Part 6
She took him in pity and thought him so pretty; That made little Moses so glad. She called him her own, her beautiful son, And sent for a nurse that was near.
By the side of the river so clear They carried that beautiful child To his own tender mother, his sister and brother; Little Moses looked happy and smiled.
His mother so good done all that she could To hear [rear?] him and teach him with care. Then away by the sea that was red Stood Moses the servant of God.
While in him confided the deed [sea ?] was divided While upward he lifted his rod. The Jews safely crossed while Pharo's host Was drounded in the water and lost.
Then away by the mountain so high Stood Moses with trembling an' awe; With lightning and thunder, great signs and wonders, While God was giving the law. He wrote it down on two tables of stone Before he returned to the sky.
Then away on the mountain so high Stood the last one he ever might see. While Isreal victorious, his hope was most gloriest, Would soon over Jordan be free. His neighbors did cease, he departed in peace, And rest-es in heaven above.
No. 28 MOURNER'S LAMENTATION or CHURCH'S DESOLATION, CHH 265
Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II -- IV V VI --)
[Music]
Poor mourning soul in deep distress, Just waken'd from a slumber, Who wanders in sin's wilderness, Out of the condemned number. The thunder roars from Sinai's mount, Fills him with awful terror; And he like nought in God's account, All drown'd with grief and sorrow.
Oh, woe is me that I was born, Or after death have being; Fain would I be some earthly worm, Which has no future being; Or had I died when I was young, Oh, what would I have given! Then might with babes my little tongue, Been praising God in heaven.
But now may I lament my case, Just worn away by trouble; From day to day I look for peace, But find my sorrow double. Cries Satan, "Desp'rate is your state, Time's been you might repented, But now you see it is too late, So make yourself contented!"
How can I live, how can I rest Under this sore temptation, Fearing the day of grace is past, Lord, hear my lamentation! For I am weary of my life, My groans and bitter crying; My wants are great, my mind's in strife, My spirit's almost dying.
Without relief I soon shall die, No hope of getting better; Show pity, Lord, and hear the cry Of a distress-ed sinner. For I'm resolv-ed here to trust At thy footstool for favor, Pleading for life, though death be just, Make haste, Lord, to deliver.
"Come, hungry, weary, naked soul, For such I ne'er rejected; My righteousness sufficient is, Though you have long neglected. Come, weary soul, for right you have, I am such soul's protector; My honor is engaged to save All under this character.
"I came to seek, I came to save, I came to make atonement, I lived, I died, laid in the grave To save you from the judgment." By faith, my glorious Lord I see; Oh, how it doth amaze me To see him bleeding on the tree, From death and hell to raise me.
The above homespun text points to the rural preacher or revival song leader of the late eighteenth century as its source. It is a conversion story in dramatic form, the Savior, the Sinner and the Devil having parts in the drama.
The earliest known occurrence of the tune is in the Vermont book, Ingalls' _Christian Harmony_ of 1805, p. 77. In the _Sacred Harp_ of 1844, p. 89, it is found with a different text and is entitled 'Church's Desolation'. It is claimed there by J. T. White, and in the _Christian Harmony_ of 1866, by William Walker. Both were South Carolinians, from which territory Reed Smith recorded the tune in 1913 as one of the 'Barbara Allen' settings; SCB 130. This tune was probably adopted for 'Church's Desolation' and for the 'Barbara Allen' ballad from the Scotch ballad 'Wae's me for Prince Charlie'. See Kennedy's _Handbook of Scottish Song_, p. 20. The London _Era_ in the early 1860's speaks of this as the "celebrated Jacobite song." The 'Prince Charlie' of the song is Charles II of England. Hence the song, the text at least, is nearly 300 years old. The same tune is used also for 'Geordie', _Last Leaves_, p. 133; 'Locks and Bolts', Sharp, ii., 19; 'Lazarus', Sharp, ii., 30; an old Irish tune in Petrie, No. 363; 'Johnny Fa'', SMM, No. 62; and 'Hynd Horn', Motherwell, Appendix, _Musick_, No. 13.
The noted composer of hymn tunes, J. B. Dykes, was influenced by the 'Prince Charlie' melody in the building up of 'Lindisfarne'; see _Hymns Ancient and Modern_, No. 156, second tune.
