Music]
Young ladies all, attention give, You that in wicked pleasures live; One of your sex the other day Was call'd by death's cold hand away.
This lesson she has left for you, To teach the careless what to do; To seek Jehovah while you live And everlasting honors give.
Her honored mother she addrest, While tears were streaming down her breast; She grasped her tender hands and said, "Remember me when I am dead."
She called her father to her bed, And thus in dying anguish said: "My days on earth are at an end, My soul is summoned to attend;
Before Jehovah's awful bar, To hear my awful sentence there; And now, dear father, do repent, And read the holy testament."
The _Sacred Harp_ ascribes the song to John S. Terry and dates it 1869. Terry was a singing-school teacher of Georgia and later lived in Alabama. The singing-school teacher took for his warning song the 'Lord Lovel' tune type that has been used for many secular ballads. Among them are 'Barbara Allen', Sharp, i., 195, tune O; 'Gypsy Laddie', Sharp, i., 237, tune F; 'Come all Ye Fair and Tender Ladies', Sharp, ii., 135, tune P. For other tunes of the same type see 'Dulcimer' in this collection.
No. 18 LONE PILGRIM, SOH 256
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III -- V VI VII)
[Music]
I came to the place where the lone pilgrim lay, And pensively stood by the tomb, When in a low whisper I heard something say, "How sweetly I sleep here alone."
"The tempest may howl and the loud thunder roar, And gathering storms may arise, Yet calm is my feeling, at rest is my soul The tears are all wiped from my eyes.
"The cause of my master compelled me from home, I bade my companions farewell; I blessed my dear children who now for me mourn,-- In far distant regions they dwell.
"I wandered an exile and stranger from home, No kindred or relative nigh; I met the contagion and sank to the tomb, My soul flew to mansions on high.
"O tell my companion and children most dear, To weep not for me now I'm gone; The same hand that led me through scenes most severe, Has kindly assisted me home.
"And there is a crown that doth glitter and shine, That I shall for evermore wear; Then turn to the Savior, his love's all divine, All you that would dwell with me there."
The text is attributed, by the 1911 editor of the _Sacred Harp_, to B. F. White, original compiler of that book. He wrote it "on the lone prairie in Texas", while standing "at the grave of a friend who once lived in Georgia". In _Folksongs of Mississippi_ Hudson gives a variant text from oral tradition and tells of a local legend as to its source which agrees in the main with that given in the _Sacred Harp_ which book, I suspect, was the source of the Mississippi legend.
The tune, variously claimed in the fasola books, is identical with the 'Braes o' Balquhidder'. See Gilchrist, JFSS, viii., 77. Other derivatives of the same tune are 'Sinner's Invitation', 'Florence', and 'Orphan Girl' in this collection. In _The Musical Quarterly_, xxii., No. 2, I have shown the relationship between this tune and Stephen Foster's 'Linda Has Departed'.
No. 19 ORPHAN GIRL, CSH 506
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III -- V VI --)
[Music]
"No home, no home", plead a little girl, At the door of a princely hall, As she trembling stood on the polish'd step, And lean'd on the marble wall.
"My father, alas, I never knew", And a tear dimmed her eyes so bright; "My mother sleeps in a new-made grave, 'Tis an orphan begs tonight".
Her clothes were thin and her feet were bare, But the snow had covered her head; "O! give me a home", she feebly said, "A home and a bit of bread".
The night was dark and the snow fell fast, But the rich man closed his door; And his proud face frowned as he scornfully said: "No room, no bread for the poor".
The morning dawned, and the orphan girl Still lay at the rich man's door; But her soul had fled to a home above, Where there's room and bread for the poor.
The Cooper edition of the _Sacred Harp_ gives the note: "Music by Eld. C. G. Keith, Nov. 1, 1906." See Henry, JAFL, vl., 66f, for further references as to its occurrence. The tune is a derivative of 'The Braes o' Balquidder'. See 'Lone Pilgrim' for references to related tunes in this collection.
No. 20 PARALYTIC, REV 4
Heptatonic aeolian; mode 4 a + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7)
[Music]
Review the palsied sinner's case Who sought for help in Jesus; His friends conveyed him to the place Where he might meet with Jesus. A multitude were thronging round To keep them back from Jesus; But from the roof they let him down, Before the face of Jesus.
