{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39078/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39078","id":"gutenberg_39078","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39078","summary":null,"tags":["African Americans -- Music","African Americans -- Southern States -- Music -- History and criticism","Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Music","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images\ngenerously made available by The Internet Archive.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  Religious Folk-Songs\n  OF THE\n  Southern Negroes\n\n\n  By\n  HOWARD W. ODUM\n  _Fellow in Psychology, Clark University_\n\n\n  A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF\n  CLARK UNIVERSITY, WORCESTER, MASS., IN PARTIAL\n  FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE\n  DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, AND ACCEPTED\n  ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF G. STANLEY HALL\n\n\n  Reprinted from the AM. JOUR. OF RELIGIOUS PSY. AND ED.\n  July, 1909. Vol. 3, pp. 265-365.\n\n\n\n\nRELIGIOUS FOLK-SONGS OF THE SOUTHERN NEGROES[1]\n\nBy HOWARD W. ODUM\n\n_Fellow in Psychology, Clark University._\n\n\nTo know the soul of a people and to find the source from which flows the\nexpression of folk-thought is to comprehend in a large measure the\ncapabilities of that people. To obtain the truest expression of the\nfolk-mind and feeling is to reveal much of the inner-consciousness of a\nrace. And the knowledge of those evidences which are most representative\nof race life constitutes the groundwork of a knowledge of social and moral\ntendencies, hence of social and moral needs. The student of race traits\nand tendencies must accept testimony from within the race, and in the\nstudy of race character the value of true expressions of the feelings and\nmental imagery cannot be overestimated. Thus it is possible to approximate\nknowledge of a race. To bring a people face to face with themselves and to\nplace them fairly before the world is the first service that can be\nrendered in the solution of race problems.\n\nTo preserve and interpret the contributions of a people to civilization is\nto add to the science of folk-history. Posterity has often judged peoples\nwithout having so much as a passing knowledge of their inner life, while\ntreasures of folk-lore and song, the psychic, religious, and social\nexpression of the race, have been permitted to remain in complete\nobscurity. Likewise peoples have lived contemporaneously side by side, but\nignorant of the treasures of folk-gems that lay hidden and wasting all\nabout them. The heart and soul of the real people are unknown, science is\ndeprived of a needed contribution, and the world is hindered in its effort\nto discover the full significance of the psychological, religious, social\nand political history of mankind. That which is distinctly the product of\nracial life and development deserves a better fate than to be blown away\nwith changing environment, and not even remain to enrich the soil from\nwhich it sprang. Justice to the race and the scientific spirit demand the\npreservation of all interesting and valuable additions to the knowledge of\nfolk-life. The successful study of the common development of the human\nintellect in primitive thought is thus advanced. The exact form of\nexpression itself constitutes a contribution to knowledge and literature.\n\nThe value and importance of folk-lore are gladly recognized. Its\nsuccessful study and a more comprehensive recognition of its worth have\nrevealed new problems and new phases of thought. Not only its relation to\ncivilization as an historical science and as it bears definitely upon\npeoples of modern cultural areas is recognized, but its essential value in\nthe study of psychological, anthropological, and sociological conditions\nhas called forth the most careful study that has been possible to give it.\nOn the scientist's part, knowledge has been increased, while on the other\nhand, the peoples of the world have become more united in the appreciation\nof the kindred development of human thought. The vast contributions to\nfolk-science and their relation to scientific interest, bear testimony to\nthis truth. And perhaps even more with _folk-song_, a greater work is to\nbe done. As a part of folk-lore it represents less of the traditional and\nmore of the spontaneous. Its collection and study is now being pursued\nwith more zeal and with marked success. And the hope may well be expressed\nthat with the growing interest in folk-song may come an increased\nknowledge of all that is nearest and truest to the phyletic as well as the\ngenetic concept of a people, and that with this knowledge may come\neffective efforts toward race adjustment and new aids in the solution of\nrace problems.