When all thy mercies, O my God,My rising soul surveys,Transported with the view, I’m lostIn wonder, love and praise.Unnumber’d comforts on my soulThy tender care bestow’d,Before my infant soul conceiv’dFrom whom those comforts flow’d.
When all thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love and praise.
Unnumber’d comforts on my soul
Thy tender care bestow’d,
Before my infant soul conceiv’d
From whom those comforts flow’d.
When in the slippery paths of youth,With heedless steps I ran,Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe,And led me up to man.Ten thousand thousand precious giftsMy daily thanks employ;Nor is the least a cheerful heart,That tastes those gifts with joy.
When in the slippery paths of youth,
With heedless steps I ran,
Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe,
And led me up to man.
Ten thousand thousand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ;
Nor is the least a cheerful heart,
That tastes those gifts with joy.
Through every period of my life,Thy goodness I’ll pursue;And after death in distant worlds,The pleasing theme renew.In all eternity to TheeA grateful song I’ll raise;But! O eternity’s too shortTo utter all thy praise.
Through every period of my life,
Thy goodness I’ll pursue;
And after death in distant worlds,
The pleasing theme renew.
In all eternity to Thee
A grateful song I’ll raise;
But! O eternity’s too short
To utter all thy praise.
Ascribed to P. M. Atchley who was a singing-school man in eastern Tennessee in the early part of the nineteenth century. The tune belongs to the ‘Hallelujah’ family. See the song by that name in this collection for many related melodies.
Hexatonic, mode 1 b (I II — IV V VI 7)
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No sleep nor slumber to his eyes,Good David would afford,Till he had found below the skiesA dwelling for the Lord,A dwelling for the Lord.
No sleep nor slumber to his eyes,
Good David would afford,
Till he had found below the skies
A dwelling for the Lord,
A dwelling for the Lord.
The Lord in Zion placed his name,His ark was settled there;And there th’assembled nation came,To worship twice a year,To worship twice a year.
The Lord in Zion placed his name,
His ark was settled there;
And there th’assembled nation came,
To worship twice a year,
To worship twice a year.
We trace no more those toilsome ways,Nor wander far abroad;Where e’er thy people meet for praise,There is a house for God,There is a house for God.
We trace no more those toilsome ways,
Nor wander far abroad;
Where e’er thy people meet for praise,
There is a house for God,
There is a house for God.
The tune is usually attributed to Davisson, and this probably as a result of Davisson’s own claim in theKentucky Harmony. Found also, KYH 42, UH 31, KNH 22, HOC 13, WP 36.
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
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Jesus, thou art the sinner’s friend, As such I look on thee,Now in the bowels of thy love, O Lord remember me.O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me;Now in the bowels of thy love, O Lord remember me.
Jesus, thou art the sinner’s friend, As such I look on thee,
Now in the bowels of thy love, O Lord remember me.
O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me;
Now in the bowels of thy love, O Lord remember me.
Remember thy pure words of grace, remember Calvary,Remember all thy dying groans, and then remember me.O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me;Remember all thy dying groans, and then remember me.
Remember thy pure words of grace, remember Calvary,
Remember all thy dying groans, and then remember me.
O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me;
Remember all thy dying groans, and then remember me.
Thou wondrous advocate with God, I yield myself to thee,While thou art sitting on thy throne, O Lord remember me.O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me;While thou art sitting on thy throne, O Lord remember me.
Thou wondrous advocate with God, I yield myself to thee,
While thou art sitting on thy throne, O Lord remember me.
O Lord remember me, O Lord remember me;
While thou art sitting on thy throne, O Lord remember me.
And when I close my eyes in death, and creature helps all flee,Then O my great Redeemer, God, I pray remember me.I pray remember me, I pray remember me;Then O my great Redeemer, God, I pray remember me.
And when I close my eyes in death, and creature helps all flee,
Then O my great Redeemer, God, I pray remember me.
I pray remember me, I pray remember me;
Then O my great Redeemer, God, I pray remember me.
The poem is attributed in theSacred Harpto Richard Burnham. The tune there, and generally in the southern books, is credited to J. C. Lowry. Found also, MOH 59, GCM 104, SOH 80, UH 23, KNH 56, HH 112, SOC 205, WP 83, TZ 92, SKH 25, GOS 311. A negro spiritual inspired by this song is ‘Lord, Remember Me’, SS 12, No. 15. Miss Gilchrist sees in ‘Pisgah’ a variant of ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’ as found in the Appendix of Motherwell,Minstrelsy, and later published in Chappell’sPopular Music. (See JFSS, viii., 61-95.) Despite the apparently English source of ‘Pisgah’, theMethodist Hymn Bookof England reproduces the tune under the title ‘Covenanters’ and calls it “an American Melody.”
