The sole occurrence of ‘The Babe of Bethlehem’, a carol, is inThe Southern Harmony, 1835. William (Singin’ Billy) Walker recorded it evidently from oral tradition and added a treble and a bass part, in the four-shape notation.
The sole occurrence of ‘The Babe of Bethlehem’, a carol, is inThe Southern Harmony, 1835. William (Singin’ Billy) Walker recorded it evidently from oral tradition and added a treble and a bass part, in the four-shape notation.
The ‘Morning Trumpet’is a spiritual song in the unique seven-shape notation ofThe Harp of Columbia, 1855.
The ‘Morning Trumpet’is a spiritual song in the unique seven-shape notation ofThe Harp of Columbia, 1855.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
play
There was a Romish lady, Brought up in popery,Her mother always taught her, The priest she must obey.“O pardon me, dear mother, I humbly pray thee now,But unto these false idols I can no longer bow.”
There was a Romish lady, Brought up in popery,
Her mother always taught her, The priest she must obey.
“O pardon me, dear mother, I humbly pray thee now,
But unto these false idols I can no longer bow.”
Assisted by her handmaid, a bible she conceal’d,And there she gain’d instruction, till God his love reveal’d.No more she prostrates herself to pictures deck’d with gold;But soon she was betrayed and her bible from her stole.
Assisted by her handmaid, a bible she conceal’d,
And there she gain’d instruction, till God his love reveal’d.
No more she prostrates herself to pictures deck’d with gold;
But soon she was betrayed and her bible from her stole.
“I’ll bow to my dear Jesus, I’ll worship God unseen,I’ll live by faith forever, the works of men are vain.I cannot worship angels nor pictures made by men:Dear Mother, use your pleasure, but pardon if you can.”
“I’ll bow to my dear Jesus, I’ll worship God unseen,
I’ll live by faith forever, the works of men are vain.
I cannot worship angels nor pictures made by men:
Dear Mother, use your pleasure, but pardon if you can.”
With grief and great vexation her mother straight did goT’ inform the Roman clergy, the cause of all her wo.The priests were soon assembled, and for the maid did call,And forced her in the dungeon to fright her soul withal.
With grief and great vexation her mother straight did go
T’ inform the Roman clergy, the cause of all her wo.
The priests were soon assembled, and for the maid did call,
And forced her in the dungeon to fright her soul withal.
The more they strove to fright her, the more she did endure;Although her age was tender, her faith was strong and sure.The chains of gold so costly, they from this lady took,And she, with all her spirits, the pride of life forsook.
The more they strove to fright her, the more she did endure;
Although her age was tender, her faith was strong and sure.
The chains of gold so costly, they from this lady took,
And she, with all her spirits, the pride of life forsook.
Before the pope they brought her, in hopes of her return,And there she was condem-ned in horrid flames to burn.Before the place of torment they brought her speedily;With lifted hands to heaven she then agreed to die.
Before the pope they brought her, in hopes of her return,
And there she was condem-ned in horrid flames to burn.
Before the place of torment they brought her speedily;
With lifted hands to heaven she then agreed to die.
There being many ladies assembled at the place,She raised her eyes to heaven and begged supplying grace:“Weep not, ye tender ladies, shed not a tear for me,While my poor body’s burning, my soul the Lord shall see.
There being many ladies assembled at the place,
She raised her eyes to heaven and begged supplying grace:
“Weep not, ye tender ladies, shed not a tear for me,
While my poor body’s burning, my soul the Lord shall see.
“Yourselves you need to pity, and Zion’s deep decay;Dear ladies, turn to Jesus, no longer make delay.”In comes her raving mother, her daughter to behold,And in her hand she brought her the pictures deck’d with gold.
“Yourselves you need to pity, and Zion’s deep decay;
Dear ladies, turn to Jesus, no longer make delay.”
In comes her raving mother, her daughter to behold,
And in her hand she brought her the pictures deck’d with gold.
“O take from me these idols, remove them from my sight;Restore to me my bible, wherein I take delight!—Alas, my aged mother, why on my ruin bent?’Twas you that did betray me, but I am innocent.
“O take from me these idols, remove them from my sight;
Restore to me my bible, wherein I take delight!—
Alas, my aged mother, why on my ruin bent?