Thus fainting souls by sin diseased, There's none can save but Jesus; With more than plague or palsy seized Oh! help them on to Jesus. Oh! Savior, hear their mournful cry, And tell them thou art Jesus; Oh! speak the word, or they must die, And bid farewell to Jesus.
Now let them hear thy voice declare, Thou sin-forgiving Jesus, That thou didst die to hear their prayer, And give them help in Jesus. The great Physician now is near, The sympathizing Jesus; He speaks the drooping heart to cheer, Oh! hear the voice of Jesus.
All glory to the dying Lamb, I now believe in Jesus; I love the blessed Savior's name, I love the name of Jesus. And when to that bright world above We rise to see our Jesus, We'll sing around the throne of love The blessed name of Jesus.
The author of the text is given as Wm. Hunter. The tune is a variant of 'London Pride', Sharp, _Morris Dances_, Set vii, No. 6. Its proper mode would seem to be dorian and its correct signature therefore one flat.
No. 21 VILLULIA or BARTIMEUS, OSH 331
Pentatonic, mode 4 (I II -- IV V -- 7)
[Music]
Mercy, O thou son of David, Thus poor blind Bartimeus pray'd; Others by thy grace are saved, Now to me afford thine aid.
Money was not what he wanted, Though by begging used to live; But he asked and Jesus granted Alms which none but he could give.
"Lord, remove this grievous blindness; Let mine eyes behold the day." Straight he saw and, won by kindness, Followed Jesus by the way.
Tune attributed to J. M. Day, a Georgian. Doubt as to the correctness of this source is cast by the appearance of both tune and text in the _Christian Lyre_ of 1830, No. 4. Variants are 'Invocation', GOS 67, and 'Lord Revive Us', PB 198. The _Sacred Harp_ editor evidently looked upon this tune as one in _a_-minor, whereas it is probably a dorian melody with _f_-sharp as its tonic, and should have also a _d_-sharp in its key signature.
No. 22 MOULDERING VINE, UH 101
Heptatonic aeolian, mode 4 a + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7)
[Music]
Hail! ye sighing sons of sorrow, Learn from me your certain doom; Learn from me your fate tomorrow, Dead perhaps laid in your tomb. See all nature fading, dying, silent all things seem to pine; Life from vegetation flying, Brings to mind the mould'ring vine!
See in yonder forest standing Lofty cedars, how they nod! Scenes of nature how surprising, Read in nature, nature's God. Whilst the annual frosts are cropping Leaves and tendrils from the trees, So, our friends are early dropping, We are like to one of these.
Hollow winds about me roaring, Noisy waters round me rise, Whilst I sit my fate deploring, Tears fast streaming from mine eyes. What to me is autumn's treasure, Since I know no earthly joy? Long I've lost all youthful pleasure, Time must youth and health destroy.
The tune was recorded, from oral tradition evidently, by William Caldwell (of eastern Tennessee) in the 1830's. His source was doubtless some variant of 'Banks of Inverary'. Cf. JFSS, viii., 198.
The unique opening melodic phrase is to be found also in 'Young Beeham' or 'Ship's Carpenter', Cox 528. Another tune variant in the fasola environment is 'Sons of Sorrow', OSH 332.
No. 23 CONVERTED THIEF (A), COH 147
Hexatonic, mode 4 A (I II -- IV V VI 7)
[Music]
As on the cross the Savior hung And wept and bled and died, He pour'd salvation on a wretch That languish'd at his side.
His crimes with inward grief and shame, The penitent confess'd Then turn'd his dying eyes on Christ And thus his prayer address'd.
The poem, given in full under 'Converted Thief (B)', is attributed to Stennett. William Moore of Tennessee, compiler of _Columbian Harmony_, lays claim to the tune, and probably did record it from oral sources. Found also SOH 9, OSH 44, GOS 140. The tune is a member of the 'Hallelujah' family. See the song with that title in this collection.
No. 24 TENNESSEE, HH 140
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III -- V VI VII)
[Music]
Afflictions, though they seem severe, In mercy oft are sent; They stopp'd the prodigal's career And caus'd him to repent.
Although he no relenting felt, Till he had spent his store; His stubborn heart began to melt, When famine pinched him sore.
"What have I gained by sin?" he said, "But hunger, shame, and fear? My father's house abounds with bread, While I am starving here.
"I'll go and tell him all I've done And fall before his face; Unworthy to be called his son, I'll seek a servant's place."
His father saw him coming back; He saw and ran and smiled, And threw his arms around the neck Of his repenting child.