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
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O for a thousand tongues to sing,My great Redeemer’s praise!The glories of my God and King,The triumphs of his grace,The triumphs of his grace.
O for a thousand tongues to sing,
My great Redeemer’s praise!
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace,
The triumphs of his grace.
My gracious Master and my God,Assist me to proclaim,To spread through all the earth abroadThe honors of thy name,The honors of thy name.
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of thy name,
The honors of thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,That bids our sorrows cease;’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,’Tis life and health and peace,’Tis life and health and peace.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life and health and peace,
’Tis life and health and peace.
Charles Wesley wrote the words. William Hauser,Hesperian Harpcompiler, claims the tune. For melodic similarities in other spiritual songs see ‘One More River to Cross’, in this collection; ‘Cherry Tree Carol’, Sharp, i., 92 and 93; and ‘Geordie’, Sharp, i., 240.
Hexatonic, mode 3 b (I II III IV V VI —)
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Stay, thou insulted spirit, stay! Though I have done thee such despite,Cast not a sinner quite away, Nor take thine everlasting flight.
Stay, thou insulted spirit, stay! Though I have done thee such despite,
Cast not a sinner quite away, Nor take thine everlasting flight.
Though I have most unfaithful been, of all whoe’er thy grace received;Ten thousand times thy goodness seen, ten thousand times thy goodness griev’d.
Though I have most unfaithful been, of all whoe’er thy grace received;
Ten thousand times thy goodness seen, ten thousand times thy goodness griev’d.
But O, the chief of sinners spare, in honor of my great priest;Nor in thy righteous anger swear I shall not see thy people rest.
But O, the chief of sinners spare, in honor of my great priest;
Nor in thy righteous anger swear I shall not see thy people rest.
If yet thou canst my sins forgive, e’en now, O Lord, relieve my woes;Into thy rest of love receive, and bless me with the calm repose.
If yet thou canst my sins forgive, e’en now, O Lord, relieve my woes;
Into thy rest of love receive, and bless me with the calm repose.
E’en now my weary soul release, and raise me by thy gracious hand;Guide me into thy perfect peace, and bring me to the promis’d land.
E’en now my weary soul release, and raise me by thy gracious hand;
Guide me into thy perfect peace, and bring me to the promis’d land.
Davisson, the compiler of theSupplement to the Kentucky Harmony, claims this tune. It is similar to ‘The Bird Song’, Sharp, ii., 215. For other tune relationships see ‘I Will Arise’ in this collection.
Heptatonic ionian, mode 3 A b (I II III IV V VI VII)
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Jesus, I love thy charming name,’Tis music to my ear;Fain would I sound it out so loudThat earth and heav’n should hear,That earth and heav’n should hear.
Jesus, I love thy charming name,
’Tis music to my ear;
Fain would I sound it out so loud
That earth and heav’n should hear,
That earth and heav’n should hear.
Yes, thou art precious to my soul,My transport and my trust;Jewels, to thee, are gaudy toys,And gold is sordid dust.
Yes, thou art precious to my soul,
My transport and my trust;
Jewels, to thee, are gaudy toys,
And gold is sordid dust.
I’ll speak the honors of thy nameWith my last lab’ring breath;Then speechless clasp thee in mine arms,The antidote of death.
I’ll speak the honors of thy name
With my last lab’ring breath;
Then speechless clasp thee in mine arms,
The antidote of death.
The notated form of this tune (the work is claimed by, and is doubtless that of, William Walker) illustrates excellently the manner of singing in rural America in earlier times. See also WS, p. 211 f.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
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How lost was my condition Till Jesus made me wholeThere is but one Physician Can cure a sin-sick soul.
How lost was my condition Till Jesus made me whole
There is but one Physician Can cure a sin-sick soul.
There’s a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;There’s pow’r enough in Jesus to cure a sin-sick soul.
There’s a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;
There’s pow’r enough in Jesus to cure a sin-sick soul.
I have reproduced the notation of theRevivalisttune with all its mistakes. A fuller text is given under ‘Good Physician’ in this collection. A negro version entitled ‘There is a Balm in Gilead’ is given in Dett, p. 88. Another is in Work, p. 43.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
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Hark, from the tombs a doleful sound,Mine ears, attend the cry;“Ye living men, come view the ground,Where you must shortly lie,Where you must shortly lie,Where you must shortly lie;Ye living men come view the groundWhere you must shortly lie.