\n\nThe situation of the Southern negro is unique. His problems are peculiarly\nintricate. The problem of the relations between the whites and blacks is\nfar-reaching. Social conditions are changing and it is of paramount\nimportance that every step taken shall be well founded and in the right\ndirection. The political, the social, and the economical position of the\nnegro, his education, his religion, his tendencies--these are themes that\ndemand definite and accurate comprehension above all else. Truths have too\noften been assumed. Passion and prejudice have often hindered the\nattainment of noble ends which were earnestly sought. A true knowledge of\nactual conditions, if properly set forth, must convince the sincere\nobserver as to the proper relations which should exist between the two\nraces. Nothing else should do it; nothing else can do it. And any\nevidences that will assist in fixing the real status of the negro should\nbe welcomed by both the whites and the blacks; progress may then be\nencouraged from the proper starting point. In revealing much of what he\n_is_ rather than what he _appears to be_, the folk-songs of the Southern\nnegro are superior to any superficial study made from partial\nobservations. The insight into negro character gained from their\nfolk-songs and poetry accompanied by careful and exhaustive concrete\nsocial studies may be accepted as impartial testimony. And on the other\nhand, the changing economic and educational conditions, the increasing\ninfluence of the white man upon the negro, and the rapid progress that is\nbeing made on every hand in the South indicate that if the present-day\nfolk-songs of the negro are to be preserved, they must be collected now.\nShould they be permitted to become a lost record of the race?\n\nIn the present work some of the popular songs that are current among the\nnegroes of the Southern States are given. They are highly representative.\nThey may be classified into two general divisions: The religious songs or\nspirituals, and the secular songs. The secular songs are again divided\ninto two classes, the general social songs, and work-songs, phrases and\n\"shanties\". For the most part collections of negro folk-songs in the past\nhave been limited to the old spirituals. The present-day religious songs\nand the social productions are equally interesting and valuable. The\nparticular nature and characteristics of these songs are discussed in\nconnection with the examples. They are flexible and have various forms,\nthey consist of broken and unbroken melodies, they have stately and rapid\nminor cadences. Musical notes can give only a skeleton of the real melody\nthat accompanies the words; the peculiar qualification of the negro\nsingers to render their melodies defies art to exactly symbolize it. The\nwords of the songs are given as they are sung, and the reader must needs\nemploy an imagination kindred in vividness to that which is reflected in\nthe songs themselves if he would comprehend their essential qualities. The\ncharacteristic quality is often found in an improvised arrangement of\nwords which makes the dominant feeling that of mingling words and\ncadencies successfully. The meaningless phrases and refrains do not hinder\nthe expression of feeling through the minor chords. Simple emotion,\ninherent melody, and colloquial language are combined with fine and\ndifferentiating imagery and humor in an under-meaning common to the\nfolk-song. An element of melancholia may be felt underlying many of the\nsongs. But with all alike, vigor of expression, concreteness and\nnaturalness of mental imagery, and simplicity of language and thought are\ncombined with striking folk-art. The negro's projective mental imagery\nassumes that the hearer's comprehension can easily grasp the full picture\nof description, moral maxims, and dramatic dialogues, all combined in a\nsingle verse, and that he can do it without confusion. Here may be seen\nmuch of the naked essence of poetry with unrefined language which reaches\nfor the negro a power of expression far beyond that which any modern\nrefinement of language and thought may approach. Rhythm, rhyme, and the\nfeeling of satisfaction are accompanying inherent qualities. The natural\npoetic spirit and the power of the imagination in the negro are worthy of\nstudy.\n\nIn addition to these general qualities of the negro folk-songs, it need\nonly be suggested here that the best conception of his religious, moral,\nmental and social tendencies is reflected in them. That which the negro\nwill not reveal concerning his religion, his religious songs tell better\nthan he could possibly do. His social nature and unconscious ideals bubble\nout from his spontaneous social songs. In the expression of his natural\nfeelings and emotions he gives us the reactions of his primitive thought\nwith environment. That which is subsequently treated at length may be\nanticipated in the approach to a careful consideration of the fullest\nspirit of the negro folk-songs, namely, that it is important to note that\nthe faculty of the negro to think, not exactly as the white man, or to\nthink in terms of modern science and literature, but in terms of his own\npsychological conditions, is pronounced. The negro is a part of a nation\nat the same time that he is a distinct people; he, perhaps, has more\nanthropological importance than historical standing. His present status is\nan essential consideration of each of these relations to the civilization\nof to-day. The emotions, the religion, social aspirations and ideals--in\nfine, the character of a people is accustomed to be expressed in their\nliterature. The negro has no literature save that of his folk-song and\nstory. May these not speak for him, both the good and the bad, in the\nfollowing chapters?