’Twas you that did betray me, but I am innocent.
“Tormentors, use your pleasure, and do as you think best;I hope my blessed Jesus will take my soul to rest.”Soon as these words were spoken, up steps the man of death,And kindled up the fire to stop her mortal breath.
“Tormentors, use your pleasure, and do as you think best;
I hope my blessed Jesus will take my soul to rest.”
Soon as these words were spoken, up steps the man of death,
And kindled up the fire to stop her mortal breath.
Instead of golden bracelets, with chains they bound her fast;She cried, “My God give power, now must I die at last?With Jesus and his angels forever I shall dwell;God pardon priest and people, and so I bid farewell.”
Instead of golden bracelets, with chains they bound her fast;
She cried, “My God give power, now must I die at last?
With Jesus and his angels forever I shall dwell;
God pardon priest and people, and so I bid farewell.”
The text—undoubtedly of Inquisition times origin—indicates the age of the ballad. It is to be found in theRoxburghe Ballads, i., 43. It is mentioned in Beaumont and Fletcher’s “Knight of the Burning Pestle” (1613). A parody on the opening words:
There was a moanish ladyLived in a moanish land;She had a moanish daughterCould moan at the Lord’s commandetc.
There was a moanish lady
Lived in a moanish land;
She had a moanish daughter
Could moan at the Lord’s commandetc.
is in Sandburg’sAmerican Songbag, p. 11. Another echo of this ballad text is:
The Romish Lady, she had babes,
The Romish Lady, she had babes,
in ‘The Wife of Usher’s Well’, Sharp, i., 159. I recorded the tune in Dayton, Virginia; seeWhite Spirituals, 202.The Methodist Hymnal(1935, No. 436) has a variant of the tune which it calls a “traditional English carol”.
Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII)
play
I’d rather live a beggar while here on earth I stay,Than to possess the riches of all America;And to begging I will go.And to begging I will go, will go, will go,And to begging I will go.
I’d rather live a beggar while here on earth I stay,
Than to possess the riches of all America;
And to begging I will go.
And to begging I will go, will go, will go,
And to begging I will go.
With thoughts of keen emotion our hearts are running o’er,While parting from the friends we love for China’s distant shore,We’re off for China’s shore.We’re off for China’s shore, China’s shore,We’re off for China’s shore.
With thoughts of keen emotion our hearts are running o’er,
While parting from the friends we love for China’s distant shore,
We’re off for China’s shore.
We’re off for China’s shore, China’s shore,
We’re off for China’s shore.
We need your prayers, your sympathies more now than e’er before,For few the friends and hard the task on China’s distant shore;We’re off for China’s shore.We’re offetc.
We need your prayers, your sympathies more now than e’er before,
For few the friends and hard the task on China’s distant shore;
We’re off for China’s shore.
We’re offetc.
We’ll heed our Master’s call; He is with us ever more;Then farewell, dear friends, adieu, we’re off for China’s shore;We’re off for China’s shore.We’re offetc.
We’ll heed our Master’s call; He is with us ever more;
Then farewell, dear friends, adieu, we’re off for China’s shore;
We’re off for China’s shore.
We’re offetc.
A close tune variant is ‘Lost City’, or ‘To Glory I Will Go’ in this collection. Tune and words are a parody of ‘A-Begging We Will Go’ which was widely popular in the latter part of the seventeenth century and traces of whose existence are found as early as 1611.
See Chappell’sOld English Popular Music, ii., 42-43.
The first stanza of the song as it appeared inChoyce Ayresetc., 1676, runs:
There was a jovial beggar,He had a wooden leg,Lame from his cradle and forced for to beg.And a begging we will go, we’ll go, we’ll go,And a begging we will go.
There was a jovial beggar,
He had a wooden leg,
Lame from his cradle and forced for to beg.
And a begging we will go, we’ll go, we’ll go,
And a begging we will go.
Other songs for which the early song became the prototype were ‘A Bowling We Will Go’, ‘A Fishing We Will Go’, ‘A Hawking We Will Go’ and ‘A Hunting We Will Go.’