Hark, from the tombs a doleful sound,
Mine ears, attend the cry;
“Ye living men, come view the ground,
Where you must shortly lie,
Where you must shortly lie,
Where you must shortly lie;
Ye living men come view the ground
Where you must shortly lie.
“Princes, this clay must be your bed,In spite of all your towers;The tall, the wise, the reverend headMust lie as low as ours.”Grant us the power of quickening grace,To fit our souls to fly;Then, when we drop this dying flesh,We’ll rise above the sky.
“Princes, this clay must be your bed,
In spite of all your towers;
The tall, the wise, the reverend head
Must lie as low as ours.”
Grant us the power of quickening grace,
To fit our souls to fly;
Then, when we drop this dying flesh,
We’ll rise above the sky.
The tune is the same as the popular ‘Old Grimes is Dead’ and ‘Auld Lang Syne’. It occurs also OSH 162 and CHH 94. TheMethodist Hymnal(1935) attributes it to William Shield. In theSouthern Harmonyits author is given as A. Clark.
Hexatonic, mode 3 A (I II III — V VI VII)
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How bright is the day when the ChristianReceives the sweet message to come,To rise to the mansions of gloryChorusAnd be there forever at home;And be there forever at home,To rise to the mansions of glory,And be there forever at home.
How bright is the day when the Christian
Receives the sweet message to come,
To rise to the mansions of glory
Chorus
And be there forever at home;
And be there forever at home,
To rise to the mansions of glory,
And be there forever at home.
The angels stand ready and waiting,The moment the spirit is gone,To carry it upward to heaven,And welcome it safely at home.Chorus
The angels stand ready and waiting,
The moment the spirit is gone,
To carry it upward to heaven,
And welcome it safely at home.
Chorus
The saints that have gone up before us,All raise a new shout as we come,And sing hallelujah the louder,To welcome the travelers home.Chorus
The saints that have gone up before us,
All raise a new shout as we come,
And sing hallelujah the louder,
To welcome the travelers home.
Chorus
For source of tune and words see WS, p. 167. The tune is borrowed from ‘Old Rosin the Bow’, see Sandburg, p. 167. See also ‘My Sister She Works in a Laundry’, Sandburg, 381; ‘When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea’, Dolph, 347; ‘Washington Badge’, HH 536; ‘Lord Randal’, Sharp, i., 39; and ‘I wonder When I’m to Be Married’, from Dumphriesshire, England, 1855, see JFSS, viii., 142.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
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O tell me no more of this world’s vain store;The time for such trifles with me now is o’er.A country I’ve found, where true joys abound,To dwell I’m determin’d on that happy ground.
O tell me no more of this world’s vain store;
The time for such trifles with me now is o’er.
A country I’ve found, where true joys abound,
To dwell I’m determin’d on that happy ground.
The souls that believe, in Paradise live;And me in that number will Jesus receive:My soul, don’t delay, he calls thee away;Rise, follow thy Savior, and bless the glad day.
The souls that believe, in Paradise live;
And me in that number will Jesus receive:
My soul, don’t delay, he calls thee away;
Rise, follow thy Savior, and bless the glad day.
No mortal doth know what he can bestow,What light, strength, and comfort; go after him, go!Lo! onward I move, to a city above;None guesses how wondrous my journey will prove.
No mortal doth know what he can bestow,
What light, strength, and comfort; go after him, go!
Lo! onward I move, to a city above;
None guesses how wondrous my journey will prove.
The text is attributed to “John Gambold, of England.” I find the tune to be a relative of a ‘Lord Randal’ variant which Sharp (i., 43, G) found in eastern Tennessee. The resemblance of the two tunes runs throughout; but in the last four-measure phrase (going with the worldly sentence “I’m sick to the heart and I fain would lie down”) they are practically identical. ‘Rose’ in this collection is a variant of this tune, notated in the folk manner of singing.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
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Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly dove,With all thy quick’ning powers;Come shed abroad a Savior’s love,And that will kindle ours.
Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly dove,
With all thy quick’ning powers;
Come shed abroad a Savior’s love,
And that will kindle ours.
This is quite clearly the ‘Barbara Allen’ tune as it is seen, for example, in Sharp, i., 183ff. It is also related to ‘Lonesome Grove’ in this collection. The “dove” theme in the text of the above song and in the ‘Lonesome Grove’ song was possibly the magnet which attracted the texts to variant tunes.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI VII)
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How long, O Lord our Savior, wilt thou remain away?Our hearts are growing weary of thy so long delay.O when will come the moment when, brighter far than morn,The sun-shine of thy glory will on thy people dawn.