\n\nThe work here presented is not exhaustive but representative. The songs\nare not those of a single plantation, community or section of the Southern\nStates. They are not the songs of the coast negroes or of the river type.\nBut they are sung popularly as much in Georgia as in Mississippi, as much\nin Florida as in Tennessee. They are distinctly the representative average\nsongs that are current among the common mass of negroes of the present\ngeneration. They belong to the negroes who have been constantly in contact\nwith the whites and to those who have had less association with the\nrefinement and culture of the white man. They have been collected\ncarefully and patiently under many difficulties. Many of them are sung\nonly when the white man does not hear; they are the folk-song of the\nnegro, and the negro is very secretive. Not only are they not commonly\nknown by the whites but their existence is only recognized in general.\nThey are as distinct from the white man's song and the popular \"coon\nsongs\" as are the two races.\n\nThe scope of investigation is large and the field is a broad one; the\nsupply of songs seems inexhaustible. Yet the student may not collect them\nhurriedly. He who has not learned by long observation and daily contact\nwith Southern conditions the exact situation will make little progress in\ngathering valuable data. While all contributions to the total of negro\nfolk-songs have been very valuable, still it is true that they have been\ntoo long neglected and the studies made have been too partial. The nature\nof the negro's songs is constantly changing; the number is continually\nincreasing. They should be studied as the conditions of the negroes are\ninvestigated. They are the product of our soil and are worthy of a\ndistinct place in literature. In the following work the effort is made to\npresent the best of the negro's songs and to interpret impartially the\nexact spirit of their essential qualities. In the following pages the\neffort is made to note many of the negro's mental characteristics as\nstudied in the interpretation of the scope, meaning and origin of his\nsongs, and the essential qualities of his religion as found in the\nanalysis of his\n\n\n_Religious Songs and Spirituals._\n\nThe religious songs of the negro have commonly been accepted as\ncharacteristic music of the race. The name \"spirituals\" given them long\nyears ago is still current, while these songs, composed by the negroes,\nand passing from generation to generation with numerous modifications,\nretain many of their former characteristics. In former days the spirituals\nwere judged to be the most beautiful production of the race and the truest\nrepresentation of the negro's real self. Some of these songs have been\npublished, and for a time their emotional beauty and simplicity of\nexpression won for the negro a definite place in the hearts of those who\nhad not hitherto known him. He was often judged by these songs alone,\nreported only imperfectly and superficially, and forthwith came many\nexpressions of delight and enthusiasm for the future possibilities of the\nnegro. These expressions indicate not only the power of the singing of\nnegro spirituals upon those who heard them, but also many of the\ncharacteristics of the old and present-day spirituals.\n\nThe following expressions represent a summary of past judgments and\ncriticism of negro spirituals.[2] The hymns of a congregation of\n\"impassioned and impressible worshippers\" have been \"full of\nunpremeditated and irresistible dramatic power.\" Sung \"with the weirdest\nintonations\", they have indeed appeared \"weird and intensely sad\"--\"such\nmusic, touching and pathetic, as I have never heard elsewhere\", \"with a\nmystical effect and passionate striving throughout the whole.\" And again,\n\"Never, it seems to me, since man first lived and suffered, was his\ninfinite longing and suffering uttered more plaintively.\" Besides being a\nrelaxation to the negroes these quaint religious songs were \"a stimulus to\ncourage and a tie to heaven.