Hexatonic, mode 4 A (I II — IV V VI 7)
play
Tho’ sinners would vex me, tho’ troubles perplex me,Against inclination, O what shall I do?No longer a rover, my follies are over.But one thing is needful, and that I’ll pursue.
Tho’ sinners would vex me, tho’ troubles perplex me,
Against inclination, O what shall I do?
No longer a rover, my follies are over.
But one thing is needful, and that I’ll pursue.
Vain pleasure is deceitful, and sin is all hateful,But genuine pleasure in Jesus I find:This world is a bubble, a life full of trouble;My thoughts now fly upward, and leave all behind.
Vain pleasure is deceitful, and sin is all hateful,
But genuine pleasure in Jesus I find:
This world is a bubble, a life full of trouble;
My thoughts now fly upward, and leave all behind.
I hear the bells tolling; and wheels are now rolling;Some gallant, gay, fair one goes to her long home:If dead out of Jesus—the Lord will not save us,And to him in glory we never can come.
I hear the bells tolling; and wheels are now rolling;
Some gallant, gay, fair one goes to her long home:
If dead out of Jesus—the Lord will not save us,
And to him in glory we never can come.
Oh! pray for conversion; shun foolish diversion;Adopt self-denial, and take up your cross:These do for a season, and use your own reason,And you will see clearly you suffer no loss.
Oh! pray for conversion; shun foolish diversion;
Adopt self-denial, and take up your cross:
These do for a season, and use your own reason,
And you will see clearly you suffer no loss.
Your time is a treasure (there’s none in vain pleasure),Then look up to Jesus with faith’s steadfast eye:Oh, haste to believe in the crucified Savior,For time flies apace, and eternity’s nigh!
Your time is a treasure (there’s none in vain pleasure),
Then look up to Jesus with faith’s steadfast eye:
Oh, haste to believe in the crucified Savior,
For time flies apace, and eternity’s nigh!
My soul starts with wonder, to think how God’s thunder,Will shake all creation at Gabriel’s call!When time is no longer, the aged and younger,Before the great Judge, in their trouble, will fall.
My soul starts with wonder, to think how God’s thunder,
Will shake all creation at Gabriel’s call!
When time is no longer, the aged and younger,
Before the great Judge, in their trouble, will fall.
The Judgment decided, friends now are divided;And all the ungodly are turned into hell:But glory to Jesus! believing, He’ll save us,With angels in glory his praises to swell.
The Judgment decided, friends now are divided;
And all the ungodly are turned into hell:
But glory to Jesus! believing, He’ll save us,
With angels in glory his praises to swell.
The Olive Leafarranger spoiled the tune’s apparent mixolydian purity by changing thed’s tod-sharps. As to title and source the editor says: “Reverend James Axley was one of the pioneer preachers of the Holston Conference, and a very holy, laborious, and successful minister. I learned this tune and song of Reverend Russell Reneau, who died in Arkansas during our late unhappy Civil War. Crude as the song is, I choose to preserve it in memory of Mr. Axley and Mr. Reneau.” The tune is a variant of ‘Christian Warfare’, GOS 603. Further information as to the Reverend James Axley, whose period of activity in the methodist conferences of Tennessee, Kentucky and other states was during the first decades of the nineteenth century, may be found in Peter Cartwright’sAutobiography, p. 62 and elsewhere.
Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7)
play
The time is swiftly rolling onWhen I must faint and die;My body to the dust returnAnd there forgotten lie.
The time is swiftly rolling on
When I must faint and die;
My body to the dust return
And there forgotten lie.
William Walker claims the tune. See ‘Farewell’ in this collection for different melodies associated with this text. Cecil Sharp recorded five versions of the song as he heard them in the Appalachian Mountains in 1916 and 1918. See Sharp, ii., 142-143. The text (given more fully under ‘Farewell’) was written by the Reverend B. Hicks of South Carolina. SeeWhite Spirituals, 202ff.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
play
Man at his first creation in Eden God did place,The public head and father of all the human race;But by the subtle serpent beguil’d he was and fell,And by his disobedience was doom’d to death and hell.
Man at his first creation in Eden God did place,
The public head and father of all the human race;
But by the subtle serpent beguil’d he was and fell,
And by his disobedience was doom’d to death and hell.