How long, O Lord our Savior, wilt thou remain away?
Our hearts are growing weary of thy so long delay.
O when will come the moment when, brighter far than morn,
The sun-shine of thy glory will on thy people dawn.
How long, O gracious Saviour, wilt Thou Thy household leave?So long hast Thou now tarried, few Thy return believe;Immersed in sloth and folly, Thy servants, Lord, we see;And few of us stand ready, with joy to welcome Thee.
How long, O gracious Saviour, wilt Thou Thy household leave?
So long hast Thou now tarried, few Thy return believe;
Immersed in sloth and folly, Thy servants, Lord, we see;
And few of us stand ready, with joy to welcome Thee.
How long, O heav’nly Bridegroom, how long wilt Thou delay?And yet how few are grieving, that Thou dost absent stay;Thy very bride her portion and calling hath forgot,And seeks for ease and glory, where Thou, her Lord, art not.
How long, O heav’nly Bridegroom, how long wilt Thou delay?
And yet how few are grieving, that Thou dost absent stay;
Thy very bride her portion and calling hath forgot,
And seeks for ease and glory, where Thou, her Lord, art not.
The tune is a close relative of ‘Love Divine’ CHI 63, ‘Heavenly Welcome’ HH 482, ‘Baltimore’ SKH 53, ‘Garden Hymn’ REV 164, and a less close one to ‘Heavenward’,Christian Science Hymnal(1932), No. 136, which is an ancient Irish tune from the Petrie collection. Compare Petrie, No. 993.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
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O land of rest, for thee I sigh,When will the moment comeWhen I shall lay my armor byAnd dwell in peace at home,And dwell in peace at home;When shall I lay my armor byAnd dwell in peace at home.
O land of rest, for thee I sigh,
When will the moment come
When I shall lay my armor by
And dwell in peace at home,
And dwell in peace at home;
When shall I lay my armor by
And dwell in peace at home.
No tranquil joy on earth I know,No peaceful, sheltering dome;This world’s a wilderness of woe,This world is not my home.
No tranquil joy on earth I know,
No peaceful, sheltering dome;
This world’s a wilderness of woe,
This world is not my home.
Our tears shall all be wiped awayWhen we have ceased to roam,And we shall hear our Father say,“Come, dwell with me at home.”
Our tears shall all be wiped away
When we have ceased to roam,
And we shall hear our Father say,
“Come, dwell with me at home.”
J. S. James, editor of the 1911Original Sacred Harp, attributes tune and words to W. S. Turner of Georgia. It is found also, GOS 390.
Close relatives of this tune are ‘Deep Spring’ in this collection, ‘Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor’, Sharp, i., 118; and ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’, Sharp, i., 166.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
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I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, my Lord.I love thy dear people, thy ways and thy word.I love thee, I love thee, and that thou dost know;But how much I love thee, I never can show.
I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, my Lord.
I love thy dear people, thy ways and thy word.
I love thee, I love thee, and that thou dost know;
But how much I love thee, I never can show.
I’m happy, I’m happy, O wondrous account!My joys are immortal, I stand on the mount!I gaze on my treasure, and long to be there,With Jesus and angels, my kindred so dear.
I’m happy, I’m happy, O wondrous account!
My joys are immortal, I stand on the mount!
I gaze on my treasure, and long to be there,
With Jesus and angels, my kindred so dear.
O Jesus, my Savior, with thee I am blest!My life and salvation, my joy and my rest!Thy Name be my theme, and thy love be my song!Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my tongue.
O Jesus, my Savior, with thee I am blest!
My life and salvation, my joy and my rest!
Thy Name be my theme, and thy love be my song!
Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my tongue.
O who’s like my Savior? He’s Salem’s bright King;He smiles, and he loves me, and helps me to sing:I’ll praise him and bless him, with notes loud and shrill,While rivers of pleasure my spirit do fill:
O who’s like my Savior? He’s Salem’s bright King;
He smiles, and he loves me, and helps me to sing:
I’ll praise him and bless him, with notes loud and shrill,
While rivers of pleasure my spirit do fill:
O Jesus, my Savior! I know thou art mine;For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign:Of objects most pleasing I love thee the best;Without thee I’m wretched, but with thee I’m blessed.