\" Or again, \"I remember that this minor-keyed\npathos used to seem to me almost too sad to dwell upon, while slavery\nseemed destined to last for generations; but now that their patience has\nhad its perfect work, history cannot afford to lose this portion of the\nrecord. There is no parallel instance of an oppressed race thus sustained\nby the religious sentiment alone. These songs are but the vocal expression\nof the simplicity of their faith and the sublimity of their long\nresignation.\" Such songs \"are all valuable as an expression of the\ncharacter and life of the race which is playing such a conspicuous part in\nour history. The wild, sad strains tell, as the sufferers themselves\ncould, of crushed hope, keen sorrow and a dull, daily misery, which\ncovered them as hopelessly as the fog from the rice swamps. On the other\nhand the words breathe a trusting faith in rest for the future to which\ntheir eyes seem constantly turned. The attitude is always the same, and,\nas a comment on the life of the race, is pathetic. Nothing but patience\nfor this life--nothing but triumph for the next.\" \"One can but feel that\nthese quaint old spirituals with their peculiar melodies, having served\ntheir time with effectiveness, deserve a better fate than to sink into\noblivion as unvalued and unrecorded examples of a bygone civilization.\"\nMany have thought that these songs would pass away immediately with the\npassing of slavery and that the old system of words and songs \"could not\nbe perpetuated without perpetuating slavery as it existed and with the\nfall of slavery its days were numbered.\" And \"if they be found neither\ntouching in sentiment, graceful in expression, nor well balanced in\nrhythm, they may at least possess interest as peculiarities of a system\nnow no more forever in this country.\"\n\nThe negro found satisfaction in singing not only at church but perhaps\neven more while he performed his daily tasks. Those who heard the old\nslaves sing will never forget the scenes that accompanied the songs. After\nthe lighter songs and brisk melodies of the day were over the negroes\nturned toward eventide to more weird and plaintive notes. The impressions\nof such singing have been expressed: \"Then the melancholy that tinges\nevery negro's soul would begin to assert itself in dreamy, sad and\nplaintive airs, and in words that described the most sorrowful pictures of\nslave life--the parting of loved ones, the separation of mother and child\nor husband and wife, or the death of those whom the heart cherishes. As he\ndrove his lumbering ox-cart homeward, sitting listlessly upon the heavy\ntongue behind the patient brutes, the creaking wheels and rough-hewn yokes\nexhibiting perhaps his own rude handiwork, the negro slave rarely failed\nto sing his song of longing. What if his words were rude and its music\nill-constructed? Great poets like Schiller have essayed the same theme,\nand mighty musicians like Beethoven have striven to give it musical form.\nWhat their splendid genius failed adequately to express, the humble slave\ncould scarce accomplish; yet they but wrought in the same direction as the\npoor negro, whose eyes unwittingly swam in tears, and whose heart, he\nscarce knew why, dissolved in tenderness as he sang in plaintive minor key\none or another of his songs.\"\n\nThe above quotations have been given promiscuously, and while others might\nbe added, these suffice to give the general attitude toward the songs of\nthe negroes in the ante-bellum days and since. One other will be added,\ngiving the expression of a present-day negro leader toward the songs of\nthe slave, as the best interpretation that has come from within the race.\nIn his introduction to _Twenty-four Negro Melodies_ by Coleridge-Taylor in\n_The Musicians Library_, Booker Washington says: \"The negro folk-song has\nfor the negro race the same value that the folk-song of any other people\nhas for that people. It reminds the race of the 'rock whence it was hewn,'\nit fosters race pride, and in the days of slavery it furnished an outlet\nfor the anguish of smitten hearts. The plantation song in America,\nalthough an outgrowth of oppression and bondage, contains surprisingly few\nreferences to slavery. No race has ever sung so sweetly or with such\nperfect charity, while looking forward to the 'year of Jubilee.' The songs\nabound in scriptural allusions, and in many instances are unique\ninterpretations of standard hymns. The plantation songs known as the\n'Spirituals' are the spontaneous outbursts of intense religious fervor,\nand had their origin chiefly in the campmeetings, the revivals and in\nother religious exercises. They breathe a child-like faith in a personal\nfather, and glow with the hope that the children of bondage will\nultimately pass out of the wilderness of slavery into the land of freedom.\nIn singing of a deliverance which they believed would surely come, with\nbodies swaying, with enthusiasm born of a common experience and of a\ncommon hope, they lost sight for the moment of the auction-block, of the\nseparation of mother and child, of sister and brother. There is in the\nplantation songs a pathos and a beauty that appeals to a wide range of\ntastes, and their harmony makes abiding impression upon persons of the\nhighest culture. The music of these songs goes to the heart because it\ncomes from the heart.