No. 29 ADDRESS FOR ALL, CHH 101
Hexatonic, mode 1 b (I II -- IV V VI 7)
[Music]
I sing a song which doth belong To all the human race, Concerning death which steals the breath And blasts the comely face. Come listen all unto my call Which I do make to day, For you must die as well as I, And pass from hence away.
No human power can stop the hour Wherein a mortal dies; A Caesar may be great today, Yet death will close his eyes. Though some do strive and do arrive To riches and renown, Enjoying health and swim in wealth, Yet death will bring them down.
Though beauty grace your comely face With roses white and red, A dying fall will spoil it all, For Absalom is dead. Though you acquire the best attire, Appearing fine and fair, Yet death will come into the room And strip you naked there.
The princes high and beggars die And mingle with the dust, The rich, the brave, the negro slave, The wicked and the just. Therefore prepare to meet thy God Before it be too late, Or else you'll weep, lament and cry, Lost in a ruin'd state.
William Walker claims this song. See 'Church's Desolation', a variant of the tune, for source references. See also 'Sweet William and Lady Margery' (Wyman and Brockway, p. 94) for a secular tune variant.
No. 30 CONDESCENSION, GOS 656
Hexatonic, mode 1 b (I II -- IV V VI 7)
[Music]
How condescending and how kind Was God's eternal Son! Our mis'ry reach'd his heav'nly mind And pity brought him down.
When justice by our sins provoked, Drew forth its dreadful sword, He gave his soul up to the stroke, Without a murmuring word.
Here we behold his bowels roll, As kind as when he died; And see the sorrows of his soul Bleed through his wounded side.
This was compassion like a God, That when the Savior knew The price of pardon was his blood, His pity ne'er withdrew.
Now though he reigns exalted high, His love is still as great; Well he remembers Calvary, Nor let his saints forget.
Here let our hearts begin to melt, While we his death record, And with our joy for pardoned guilt, Mourn that we pierced the Lord.
The words are attributed to Isaac Watts. I have supplied the second and third stanzas from _The Olive Leaf_, p. 129. The tune is from the eighteenth century; found also OSH 286, PB 38, HH 63, UHH 13. The tune's frame is found with the text of 'Good Morning, My Pretty Little Miss', Sharp, ii., 90, also in 'Ibby Damsel', Sharp, ii., 137. I surmise that we have, in the last line of the second stanza above, the source of the negro spiritual refrain:
An' he never said a mumblin' word.
No. 31 GOOD PHYSICIAN, SOH 49
Pentatonic, mode 2 (I -- 3 IV V -- 7)
[Music]
How lost was my condition, Till Jesus made me whole; There is but one Physician Can cure a sin-sick soul. Next door to death he found me, And snatch'd me from the grave, To tell to all around me, His wondrous pow'r to save.
The worst of all diseases Is light compared with sin; On every part it seizes, But rages most within. 'Tis palsy, plague, and fever, And madness, all combin'd; And none but a believer The least relief can find.
From men great skill professing, I thought a cure to gain; But this proved more distressing And added to my pain. Some said that nothing ail'd me. Some gave me up for lost; Thus every refuge fail'd me, And all my hopes were cross'd.
At length this great Physician (How matchless is his grace!) Accepted my petition And undertook my case. First gave me sight to view him, For sin my eyes had seal'd; Then bid me look unto him, I look'd, and I was heal'd.
A dying, risen Jesus, Seen by the eye of faith, At once from anguish frees us And saves the soul from death. Come, then, to this Physician, His help he'll freely give; He makes no hard condition, 'Tis only--look and live.
This tune is found also in GOS, No. 227. A remake is in OSH 176. It is 'Banks of Sweet Dundee', Sharp i., 399. Related also to 'Pinery Boy', Shoemaker, 262; and 'Virginian Lover', Sharp, ii., 150. The negro song 'Sin-Sick Soul', SS, No. 66, is based textually and melodically on the above song.
No. 32 LOOK OUT or WHEN I WAS YOUNG, OSH 90
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III -- V VI VII)
[Music]
When I was young of tender years, My Savior did arrest me; I then was fill'd with many fears, But Satan still did tempt me. He told me that I was too young To leave my earthly pleasure; That I might live till I was old, And serve God at my leisure.
