Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes Part 6

One day when I wus walkin' along, Oh yes, Lord, De element opened, an' de Love came down, Oh yes, Lord, I never shall forget dat day, Oh yes, Lord, When Jesus washed my sins away, Oh yes, Lord.

Another chorus inquired: "O brothers where were you? O sisters where were you? O sinners, O Christians, O mourners, etc., where were you?" for "My good Lord's bin here, bin here, bin here; My good Lord's bin here, An' he blessed my soul an' gone." So the negro exhorters often conclude their services, saying that the Lord has been to the meeting and gone. Said one deacon who was exhorting for a large collection: "De good Lord's done bin with us to-night--I knows he has, done been here an' gone, an' now we wants to git down to bizness, I wants some money."

Again, the negro fresh and enthusiastic from his religious experience and having "come through" sings with some relief:

I have been tryin a great long while, _Lord, I jus' got over on yo' side_.

_Lord, I jus' got over-er, Lord, I jus' got over, Lord, I jus' got over-er, I jus' got over on yo' side._

I pray'd an' I pray till I come over, _Lord, I jus' got over on yo' side_.

So also he "weeps" and he "mourns" and "cries" till he "gets over on the Lawd's side." Then he sings "O de suns.h.i.+ne,"

O the suns.h.i.+ne, O the suns.h.i.+ne, O suns.h.i.+ne in my soul this mornin', Yes the suns.h.i.+ne, the suns.h.i.+ne, Yes sun s.h.i.+ne in my soul.

Down in the valley, down on my knees, _Suns.h.i.+ne in my soul_, There I met that heavenly breeze, _Suns.h.i.+ne in my soul_.

Ole devil like a snake in the gra.s.s, _Suns.h.i.+ne in my soul_, He's always in some sister's path, _Suns.h.i.+ne in my soul_.

While the song is also sung at times with more dialect, it lends itself more readily to the above form. Very much mixed and somewhat similar to those already given is "Bless the Name."

I've got to go to judgment, I don't know how soon, _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_, I've got to go to judgment to hear my sins, _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_.

My Jesus fed me when I's hungry, gave me drink when I's dry, _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_, My Jesus clothed me when I was naked, _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_.

In the same song and with the same tune are sung the shorter lines that follow. The chorus is often sung "Lor' bless the name", and is a form of the phrase "Bless the name of the Lord." It is used as a refrain after each line or it may be omitted.

Mary wept and Martha mourned, _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_, Jesus Chris' laid the corner of stone, _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_.

Mary wore the golden chain, Every link was in Jesus' name.

You may talk about me just as you please, I'll talk about you when I git on my knees.

G.o.d made man an' man was sure, There was no sin an' his heart was pure.

G.o.d made Adam an' Adam was first, G.o.d made Adam out o' the dust o' the earth.

The old slave songs also had other interpretations of man's creation which differ slightly in particular from the last stanza quoted. One form occurs in

G.o.d made man an' he made him out o' clay, _Settin' on de golden altar_, An' he put him on de earth but he did not stay, _Settin' on de golden altar_.

A favorite chorus for the old spiritual was: "_What you gwine do when de lamp burns down?_" So there was also another version of the weeping of Mary and Martha:

Mary wept an' Martha cried, To see deir Saviour crucified, Weepin' Mary weep no mo', Jesus say he gone befo'.

It proves an interesting task to follow the development and changes in a song that has survived from slavery days. In "Free, free my Lord", one of the verses was quite a puzzle. During the recent summer the following stanza was heard:

The moon come down like a piper's stem, The sun 'fuse to s.h.i.+ne, An' ev'y star disappear, King Jesus set me free.

Inquiry was made in order to see if the words had not been misunderstood.