O Jesus, my Savior! I know thou art mine;
For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign:
Of objects most pleasing I love thee the best;
Without thee I’m wretched, but with thee I’m blessed.
Tho’ weak and despised, by faith I now stand,Preserv’d and defended by Heaven’s kind hand:By Jesus supported, I’ll praise his dear name,Regardless of danger, of praise, or of blame.
Tho’ weak and despised, by faith I now stand,
Preserv’d and defended by Heaven’s kind hand:
By Jesus supported, I’ll praise his dear name,
Regardless of danger, of praise, or of blame.
I find him in singing, I find him in prayer;In sweet meditation he always is near:My constant companion, Oh may we ne’er part!All glory to Jesus, who dwells in my heart!
I find him in singing, I find him in prayer;
In sweet meditation he always is near:
My constant companion, Oh may we ne’er part!
All glory to Jesus, who dwells in my heart!
The text is attributed to John Adam Granade, the “Billy Sunday” of the revival movement which reached a high point in its trend at about the beginning of the nineteenth century. Granade was the author of many widely sung texts.
The tune is clearly of the ‘Lord Lovel’ family. Compare, for example, the melody which Sharp found in North Carolina; see Sharp, i., 38, A. Its earliest appearance in American religious song books seems to have been in Ingalls’Christian Harmony, 1805, p. 44.
Pentatonic, mode 3 (I II III — V VI —)
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Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)That saved a wretch like me!I once was lost, but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
The poem is by Newton. The tune’s source is unknown to the southern compilers. It goes also under the names ‘Symphony’, ‘Solon’, and ‘Redemption’. Found also, WP 27, GCM 105, OSH 45, HH 104, SOC 190, TZ 90, VH 19,Church Harmony91. A close relative of the tune is ‘Primrose’ in this collection. Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Melody’.
I recorded this tune also as it was sung by F. Fagan Thompson of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, February, 1936. I reproduce here his version, one in which the tune is slowed and many graces are introduced, as an excellent illustration of the widespread southern folk-manner in the singing of hymns of this sort.
very slow
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Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)That saved a wretch like me!I once was lost, but now I’m found,Was blind but now I see.
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found,
Was blind but now I see.
Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7)
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The people called Christians have many things to tellAbout the land of Canaan where saints and angels dwell;But here a dismal ocean enclosing them around,With its tides still divides them from Canaan’s happy ground.
The people called Christians have many things to tell
About the land of Canaan where saints and angels dwell;
But here a dismal ocean enclosing them around,
With its tides still divides them from Canaan’s happy ground.
Many have been impatient to work their passage through,And with united wisdom have tried what they could do;But vessels built by human skill have never sailed far,Till we found them aground on some dreadful, sandy bar.
Many have been impatient to work their passage through,
And with united wisdom have tried what they could do;
But vessels built by human skill have never sailed far,
Till we found them aground on some dreadful, sandy bar.
The everlasting gospel hath launch’d the deep at last;Behold the sails expanded around the tow’ring mast!Along the deck in order, the joyful sailors stand,Crying, “Ho!—here we go to Immanuel’s happy land!”
The everlasting gospel hath launch’d the deep at last;
Behold the sails expanded around the tow’ring mast!
Along the deck in order, the joyful sailors stand,
Crying, “Ho!—here we go to Immanuel’s happy land!”
We’re now on the wide ocean, we bid the world farewell!And though where we shall anchor no human tongue can tell;About our future destiny there need be no debate,While we ride on the tide, with our Captain and his Mate.
We’re now on the wide ocean, we bid the world farewell!
And though where we shall anchor no human tongue can tell;
About our future destiny there need be no debate,
While we ride on the tide, with our Captain and his Mate.
To those who are spectators what anguish must ensue,To hear their old companions bid them a last adieu!The pleasures of your paradise no more our hearts invite;We will sail—you may rail, we shall soon be out of sight.
To those who are spectators what anguish must ensue,
To hear their old companions bid them a last adieu!
The pleasures of your paradise no more our hearts invite;
We will sail—you may rail, we shall soon be out of sight.
The passengers united in order, peace, and love;The wind is in our favour, how swiftly do we move!Though tempests may assail us, and raging billows roar,We will sweep through the deep, till we reach fair Canaan’s shore.
The passengers united in order, peace, and love;
The wind is in our favour, how swiftly do we move!
Though tempests may assail us, and raging billows roar,
We will sweep through the deep, till we reach fair Canaan’s shore.