Again the spirit came one day With his almighty power, Which caused me to forsake my way And tremble every hour; And he caused me to weep and mourn, Saying, Lord Jesus, save me, If mercy thou canst me afford, And to thy glory raise me.
When Jesus heard the rebel cry, He sent his kind compassion; Down at his feet my soul did lie, There pleading for a blessing. My heart was filled with tenderness. My mouth was filled with praises, While Abba, Father, I did cry, And glory to my Savior.
B. F. White, compiler of the _Sacred Harp_, is given as the composer. It is dated 1842. The text is supplied from _Good Old Songs_, No. 154. A secular setting is 'Three Crows', Davis, p. 562, tune "P". Both 'Look Out' and 'Three Crows' are adaptations of 'Ye Banks and Braes', or 'Bonnie Doon', see Kennedy, _Handbook of Scottish Song_, p. 27. In _Church Harmony_, p. 134, we find the 'Bonnie Doon' tune in its original form under the little 'Star of Bethlehem'. A variant tune in this collection is ''Tis a Wonder'.
No. 33 SAINT'S REQUEST, OSH 286
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III -- V VI --)
[Music]
Young people all attention give And hear what I shall say; I wish your souls with Christ to live, In everlasting day. I want you to go to that bright world, To dwell with saints forever there.
The _Sacred Harp_ gives but one stanza of this ballad. The rest of the text is to be found in _Zion Songster_. The tune is widely used among the secular ballads. See 'Barbara Allen', Sharp, i., 183; 'Geordie', Sharp, i., 240; 'False Young Man', Sharp, ii., 52; 'Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor', Smith, 115; 'True Lover's Farewell', Sharp, ii., 114; 'Lizzie Wan', Sharp, i., 89; and 'Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard', Sharp, i., 164 and 166.
No. 34 NEWBERRY or LONESOME GROVE, SOC 131
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III -- V VI --)
[Music]
One day while in a lonesome grove, Sat o'er my head a little dove; For her lost mate began to coo, Which made me think of my mate too.
Ah! little dove, you're not alone, For I, like you, can only mourn; I once, like you, did have a mate, But now, like you, am desolate.
Consumption seized my love severe And preyed upon her one long year, Till death came at the break of day, And my poor Mary he did slay.
Her sparkling eyes and blooming cheeks Withered like the rose and died; The arms that once embraced me round Lie mould'ring under the cold ground.
But death, grim death, did not stop here; I had one child, to me most dear; He, like a vulture, came again And took from me my little Jane.
But, bless the Lord, his word is given, Declaring babes are heirs of heaven. Then cease, my heart, to mourn for Jane, Since my small loss is her great gain.
I have a hope that cheers my breast, To think my love has gone to rest; For while her dying tongue could move, She praised the Lord for pardoning love.
Shout on, ye heavenly pow'rs above, While I this lonesome desert rove; My master's work will soon be done, And then I'll join you in your song.
O hasten on that happy day, When I must leave this clod of clay, And soar aloft o'er yon blest plain And there meet Mary and my Jane.
The song is attributed in the _Social Harp_ to Wm. C. Davis. The first stanza was evidently inspired by the lines in the traditional English ballad entitled 'Giles Collins', Sharp, i., 196, which reads:
Look away, look away, that lonesome dove That sails from pine to pine; It's mourning for its own true love Just like I mourn for mine.
Four recently recorded (1917 and 1918) variants of the 'Newberry' tune, with one stanza of text each are in Sharp, ii., 197f. See also JAFL, xxv., 276. 'Lonesome Dove', Thomas, 162, has the same text but a different tune. 'Heavenly Dove' in this collection is a variant tune, but it is more closely related to the 'Barbara Allen' tune in Sharp, i., 183ff. 'Newberry' belongs to the 'Lord Lovel' type of tune mentioned in the Introduction, p. 14. Other melodies of the same type are listed under 'Dulcimer' in this collection.
No. 35 DEEP SPRING or CONVERTED THIEF (B), KNH 90
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III -- V VI --)
[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; That languish'd at his side, That languish'd at his side, 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 to Christ and thus his prayer address'd:
"Jesus, thou son and heir of heaven! Thou spotless lamb of God! I see thee bathed in sweat and tears and welt'ring in thy blood.
"Yet quickly from those scenes of wo, in triumph thou shalt rise, Burst through the gloomy shades of death and shine above the skies.