While in this situation a promise there was made,The offspring of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head,Against the power of Satan that man might only feelThe malice of the serpent enraging at his heel.
While in this situation a promise there was made,
The offspring of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head,
Against the power of Satan that man might only feel
The malice of the serpent enraging at his heel.
Now at the time appointed Jesus unveiled his face,Assumed our human nature and suffered in our place;He suffered on Mount Calvary and ransomed all for me,The law demands attention, to pay the penalty.
Now at the time appointed Jesus unveiled his face,
Assumed our human nature and suffered in our place;
He suffered on Mount Calvary and ransomed all for me,
The law demands attention, to pay the penalty.
They laid him in a sepulchre, it being near at hand,The grave could not now hold him, nor death’s cold iron hand;He burst them all asunder and pulled their kingdoms down,He’s overcome his enemies and wears a starry crown.
They laid him in a sepulchre, it being near at hand,
The grave could not now hold him, nor death’s cold iron hand;
He burst them all asunder and pulled their kingdoms down,
He’s overcome his enemies and wears a starry crown.
Miss Gilchrist finds this “reminiscent of the old Cornish ‘When God at first had Adam made’, and of the style of the Manx-Gaelic carvals.” See JFSS, viii., 83.
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
play
When for eternal worlds we steer,And seas are calm and skies are clear;And faith in lively exercise,And distant hills of Canaan rise;The soul for joy then claps her wings,And loud her lovely sonnet sings,I’m going home, I’m going home;And loud her lovely sonnet sings,I’m going home.
When for eternal worlds we steer,
And seas are calm and skies are clear;
And faith in lively exercise,
And distant hills of Canaan rise;
The soul for joy then claps her wings,
And loud her lovely sonnet sings,
I’m going home, I’m going home;
And loud her lovely sonnet sings,
I’m going home.
With cheerful hope his eyes exploreEach landmark on the distant shore;The trees of life, the pasture green,The crystal stream, delightful scene.Again for joy she plumes her wings,And loud her lovely sonnet sings:I’m almost home, I’m almost home!And loud her lovely sonnet sings:I’m almost home.
With cheerful hope his eyes explore
Each landmark on the distant shore;
The trees of life, the pasture green,
The crystal stream, delightful scene.
Again for joy she plumes her wings,
And loud her lovely sonnet sings:
I’m almost home, I’m almost home!
And loud her lovely sonnet sings:
I’m almost home.
The nearer still she draws to land,More eager all her pow’rs expand;With steady helm and free bent sail,Her anchor drops within the vale.And now for joy she folds her wingsAnd her celestial sonnet sings:I’m home at last, I’m home at last!And her celestial sonnet sings:I’m home at last!
The nearer still she draws to land,
More eager all her pow’rs expand;
With steady helm and free bent sail,
Her anchor drops within the vale.
And now for joy she folds her wings
And her celestial sonnet sings:
I’m home at last, I’m home at last!
And her celestial sonnet sings:
I’m home at last!
She meets with those who’re gone before,On heaven’s high and genial shoreAround the dear Redeemer’s feet,— — — — — — —And loud they shout: Our God and King!And ceaseless hallelujahs sing,We’re safe at last! We’re safe at last!And ceaseless hallelujahs sing,We’re safe at last!
She meets with those who’re gone before,
On heaven’s high and genial shore
Around the dear Redeemer’s feet,
— — — — — — —
And loud they shout: Our God and King!
And ceaseless hallelujahs sing,
We’re safe at last! We’re safe at last!
And ceaseless hallelujahs sing,
We’re safe at last!
The song is attributed in theSouthern Harmonyto Wm. M. Caudill and Wm. Walker. The tune bears some resemblance to ‘Liverpool’ in this collection. The song is found also in REV 396, entitled ‘Sonnet’.
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
play
Young people all attention give,And hear what I shall say;I wish your souls with Christ to liveIn everlasting day.
Young people all attention give,
And hear what I shall say;
I wish your souls with Christ to live
In everlasting day.
Remember you are hastening onTo death’s dark gloomy shade;Your joys on earth will soon be gone,Your flesh in dust be laid.