"Father, I've sinned, but O forgive!" "Enough," the father said; "Rejoice, my house, my son's alive, For whom I mourned as dead.
"Now let the fatted calf be slain; Go spread the news around; My son was dead, but lives again, Was lost, but now is found."
'Tis thus the Lord his love reveals, To call his children home; More than a father's love he feels, And bids the needy come.
The tune is a member of the 'Roll Jordan' family which is described under the song by that name in this collection. The 'Tennessee' tune's resemblance to Foster's 'Susanna' is evident. The melody, or some near relative of it, may well have furnished Foster with his inspiration in composing the latter. It had been sung widely in America for at least fifty years before the Pittsburgh composer published his minstrel song. (See the author's article 'Stephen Foster's Debt to American Folk-Song', _The Musical Quarterly_, xxii., No. 2.)
That the 'Tennessee' tune was "unwritten music" in the South, and therefore free for all, is indicated by the many claimants to its authorship; Chapin, J. Robertson, L. P. Breedlove, William C. Davis, and William Walker were among them. In various forms and with different texts the tune is found also, CHI 84 (published in 1805), SKH 23, GCM 134, SOH 28, GOS 229, HOC 114, WP 96, TZ 94, SOC 78, SOC 81, SOC 145, SOH 105, OSH 501, SKH 23. The second part of the tune is similar to 'Jamaica', Sharp, _Country Dances_, Set IV, No. 12.
No. 25 FAREWELL, HOC 32
Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI --)
[Music]
The time is swiftly rolling on, When I must faint and die, My body to the dust return, And there forgotten lie, And there forgotten lie, And there forgotten lie, My body to the dust return, And there forgotten lie.
Through heats and colds I've ofttimes went, I've wandered in despair, To call poor sinners to repent And seek their Savior dear.
My brother preachers, boldly speak And stand on Zion's wall; Confirm the drunk, confirm the weak And after sinners call.
My loving wife, my bosom friend, The object of my love, The time's been sweet I've spent with you, My sweet and harmless dove.
My little children near my heart My warm affections know. Fer each the path will I attend. O from them can I go?!
O God, a father to them be And keep them from all harm, That they may love and worship Thee And dwell upon thy charm.
How often you have looked fer me And often seen me come; But now I must depart from thee And nevermore return.
My loving wife, don't grieve fer me, Neither lament nor mourn; Fer I will with my Jesus be, And dwell upon his charm.
The tune is attributed in the _Harp of Columbia_ to W. Atchley. It belongs to what I have called (Introduction, p. 14) the 'Hallelujah' type of melody. See 'Hallelujah' for other related spiritual tunes. A secular song using the same melodic formula is 'Virginia Lover', Sharp, ii., 150. The text of 'Farewell' is recorded from oral tradition and reproduced from _White Spirituals_, 202. See 'Hicks' Farewell' in this collection as to the authorship of the words.
No. 26 WICKED POLLY, WS 190
Hexatonic mode 4, b (I II 3 IV V -- 7)
[Music]
Young people who delight in sin, I'll tell you what has lately been: A woman who was young and fair Died in sin and deep despair.
For the full text and much data as to the source and occurrence of this song, see _White Spirituals_, 189-193. A tune variant is 'Supplication', in this collection. Another is 'Lord Bateman', Sharp _One Hundred English Folksongs_, No. 6.
No. 27 MOSES
Hexatonic, mode 1 A (I II III IV V VI --)
[Music]
An' Phareoh's daughter went down to thee water An' foun' there thee beauteeful child, Among thee tall bushes thee reeds an' thee rushes Thee babee look'd sweetlee an' smil'd.
Recorded from singing of Miss Will Allen Dromgoole, Nashville, Tennessee, as she remembered it sung in 1890 by Mr. Tate, stage driver from Beersheba to Beersheba Springs on Cumberland Mountain in Tennessee. The unusual spelling is an attempt at reproducing the emphatic rhythmic pronunciation of Mr. Tate. The one stanza given above was all Miss Dromgoole remembered. The full text, however, was recorded by Mr. Fred Haun of Newport, Tennessee, from the singing of his mother, Mrs. Maggie Haun, and placed at my disposal by Miss Mildred Haun, his sister. This rather defective text is as follows:
The ladies were wending their way As Pharo's daughter stepped down to the water To bathe in the cool of the day. Before it was dark she opened the ark And found the sweet infant was there.