"Amid the glories of that world, dear Savior, think on me, And in the vict'ries of thy death let me a sharer be."
His prayer the dying Jesus hears and instantly replies: "Today thy parting soul shall be with me in paradise."
The tune is found also UH 89, SOC 249, HOC 93, OSH 44. It is reminiscent of 'Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard', Sharp, i., 166; 'Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor', Sharp, i., 118; and 'O Land of Rest' in this collection.
No. 36 SALUTATION or GOOD MORNING BROTHER PILGRIM, GOS 298
Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V -- 7)
[Music]
Good morning, brother pilgrim, What, bound for Canaan's coast? March you to Jerusalem To join the heav'nly host? Pray, wherefore are you smiling, While tears run down your face? We soon shall cease from toiling And reach that heav'nly place; And reach that heav'nly place, We soon shall cease from toiling And reach that heav'nly place.
To Canaan's coast we'll hasten, to join the heavenly throng; Hark, from the banks of Jordan, how sweet the pilgrims' song! Their Jesus they are viewing, by faith we see him, too, We smile and weep and praise him, and on our way pursue; (_repeated as above_)
Though sinners do despise us and treat us with disdain, Our former comrades slight us, esteem us low and mean; No earthly joy shall charm us while marching on our way, Our Jesus will defend us in the distressing day.
The frowns of old companions we're willing to sustain, And, in divine compassion, to pray for them again; For Christ, our loving Savior, our Comforter and Friend, Will bless us with his favor and guide us to the end.
With streams of consolation, we're filled as with new wine, We die to transient pleasures, and live to things divine, We sink in holy raptures, while viewing things above, While, glory to my Savior, my soul is full of love.
This is evidently a marching tune and from the eighteenth century vintage. It occurs also OSH 153, SOC 216, HH 387. 'Walking on the Levy' (Newell, _Games_ _and Songs of American Children_, p. 231) has a similar beginning. Echoes of the text are found in Dett, p. 8:
Good mornin', brother trav'ler, Pray tell me where you're bound, I'm bound for Canaan's happy land, And de enchanted ground.
Stephen Foster's 'Farewell My Lily Dear' and 'The Soldier's Home' show relationship to the tune. (See my article in _The Musical Quarterly_, vol. xxii., No. 2.) For the English source of this _dialogue_ type of song, see the note under 'Warrenton' in this collection.
No. 37 HEAVENLY UNION or EXPERIENCE, REV 42
Heptatonic aeolian, mode 1 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7)
[Music]
Come, saints and sinners, hear me tell, The wonders of Immanuel Who saved me from a burning hell, And brought my soul with him to dwell, And gave me heav'nly union. Union, union, Who sav'd me from a burning hell, And brought my soul with him to dwell, And gave me heav'nly union.
When Jesus saw me from on high, Beheld my soul in ruin lie, He looked on me with pitying eye, And said to me as he passed by: "With God you have no union."
Then I began to weep and cry; And looked this way and that to fly; It grieved me so that I must die; I strove salvation then to buy, But still I had no union.
But when I hated all my sin, My dear Redeemer took me in, And with his blood he washed me clean; And oh! what seasons I have seen Since first I felt this union.
I now with saints can join to sing, And mount on faith's triumphant wing And make the heavenly arches ring With loud hosannas to our King, Who brought our souls to union.
The tune seems dorian in character. If so classed, the key signature should be natural. A variant of tune and text is in CHI 30 and SWP 69.
No. 38 MARION or I'LL RAMBLE AND I'LL ROVE, SOC 228
Pentatonic, mode 2 (I -- 3 IV V -- 7)
[Music]
I have a loving old father at home, I've cost him many a tear; And to make lament to him, I'll travel ten thousand year.
I'll ramble and I'll rove and I'll call upon my God. They may all say what they will, Resolv'd as I am so long as I live, For to be a rover still.
Further stanzas are made merely by the substitution of "mother" etc. for "father". The song, tune and words, was probably parodied from 'Seven Long Years'. See Sharp, ii., 79. From the latter song I quote the second stanza.
I have a good old father at home, And I've cost him many a pound, And now to make amends for this, I'll travel the whole world round. _Chorus_ I'll romp and I'll rave, and I'll call for my bode, They may all say what they will; Resolved as I am, just as long as I can, For to drink good liquor still.