Remember you are hastening on
To death’s dark gloomy shade;
Your joys on earth will soon be gone,
Your flesh in dust be laid.
Death’s iron gate you must pass through,Ere long, my dear young friends;With whom then do you think to go,With saints or fiery fiends?
Death’s iron gate you must pass through,
Ere long, my dear young friends;
With whom then do you think to go,
With saints or fiery fiends?
Pray meditate before too late,While in a gospel land;Behold! King Jesus at the gateMost lovingly doth stand.
Pray meditate before too late,
While in a gospel land;
Behold! King Jesus at the gate
Most lovingly doth stand.
Young men, how can you turn faceFrom such a glorious friend;Will you pursue your dang’rous ways?O don’t you fear the end?
Young men, how can you turn face
From such a glorious friend;
Will you pursue your dang’rous ways?
O don’t you fear the end?
Will you pursue that dang’rous roadWhich leads to death and hell?Will you refuse all peace with God,With devils for to dwell?
Will you pursue that dang’rous road
Which leads to death and hell?
Will you refuse all peace with God,
With devils for to dwell?
Young women too, what will you do,If out of Christ you die?From all God’s people you must go,To weep, lament and cry.
Young women too, what will you do,
If out of Christ you die?
From all God’s people you must go,
To weep, lament and cry.
Where you the least relief can’t find,To mitigate your pain;Your good things all be left behind,Your souls in death remain.
Where you the least relief can’t find,
To mitigate your pain;
Your good things all be left behind,
Your souls in death remain.
Young people all, I pray then viewThe fountain open’d wide;The spring of life open’d for sin,Which flow’d from Jesus’ side.
Young people all, I pray then view
The fountain open’d wide;
The spring of life open’d for sin,
Which flow’d from Jesus’ side.
There you may drink in endless joy,And reign with Christ, your king,In his glad notes your souls employ,And hallelujahs sing.
There you may drink in endless joy,
And reign with Christ, your king,
In his glad notes your souls employ,
And hallelujahs sing.
The earliest appearance of the text is inMercer’s Cluster, a collection of rurally used hymns (not tunes) by Jesse Mercer, benefactor of Mercer University, who lived in Powellton, Georgia, in the 1820’s. The editor of theSacred Harpattributes the tune to M. C. H. Davis, a southern rural. The song is found also UH 27, HH 83, HOC 113, WP 36, SOC 76, SOH I and CHH 58. The tune is a member of the ‘Lord Lovel’ family mentioned in the introduction,p. 14, and is closely related to ‘Mermaid’, Sharp, i., 291, and to ‘The Broom of Cowdenknows’, SMM No. 3, and its seventeenth-century country-dance form ‘The Bonny Bonny Broome’, Playford’sThe English Dancing Master, p. 74. For a list of other members of the ‘Lord Lovel’ tune family see ‘Dulcimer’ in this collection.
Pentatonic, mode 1 (I II — IV V VI —)
play
There was a little fam’lyThat liv’d in Bethany,Two sisters and a brotherCompos’d that family.
There was a little fam’ly
That liv’d in Bethany,
Two sisters and a brother
Compos’d that family.
With shouting and with singingLike angels in the sky,At morning and at eveningThey rais’d their voices high.
With shouting and with singing
Like angels in the sky,
At morning and at evening
They rais’d their voices high.
SeeWhite Spiritualsfor the full text of seven stanzas about the raising of Lazarus. For references see JAFL, xxv., 17, and xxix., 182.
Almost the same tune is ‘Johnny German’, Sharp, ii., 256. ‘Joe Bowers’, Cox, 527, is also similar. Another spiritual ballad using this tune in variant form is ‘Wedlock (A)’, in this collection.
Heptatonic ionian, Mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII)
play
Young women all, I pray draw near,Listen a while and you shall hearHow sin and Satan both did tryTo land my soul in misery.
Young women all, I pray draw near,
Listen a while and you shall hear
How sin and Satan both did try
To land my soul in misery.
The full text is reproduced inWhite Spirituals, 186f. The tune is closely related to ‘McAfee’s Confession’, Sharp, ii., 15 and 16. John Powell notes in connection with this song: “I have collected this tune often as ‘Young People Who Delight in Sin’ and it is always mixolydian.” He then makes the suggestion: “Why not take out theg-sharp from the signature? In that case the modal indication would be heptatonic mixolydian, mode 3 a + b (IIIIIIIVVVI7).”