\"\n\nIt will thus be seen that emphasis has been placed almost entirely upon\nthe emotional beauty of the negro songs. They have been portrayed as the\nexponents of sadness in the race, and the feelings of the black folk have\nbeen described with no little skill. Observation for the most part has\nbeen made by those who have heard the negro songs but have not studied\nthem. No careful analysis has been attempted. Perhaps casual observers\nhave been mistaken as to the intensity of the emotions expressed and have\ngiven undue emphasis to its practical relation and effect upon the\nindividual and upon the race. The judgment of those who have not known the\nnegro, and to whom his singing is a revelation, leads to sweeping\ngeneralizations. On the other hand, those who have known the negroes in\nmany walks of life, and have come to know him better than any others, have\noften emphasized a single phase of the negro folk-song. There can be no\ndoubt as to the beauty and weirdness of the negro singing, but a careful\nanalysis of the general emotional feeling predominating, together with\ncareful interpretation of all things concerned, make comparisons less\ndangerous and expressions less extravagant. Slavery has passed, four\ndecades of liberty for the slave people have signalized the better\ncivilization, and there still remains among the negroes the same emotional\nnature, the same sad, plaintive, beautiful, rhythmic sorrow-feeling in\ntheir songs.\n\nSome of the qualities of the negro's emotions as seen in his singing will\nbe noted subsequently. Omitting for the present this feature of his songs,\nand qualifying the statement by interpreting his nature and environment,\nit may be affirmed that all that has been said of the spirituals is true.\nThey are beautiful, childlike, simple and plaintive. They are the negro's\nown songs and are the peculiar expression of his own being; much may be\nsaid concerning them. Many of the spirituals are still popular among the\nnegroes, and often take the place of the regular church hymns. The less\nintelligent negroes sing them, and they are sung freely by the more\nintelligent class. Ministers of all denominations take advantage of their\npeculiar power to sway the feelings of the negroes into accustomed\nchannels. Many of the old spirituals that were common in slavery are\nstill current and are sung with but little modification; others are\ngreatly modified and enlarged or shortened. Traces of the slave songs may\nbe found in the more modern spirituals that have sprung up since the war.\nThe majority of the songs have several versions, differing according to\nlocalities, and affected by continual modification as they have been used\nfor many years. Some have been so blended with other songs, and filled\nwith new ideas, as to be scarcely recognizable, but clearly the product of\nthe negro singers. Besides the old and the mixed songs, there are many\nthat are entirely new, arising out of various circumstances and developing\nwith successive renditions.\n\nThe spirituals current among the Southern negroes to-day are very much\nlike those that were sung three or four decades ago. The differences may\nbe seen in the comparisons that follow in the examples given: There are\nmore rhymed words in the present-day negro song than there was in the\nearlier ones; consequently there is often less meaning in a line or\nstanza. The tendency seems to be more toward satisfactory sound\n_impression_ than for spontaneous feeling _expression_ as in the older\nspirituals. Meaning and words in general are often sacrificed in the\neffort to make rhyme, to make the song fit into a desired tune, to bring\nabout a satisfying rhythm, or to give prominent place to a single\nwell-sounding word or phrase. It would thus seem that the religious songs\ncomposed in the usual way by the negroes of the present generation have\nless conviction, and more purposive features in their composition. The\ndialect of the older songs is purer than those of the present-day negro.