TheSouthern Harmonygives the maker of this song as I. Neighbours, who may indeed have been the author of the text. This text is clearly a parody, and the tune a close variant, of ‘When the Stormy Winds do Blow’ or ‘You Gentlemen of England’, a song of seafaring which appears to have been widely sung in England over a long period. References to a ‘Stormy Winds’ ballad reach back to 1660. The tune with different texts appeared as ‘Saylers for my Money’, ‘The Bridegroom’s Salutation’, ‘You Calvinists of England’ and ‘England’s Valour and Holland’s Terrour’. See Vincent Jackson,English Melodies from the 13th to the 18th Century, p. 114.
Other melodic relatives which have come to my notice are ‘The Trees do Grow High’, Sharp,One Hundred English Folk-Songs, No. 25; and ‘John Anderson My Jo John’,The Singer’s Companion, p. 72, and SMM, No. 146.
Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7)
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And am I born to die,To lay this body down?And must this trembling spirit flyInto a world unknown?
And am I born to die,
To lay this body down?
And must this trembling spirit fly
Into a world unknown?
Waked by the trumpet’s sound,I from the grave shall rise,To see the Judge with glory crowned,And view the flaming skies.
Waked by the trumpet’s sound,
I from the grave shall rise,
To see the Judge with glory crowned,
And view the flaming skies.
How shall I leave the tomb?With triumph or regret?A fearful or a joyful doom?A curse or blessing meet?
How shall I leave the tomb?
With triumph or regret?
A fearful or a joyful doom?
A curse or blessing meet?
I must from God be driv’n,Or with my Saviour dwell;Must come at His command to heav’n,Or else depart—to hell.
I must from God be driv’n,
Or with my Saviour dwell;
Must come at His command to heav’n,
Or else depart—to hell.
The words are by Charles Wesley. The tune is claimed by Ananias Davisson in hisKentucky Harmony(1815) whence it was borrowed by practically all the subsequent book compilers in the South. The tune was used for the secular ballad ‘Lord Lovel’; seeWhite Spirituals, 177. Also found KYH 33, GCM 36, SOH 31,UH 19, KNH 36, HH 224, SOC 55, HOC 44, TZ 122, MOH 38,Church Harmony, p. 35, GOS 184, PB 246. An imitation of this tune is GOS 325. ‘Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor’, Davis, p. 570, shows the same trend, as does also ‘Young Hunting’, Sharp, i., 112.
Hexatonic, mode 2 b (I — 3 IV V 6 7)
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Who is this that comes from farWith his garments dipt in blood?Strong, triumphant traveler,Is he man or is he God?“I that reign in righteousness,Son of God and man I am,Mighty to redeem your race,Jesus is your Savior’s name.
Who is this that comes from far
With his garments dipt in blood?
Strong, triumphant traveler,
Is he man or is he God?
“I that reign in righteousness,
Son of God and man I am,
Mighty to redeem your race,
Jesus is your Savior’s name.
“Wide, ye heavenly gates, unfold,Closed no more by death and sin;Lo, the conquering Lord behold;Let the King of glory in.”Hark, th’angelic host inquire,“Who is He, th’almighty King?”Hark again, the answering choirThus in strains of triumph sing:
“Wide, ye heavenly gates, unfold,
Closed no more by death and sin;
Lo, the conquering Lord behold;
Let the King of glory in.”
Hark, th’angelic host inquire,
“Who is He, th’almighty King?”
Hark again, the answering choir
Thus in strains of triumph sing:
“He whose powerful arm, alone,On His foes destruction hurled;He who hath the victory won;He who saved you by His blood;He who God’s pure law fulfilled;Jesus, the incarnate Word;He whose truth with blood was sealed;He is heaven’s all-glorious Lord.”
“He whose powerful arm, alone,
On His foes destruction hurled;
He who hath the victory won;
He who saved you by His blood;
He who God’s pure law fulfilled;
Jesus, the incarnate Word;
He whose truth with blood was sealed;
He is heaven’s all-glorious Lord.”
The melodic sentence at the beginning and at the end is a favorite. It may be found, for example, also in ‘Greenwood Siding’, Cox, p. 522. A variant of the tune is ‘When I First Left Old Ireland’, Petrie, No. 863. See ‘I Will Arise’ in this collection for further tune relationships.
Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 7)
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Why do we mourn departing friendsOr shake at death’s alarms?’Tis but the voice that Jesus sendsTo call them to his arms.Are we not tending upward too,As fast as time can move?Nor would we wish the hours more slow,To keep us from our love.
Why do we mourn departing friends
Or shake at death’s alarms?
’Tis but the voice that Jesus sends
To call them to his arms.