The older negroes gave this version and insisted that it was correct, but none of them could explain what it meant. It was thought that perhaps it was a figure applied to the moon's rays or that the loss of the sun might have meant the peculiar appearance of the moon. Anyway, they maintained, this was the "way we got de song an' guess it must be right." The words of the original song were,

The moon run down in purple stream, The sun forbear to s.h.i.+ne, An' ev'y star disappear, King Jesus shall be mine,

of which there seemed to be several versions. Other verses that are found to-day are:

As I went down in de valley one day, I fell upon my knees, I begged and cried fer pardon, The Lord did give me ease.

_Free, free, my Lord, Free, free, my Lord, Free, free, my Lord, To march de heaven's highway._

The Lord called Moses, Moses refuse to answer,

_Free, free_, etc.

My mother look at de son an' smile, My Father look at me, My mother turn my soul from h.e.l.l, King Jesus set me free,

is an unusual variation and interpretation of the old song; just how and when the negro inserted the idea of mother would be difficult to ascertain; perhaps it came from "master," or more likely it was introduced by them while they interpreted _father_ and _son_ as names of the ordinary members of a human family. The original form seems to have been,

De Father, he looked on de Son and smiled, De Son, he looked on me; De Father, he redeemed my soul from h.e.l.l; An' de Son, he set me free.

The chorus, too, has been much confused and is given as "_Children light on dat cross, G.o.d bless you forever mo'_." The song is not a common one among the negroes and is not known, apparently, among the younger ones. In contrast with this favorite of the older negroes may be given a favorite of the younger generation, "Glad I got religion." The repet.i.tion represents pretty well the relative depth of the feeling which the convert feels. But he loves to sing it for its pleasing sound and for the faith it gives him in his own religious state. The song is a long and continued chorus and may well be taken as a type of the song which reflects the negro's feeling of immunity from sin.

I'm so glad, so glad; I'm so glad, so glad, Glad I _got religion_, so glad, Glad I _got religion_, so glad.

I'm so glad, so glad; I'm so glad, so glad, I'm _glad all over_, so glad, I'm _glad all over_, so glad.

I'm so glad, so glad; I'm so glad, so glad, Glad I bin' _changed_, so glad.

Glad I bin' _changed_, so glad.

And so he continues singing; he is glad that he is _goin' to heaven_, he is glad that he is _not a sinner_, glad he has been _set free_, and many other such states. Then when he has finished he begins all over again, if he wishes and sings: "Sister, ain't you glad? Brother, ain't you glad?"

and goes through with as many of these as he wishes, _preacher_, _mourner_, _auntie_, and the others.

The "sinner-man" is the theme for many verses of the negro favorites.

Directed at him are warnings and admonitions. He is told what he must do and when; how he must do and why. He is told of the experiences of the Christians and he is told of the doom of the d.a.m.ned. The negro rejoices over his own safety and boasts of the sinner's destruction; at the same time he constantly refers to the "po' sinner" in a sympathetic way. But the sinner must be warned:

_G.o.d knows it's time, it's time, it's time, That a sinner was makin' up his min'

It's time, it's time he was makin' up his min' to die._

A sinner was walkin' off his time, his time, An' when my G.o.d call him he did not have the _time_, G.o.d know it was time, it was time, it was time for him to die.

Again the words of the righteous to the sinner are driven home by repet.i.tion, and, by a dark and dismal picture,

O h.e.l.l is deep an' h.e.l.l is wide, O h.e.l.l is deep an' h.e.l.l is wide, O h.e.l.l is deep an' h.e.l.l is wide, O h.e.l.l ain't got no bottom or side.

Well before I lay in h.e.l.l all day, h.e.l.l all day, Well before I lay in h.e.l.l all day, h.e.l.l all day, Well before I lay in h.e.l.l all day, h.e.l.l all day, I goin' to sing an' pray myself away, self away.

O sinner don't you let this harves' pa.s.s, harves' pa.s.s, O sinner don't you let this harves' pa.s.s, harves' pa.s.s, O sinner don't you let this harves' pa.s.s, harves' pa.s.s, Do you die an' got to h.e.l.l at las', h.e.l.l at las'.

The sinner may be a _gambler_ or a _dancer_ or a _rogue_ or a _drunkard_.