\nOne finds little consistency in the use of dialect in the songs that are\nsung now; rarely does one hear the lines repeated in exactly the same\nform. Dialect or the common form of the word, it would seem, is used\naccording as feeling, the occasion, or the necessity for rhyme or rhythm\npermits or demands. Many of the negro songs that are the most beautiful in\ntheir expression would appear expressionless were they robbed of their\ndialect and vividness of word portrayal. The imagery and dialect give the\nsongs their peculiar charm; the more mechanical production that is\napparently on the increase may be sung to the same melody, but the song\nitself has little beauty. However, the negroes themselves prefer the old\nsongs and almost invariably return to the singing of the more primitive\nones that have become a part of their heritage. In those cases where the\ntunes differ from the old melodies, the song has assumed a characteristic\nnature, either from its origin and composition, from constant usage by the\nnegroes, from local qualities, or from unusual combinations. And in these\noriginal creations of the negro religion are found the truest expression\nof nature and life as it is reflected in the negro of to-day; it is not\nthe expression of complex life, but of simple longing. In the outbursts of\njoyous song and melody the note of victory is predominant; in the\nsadder-toned songs, sung in \"plaintive, rhythmic melody\", the prevailing\nnote is that of appeal. In either case there is some sort of conviction\nback of the song, and it becomes the expression of primitive human life.\nThey set forth the more simple thoughts of an emotional and imaginative\nworship. They magnify the personal and the spectacular in religion. They\nsatisfy the love of melody, rude poetry, and sonorous language. Simple\nthought is expressed in simple rhyming phrases. Repetition of similar\nthoughts and a single chorus, with simple and pleasing music which lends\nitself easily to harmonious expression, are characteristic. The music is\nspecially adapted to the chorus-like singing which is produced by the\nclever and informal carrying of many parts by the singers. The song often\nrequires a single leader, and a swelling chorus of voices take up the\nrefrain. It is but natural that these songs should be suited to protracted\nservices as good \"shoutin' songs\" or \"runnin' speerichils.\" The same\nrhythm makes them pleasing to the toilers who are disposed to sing\nreligious songs while they work and promotes a spirit of good fellowship\nas well as being conducive to general \"good feelin'.\" The united singing\nof children is also beautiful. Throughout these characteristic songs of\nthe negro, the narrative style, the inconsequential, disjointed\nstatements, the simple thought and the fastidious rhymes are all\nexpressive of the negro's mental operations.\n\nAll of the negro's church music tends to take into it the qualities of his\nnative expression--strains minor and sad in their general character. The\nreligious \"tone\" is a part of the song, and both words and music conform\nto the minor key. The negroes delight in song that gives stress and swell\nto special words or phrases that for one reason or another have peculiar\nmeanings to them. For the most part, all religious songs are \"spirituals\"\nand easily merge into satisfying melodies when occasion demands. With the\nidea gained from the music of the songs must be joined the church scenes\nand its personalities freely mingled with the music. The preaching,\npraying, singing and with it shouting and unity of negro\nworship--perfection of rhythmic sing-song, these with the throbbing\ninstinct of the people make the negro music what it is. The negroes sing\ntheir regular denominational hymns with the same feeling, often, as they\ndo the spirituals, and while mention must be made of their church hymns as\nsuch, they often reach in singing them a climax similar to their most\nfervent outbursts, and freely mingle them with the old songs. In addition\nto the tune in which the hymn is written the negro puts his own music into\nthe singing, and his own interpretation into the words. This together with\nthe \"feeling-attitude\" which is unconsciously his, and the satisfaction\nwhich he gets from his singing, places negro church music in a class of\nits own. A glance at the part which singing plays in the negro's church\nservices will aid in the interpretation of his songs.\n\nChurch services are opened with song; a leader may occupy his place at a\ncentral table or chair, select a song and begin to sing. Or they may wait\nfor the \"speerit\" and a leader from the pews may begin to sing, others\njoin in the song, while the congregation begins to gather in the church.\nThe leader often lines his song aloud, reading sometimes one, sometimes\ntwo lines, then singing. He often puts as much music-appeal into the\nlining of the song as he does in the singing. The rhythmical, swinging\ntone of the reader adds zest to the singing which follows. Most of the\nnegroes who sing know a great many songs--in fact, all of their regular\nsongs--if they are given a start by the leader. On the other hand, the\ncongregation often gives the leader a start when he lags, and both\ntogether keep the song going until they are ready to stop singing or to\nbegin another song.