Are we not tending upward too,
As fast as time can move?
Nor would we wish the hours more slow,
To keep us from our love.
For variant forms of the tune see ‘Marion’ and ‘I Will Arise’ in this collection. Among its related secular tunes are ‘Greenwood Siding’ (‘Cruel Mother’), Cox, p. 522; an unnamed tune in Petrie, No. 193; ‘Oh Love it is a Killing Thing’, Petrie, No. 469; and ‘When First I left Old Ireland’, Petrie, No. 863. A remarkable tune resemblance and one which opens to the imagination surprising vistas as to the possible age of the ‘New Orleans’ tune, is to be seen in the Whitsuntide church melody ‘Iam Christus astra ascenderat’ from the eleventh century:
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Iam Christus astra ascenderat regressus unde venerat.
Iam Christus astra ascenderat regressus unde venerat.
The same melodic trend is seen also in the German tune set to ‘Christ der du bist der helle Tag’ from the year 1568. SeeHymns Ancient and Modern, Nos. 178 and 604.
Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7)
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I love the holy Son of God,Who once this vale of sorrows trod,And bore my sins, a heavy load,Up Calv’ry’s gloomy mountain.High on the cross he shameful hung,The sport of many an envious tongue,While pains severe his nature wrung,And streamed life’s crimson fountain.
I love the holy Son of God,
Who once this vale of sorrows trod,
And bore my sins, a heavy load,
Up Calv’ry’s gloomy mountain.
High on the cross he shameful hung,
The sport of many an envious tongue,
While pains severe his nature wrung,
And streamed life’s crimson fountain.
Oh, why did not his fury burn,And floods of vengeance on them turn?Amazing! See his bowels yearnIn soft compassion on them.No fury kindles in his eyes;They beam with love, and when he dies,Father, forgive, the sufferer cries,They know not—Oh, forgive them.
Oh, why did not his fury burn,
And floods of vengeance on them turn?
Amazing! See his bowels yearn
In soft compassion on them.
No fury kindles in his eyes;
They beam with love, and when he dies,
Father, forgive, the sufferer cries,
They know not—Oh, forgive them.
Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV 6 7)
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Glory to God on high;Let earth and skies reply,Praise ye his name, praise ye his name;His love and grace adore,Who all our sorrows bore,Sing aloud evermore,Worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb.
Glory to God on high;
Let earth and skies reply,
Praise ye his name, praise ye his name;
His love and grace adore,
Who all our sorrows bore,
Sing aloud evermore,
Worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb.
Jesus, our Lord and God,Bore sin’s tremendous load,Praise ye his name, praise ye his name;Tell what his arm has done,What spoils from death he won;Sing his great name alone;Worthy the Lamb.
Jesus, our Lord and God,
Bore sin’s tremendous load,
Praise ye his name, praise ye his name;
Tell what his arm has done,
What spoils from death he won;
Sing his great name alone;
Worthy the Lamb.
While they around the throneCheerfully join as one,Praising his name, praising his name,Those who have felt his bloodSealing their peace with God,Sound his dear fame abroad,Worthy the Lamb.
While they around the throne
Cheerfully join as one,
Praising his name, praising his name,
Those who have felt his blood
Sealing their peace with God,
Sound his dear fame abroad,
Worthy the Lamb.
Three more stanzas of the text are in theSouthern and Western Pocket Harmonist. The tune is attributed to Bradshaw.
Hexatonic, mode 4 b (I II 3 IV V — 7)
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Through all the world belowGod is seen all around,Search hills and valleys through,There he’s found.The growing of the corn,The lily and the thorn,The pleasant and forlorn,All declare, God is there;In meadows drest in green,There he’s seen.
Through all the world below
God is seen all around,
Search hills and valleys through,
There he’s found.
The growing of the corn,
The lily and the thorn,
The pleasant and forlorn,
All declare, God is there;
In meadows drest in green,
There he’s seen.
See springing waters rise,Fountains flow, rivers run;The mist that veils the skyHides the sun;Then down the rain doth pour,The ocean it doth roar,And beat upon the shore;And all praise in their waysThe God who ne’er declinesHis designs.
See springing waters rise,
Fountains flow, rivers run;
The mist that veils the sky
Hides the sun;
Then down the rain doth pour,
The ocean it doth roar,
And beat upon the shore;
And all praise in their ways
The God who ne’er declines
His designs.
The sun with all his raysSpeaks of God as he flies;The comet in her blaze,God she cries.The shining of the stars,The moon when she appears,His awful name declares;See them fly through the sky,And join the solemn soundAll round.