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
play
Lay up nearer, brother, nearer,For my limbs are growing cold,And thy presence seemeth nearer,When thine arms around me fold.
Lay up nearer, brother, nearer,
For my limbs are growing cold,
And thy presence seemeth nearer,
When thine arms around me fold.
I am dying, brother, dying;Soon you’ll miss me in your berth,For my form will soon be lying’Neath the ocean’s briney deep.
I am dying, brother, dying;
Soon you’ll miss me in your berth,
For my form will soon be lying
’Neath the ocean’s briney deep.
I am going, surely going,But my hope in God is strong;I am willing, brother, knowingThat he doth nothing wrong.
I am going, surely going,
But my hope in God is strong;
I am willing, brother, knowing
That he doth nothing wrong.
Tell my father, when you greet him,That in death I prayed for him,Prayed that I might only meet himIn a world that’s free from sin.
Tell my father, when you greet him,
That in death I prayed for him,
Prayed that I might only meet him
In a world that’s free from sin.
Tell my mother,—God assist her,Now that she is growing old,—That her child would glad have kissed herWhen his lips grew pale and cold.
Tell my mother,—God assist her,
Now that she is growing old,—
That her child would glad have kissed her
When his lips grew pale and cold.
Listen, brother, catch each whisper,’Tis my wife I’ll speak of now;Tell, O tell her how I missed her,When the fever burned my brow.
Listen, brother, catch each whisper,
’Tis my wife I’ll speak of now;
Tell, O tell her how I missed her,
When the fever burned my brow.
Tell her she must kiss my children,Like the kiss I last impressed;Hold them as when last I held them,Folded closely to my breast.
Tell her she must kiss my children,
Like the kiss I last impressed;
Hold them as when last I held them,
Folded closely to my breast.
Give them early to their maker,Putting all her trust in God;And he never will forsake her,For he’s said so in his word.
Give them early to their maker,
Putting all her trust in God;
And he never will forsake her,
For he’s said so in his word.
Oh! my children, Heaven bless them,They were all my life to me;Would I could once more caress themBefore I sink beneath the sea.
Oh! my children, Heaven bless them,
They were all my life to me;
Would I could once more caress them
Before I sink beneath the sea.
’Twas for them I crossed the ocean,What my hopes were I’d not tell,But they gained an orphan’s portion,—Yet he doth all things well.
’Twas for them I crossed the ocean,
What my hopes were I’d not tell,
But they gained an orphan’s portion,—
Yet he doth all things well.
Listen, brother, closely listen,Don’t forget a single word,That in death my eyes did glistenWith the tears her memory stored.
Listen, brother, closely listen,
Don’t forget a single word,
That in death my eyes did glisten
With the tears her memory stored.
Tell them I never reached the haven,Where I sought the precious dust,But I’ve gained a port called heavenWhere the gold will never rust.
Tell them I never reached the haven,
Where I sought the precious dust,
But I’ve gained a port called heaven
Where the gold will never rust.
Tell my sisters I rememberEvery kind and parting word,And my heart has been kept tenderBy the thoughts its memory stirred.
Tell my sisters I remember
Every kind and parting word,
And my heart has been kept tender
By the thoughts its memory stirred.
Urge them to secure an entrance,For they’ll find a brother there.Faith in Jesus and repentanceWill secure for them a share.
Urge them to secure an entrance,
For they’ll find a brother there.
Faith in Jesus and repentance
Will secure for them a share.
Hark! I hear my Savior speaking;’Tis—I know his voice so well,When I’m gone, O don’t be weeping,Brother, hear my last farewell.
Hark! I hear my Savior speaking;
’Tis—I know his voice so well,
When I’m gone, O don’t be weeping,
Brother, hear my last farewell.
The song seems to have been inspired by the fate of one of the “forty-niners.” It made its first appearance in fasola circles in the 1859 edition of theSacred Harpwhere it is attributed to Ball and Drinkard. For references as to its origin see Hudson,Folksongs of Mississippi, 221.
Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —)
play
Poor drunkards, poor drunkards, take warning by me,The fruits of transgression behold now I see;My soul is tormented, my body confin’d;My friends and my children left weeping behind.
Poor drunkards, poor drunkards, take warning by me,
The fruits of transgression behold now I see;
My soul is tormented, my body confin’d;
My friends and my children left weeping behind.
Much intoxication my ruin has been,And my dear companion I’ve barbarously slain;In yonder cold graveyard her body doth lie,And I am confined and must shortly die.
Much intoxication my ruin has been,
And my dear companion I’ve barbarously slain;
In yonder cold graveyard her body doth lie,
And I am confined and must shortly die.
A solemn death warning to drunkards I leave,While my poor body lies cold in the dark grave;Remember John Adkins, his death and reform,Lest justice o’ertakes you and sorrow comes on.
A solemn death warning to drunkards I leave,
While my poor body lies cold in the dark grave;
Remember John Adkins, his death and reform,
Lest justice o’ertakes you and sorrow comes on.
A whole life of sorrow can never atone,For that cruel murder that my hands have done;I am justly condemned, it’s right that I should die,Therefore, let all drunkards take warning hereby.
A whole life of sorrow can never atone,
For that cruel murder that my hands have done;
I am justly condemned, it’s right that I should die,
Therefore, let all drunkards take warning hereby.
Farewell, my dear children, wherever you be;Though quite young and tender and dear unto me;I leave you exposed in nature’s wide field,In which God is able poor orphans to shield.
Farewell, my dear children, wherever you be;
Though quite young and tender and dear unto me;
I leave you exposed in nature’s wide field,
In which God is able poor orphans to shield.
No mother to teach you, no mother to guideYour tender affections from sin’s awful tide;No portion to shun you from hunger or cold,My poor little orphans are cast on the world.
No mother to teach you, no mother to guide
Your tender affections from sin’s awful tide;
No portion to shun you from hunger or cold,
My poor little orphans are cast on the world.
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.
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 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.
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 theSocial 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’; seeOn the Trail of the Negro Folk-Song, 63. An English folk-song ‘Sweet England’ has a variant tune. SeeEnglish 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’.
Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII)
play
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 calledTo 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.
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.
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.
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.
Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A + b (I II III IV V VI VII)
play
When Adam was created,He dwelt in Eden’s shade,As Moses has related,Before a bride was made.
When Adam was created,
He dwelt in Eden’s shade,
As Moses has related,
Before a bride was made.
Ten thousand times ten thousandThings wheeled all around,Before a bride was formed,Or yet a mate was found.
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 theSocial 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 AuldHouse’,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 inThe Musical Quarterly, xxii., No. 2.)
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
play
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 joysUntil I heard my Savior’s voice.
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 forgivenAnd 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 viewThe billows roll beneath your feet;For death eternal waits for youWho slight the force of gospel truth.
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 goneBy fleeting time or conquering death;Your morning sun may set at noonAnd leave you ever in the dark.Your sparkling eyes and blooming cheeksMust wither like the blasted rose;The coffin, earth and winding-sheetWill soon your active limbs enclose.
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 rollIn solemn darkness round your head.Your friends will pass the lonesome placeAnd with a sigh move slow along;Still gazing on the spires of grassWith which your graves are overgrown.
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 ofOlive Leafgives the following notes: “From McAnally’sWestern 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.
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
play
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.
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.
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 earFrom heaven’s angelic choir.
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 mineWhen 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.
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.
TheSacred Harpsays 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 inThe 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’; seeHymns Ancient and Modern, Historical ed., London, Clowes, 1909, p. 79.
Heptatonic ionian, mode 1 A + B (I II III IV V VI VII)
play
Saw ye my Savior, saw ye my Savior,Saw ye my Savior and God?Oh! he died on Calvary to atone for you and meAnd to purchase our pardon with blood.
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.
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 divineWas derided, insulted and slain.
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 extentWhen the Jews crucified the God-Man.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
“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 inOlive 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’sPopular 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.
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, seeWhite 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 inThe Musical Quarterly, xxii., No. 2.) For further references as to ‘The Grey Cock’ seeBritish Ballads from Maine, 310ff.