Compare also 'Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor', Sharp, i., 124, tune 'N'. 'Marion' belongs to the 'Babe of Bethlehem' group of tunes. See the song by that title in this collection. 'Kingsfold', No. 270 in the _Christian Science Hymnal_ is the same. In the English _Methodist Hymn Book_, 'Kingsfold' is given as a traditional melody of England. See also Petrie, Nos. 193 and 863.
No. 39 UNION, OSH 116
Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7)
[Music]
Come, brothers and sisters who love one another And have done for years that are gone; How often we've met him in sweet heav'nly union Which opens the way to God's throne; With joy and thanksgiving we'll praise him who loved us, While we run the bright shining way; Though we part here in body we're bound for one glory, And bound for each other to pray.
There was Joshua and Joseph, Elias and Moses, That pray'd, and God heard from his throne; There was Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and David, And Solomon, and Stephen, and John, There was Simeon, and Anna, and I don't know how many, That pray'd as they journey'd along; Some cast among lions, some bound with rough irons, Yet glory and praises they sung.
Some tell us that praying, and also that praising Is labor that's all spent in vain; But we have such a witness that God hears with swiftness, From praying we will not refrain. There was old father Noah, and ten thousand more, That witness'd that God heard them pray; There was Samuel and Hannah, Paul, Silas, and Peter, And Daniel and Jonah, we'll say.
That God, by his spirit, or an angel doth visit Their souls and their bodies while praying, Shall we all go fainting, while they go on praising, And glorify God in the flame? God grant us to inherit the same praying spirit, While we are journeying below, That when we cease praying, we shall not cease praising, But round God's white throne we shall bow.
James, editor of the _Original Sacred Harp_, 1911, says: "The hymn is from a very old edition, 1820. It is not in any of the hymn books found since that date." The quick triple time of the tune indicates Irish influence and, probably, source. Similar is 'Royal Band', OSH 360.
As to the remarkable rhyme or assonance in the text--see for example the repeated "o" assonance in the first lines--I am reminded of what Cecil Sharp said of this feature in Anglo-Irish ballads of this sort, namely, that "They imitate with more or less success in an alien tongue the assonantal Gaelic rhymes with which their makers, whether hedge-schoolmasters or peasants, were doubtless familiar." The same metrical trend is in 'Green Grows the Laurel', Sharp, ii., 211.
No. 40 POOR WAYFARING STRANGER, GOS 714
Pentatonic, mode 2 minorized (I -- 3 IV V -- VII)
[Music]
I am a poor wayfaring stranger While trav'ling through this world of woe, Yet there's no sickness, toil nor danger In that bright world to which I go. I'm going there to see my father, I'm going there no more to roam; I'm only going over Jordan, I'm only going over home.
I know dark clouds will gather round me, I know my way is rough and steep; Yet beauteous fields lie just before me Where God's redeem'd their vigils keep. I'm going there to see my mother, She said she'd meet me when I come; I'm only going over Jordan, I'm only going over home.
I'll soon be freed from every trial, My body sleep in the church-yard; I'll drop the cross of self-denial And enter on my great reward. I'm going there to see my class-mates, Who've gone before me one by one; I'm only going over Jordan, I'm only going over home.
I want to wear a crown of glory, When I get home on that good land; I want to shout salvation's story, In concert with the blood-wash'd band; I'm going there to see my Savior, To sing his praise forever more; I'm only going over Jordan, I'm only going over home.
This is a comparatively recent recording (around the beginning of the present century) of an extremely widely sung folk-tune. It appears in _Good Old Songs_ as a bare melody, no harmonic parts. I suggest, as an explanation of the d-flat in the fifth measure from the end, the intrusion of dorian influence. The earliest known recording among the fasola folk was in the first edition of the _Sacred Harp_, 1844. The negro adoptions and adaptations are reviewed WS 251ff.
The tune is quite evidently borrowed from secular environment. I list here a number of secular songs whose tunes are variously related: 'Barbara Allen', Sharp, i., 194 and 195; 'In Old Virginny', Sharp, ii., 232-234; 'Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies', Sharp, ii., 128-136; 'Katie Morey', Sharp, ii., 120; 'Dear Companion', Sharp, ii., 109; 'George Reilly', Sharp, ii., 26; 'Awake, Awake', Sharp, i., 358-364, and Petrie, Nos. 1222 and 265.