The sun with all his rays
Speaks of God as he flies;
The comet in her blaze,
God she cries.
The shining of the stars,
The moon when she appears,
His awful name declares;
See them fly through the sky,
And join the solemn sound
All round.
Not India’s hills of gold,Where the wonders are told,Nor zephyrs strong and boldCan unfoldThe mountain Calvary,Where Christ our Lord did die.Hark, hear the Savior cry,Mountains quake, heavens shake,Christ, call’d to heaven’s host,Left their coast.
Not India’s hills of gold,
Where the wonders are told,
Nor zephyrs strong and bold
Can unfold
The mountain Calvary,
Where Christ our Lord did die.
Hark, hear the Savior cry,
Mountains quake, heavens shake,
Christ, call’d to heaven’s host,
Left their coast.
The tune is ascribed to Nicholson. The oldest American recording known to me is in the four-shape-note manuscript song collection made by Catherine Alderice in or near Emmittsburg, Md., 1800-1830, p. 37. Miss Gilchrist calls attention to the secular ‘Captain Kidd’ ballad, of which the above is a parody, as it appeared, twenty-five verses long, inOur Familiar Songs and Who Made Them, published in America, 1889. She describes it as “a sort of dying speech and testament probably dating from about 1701 in which year Kidd and nine of his associates were hanged in Execution Dock.... There were many other eighteenth century songs, built on this peculiar stanzaic plan, celebrating other notorious characters, ‘Admiral Benbow,’ ‘Jack (or Sam) Hall.’” Other American spiritual songs in this collection having the same stanzaic form are ‘Wondrous Love’ and ‘Remember Sinful Youth’.
Heptatonic aeolian, mode 2 A + b (I II 3 IV V 6 VII).
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Jerusalem, my happy home,O how I long for thee!When will my sorrows have an end,Thy joys when shall I see!But O, the happy, happy place,The place where Jesus reigns;The place where Christians all shall meet,Never to part again.
Jerusalem, my happy home,
O how I long for thee!
When will my sorrows have an end,
Thy joys when shall I see!
But O, the happy, happy place,
The place where Jesus reigns;
The place where Christians all shall meet,
Never to part again.
Further stanzas of the text are given under ‘Long-Sought Home’ in this collection. The song is attributed to Benjamin White. This is Benjamin Franklin White, brother-in-law of, and co-worker with, William Walker (compiler of theSouthern Harmony) and author subsequently of theSacred Harp. SeeWhite Spirituals, 84.
Heptatonic dorian, mode 2 A + B with altered 3rd (I II 3 [III] IV V VI 7)
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Tempest tossed, troubled spirit,Dost thou groan beneath thy load,Fearing thou shalt not inheritIn the kingdom of thy God?View thy Savior on the mountainIn temptation’s painful hour;Tho’ of grace himself the fountain,And the Lord of boundless pow’r.
Tempest tossed, troubled spirit,
Dost thou groan beneath thy load,
Fearing thou shalt not inherit
In the kingdom of thy God?
View thy Savior on the mountain
In temptation’s painful hour;
Tho’ of grace himself the fountain,
And the Lord of boundless pow’r.
Do thy blooming prospects languish?Sayest thou still, “I’m not his child?”View thy Savior’s dreadful anguish,Famished in the gloomy wild.Not a step in all thy journey,Thro’ this gloomy vale of tears,But thy Lord hath trod before thee;He thy way to glory clears.
Do thy blooming prospects languish?
Sayest thou still, “I’m not his child?”
View thy Savior’s dreadful anguish,
Famished in the gloomy wild.
Not a step in all thy journey,
Thro’ this gloomy vale of tears,
But thy Lord hath trod before thee;
He thy way to glory clears.
TheOlive Leafcompiler informs us that this song which was a favorite with the late Rev. Wesley P. Arnold, of Georgia, was “learned of some dear Baptist friends in Iridell Co., N. C., in 1839, and called ‘Roby’, their name.”
Pentatonic, mode 2 (I — 3 IV V — 7)
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Remember, sinful youth, you must die, you must die,Remember, sinful youth, you must die;Remember, sinful youth, who hate the way of truthAnd in your pleasures boast, you must die, you must die;And in your pleasures boast, you must die.
Remember, sinful youth, you must die, you must die,
Remember, sinful youth, you must die;
Remember, sinful youth, who hate the way of truth
And in your pleasures boast, you must die, you must die;
And in your pleasures boast, you must die.