\n\nIf the service is prayer meeting or a class meeting the leader usually\ncontinues the songs throughout the singing part of the exercises; at\nregular preaching services the preacher reads the regular hymns and leaves\nthe beginning and the final songs to the leaders. In the class meeting,\nthe general congregation led by song-leaders sing, as a rule, while the\nclass leaders are engaged with their classes. Now a woman on this side,\nnow a man or woman on the other side of the church begins the song and\nothers join in the doleful tunes; so too, while collections are being made\nthe singing is kept up continuously. The process is the same: a leader\nbegins to sing, another joins in the singing, then another and another\nuntil the majority of those present are singing. Most negroes who attend\nchurch participate in the singing, although many will not do so regularly,\npreferring to remain quiet for a time, then to burst out into song. The\nnegroes have been proverbial for their good singing, and undoubtedly they\nhave won a deserved reputation. A group of five or ten negroes singing at\na mid-week prayer meeting will often appear the volume of song equivalent\nto that of many times their number of white people singing. The\ncomparison, however, is not a fair one, for the music is entirely\ndifferent. One can scarcely appreciate the singing of the negroes until he\nhas heard them on various occasions and in different capacities. Let him\nlisten on a quiet Sunday evening from a position on a hill to the singing\nof four negro congregations, each clearly audible. It would appear to be\nthe rhythmical expression of deep human feeling and longing in an\nunrestrained outburst of ten thousand souls. Inside the church one may\nwatch the leaders as they line the songs and listen to their rich,\ntremulous voices; he may see the others respond and listen to the music of\neach peculiar voice. The voice of the leader seems to betray great\nemotions as he reads the lines and begins to sing. He appears literally to\ndrink in inspiration from the songs while his soul seems to be overflowing\nas he sings the words telling of grace and redemption. However, he\nmanifests the same kind of emotion when he sings one song as when singing\nanother, the same emotion when he reads the words wrongly as when he has\nread them correctly; it makes little difference to him. He is consumed\nwith the music and with the state of feeling which singing brings to him.\nAfter all, perhaps one feeling dominates his whole being while he sings,\nand there can be no song to him which does not accord with this.\n\nA complete analysis of the negro church music in its detail is worthy of\nthe efforts of any one who could describe it. And while the folk-song is\nof more importance in the present work than the music of these same songs,\na few further details that are apparently characteristic of the negroes\nwill not be amiss. The singing begins slowly and with time-honored\nregularity but is followed by the agreeable and satisfying effect made by\nthe joining in of varied voices. Many times the singers begin as if they\nwould sing a simple subdued song, or a hymn with its written music. But in\na short while, apparently not being able to resist the impulse to give\ntheir feelings full sway, their voices fall into that rhythmical swing\npeculiar in a large degree to the negroes; all measures alike become\nstately. The average negro is proud of his stylish choir because it\nrepresents a step towards a model which the negroes wish to follow: but\nthey do not like the choir's _singing_ as well as their own informal song.\nIn general the negro's song will characterize his natural self wherever he\nsings or hears it sung; he is loath to give it up. And while some pastors\nhave testified that there were no members in their church who would not\nsing the church songs, it is very evident that many of the younger negroes\ndo not enter fully into the spirit of the old songs and they must\nnecessarily undergo radical changes and rapidly pass away.\n\nBefore coming to the further study of the negro spirituals, it will be\nwell to inquire into the nature of the favorite standard church hymns\ncommonly used by the negroes in their church services. A comparison may\nthen be made with the popular folk-songs. The favorite songs and most\ncommon themes sung by the negroes may best be seen at their prayer\nmeetings or class meetings, or at such gatherings as require no formality.\nOne may attend week after week and hear the same songs and feel the same\npathos emanating from the songs which the worshippers have learned to sing\nand love. They enjoy singing of _heaven_ and _rest_ and _luxury_ where\n_ease_ abounds and where _Sabbaths_ have no end. They love to sing the\npraises of the Deliverer who shall free them from life's toils. They have\nchosen the \"good old\" songs that have vividness and concrete imagery in\nthem; they have placed a new feeling into them and a different\ninterpretation. The meaning of the words and the sentiment of the song are\ntranscended by the expression in the singing. The accustomed manner,\ntogether with their responsive feeling, absorb whatever of pure devotion\nmight have existed in their attitude--the sinking itself becoming\ndevotion. The negro looks always to some future state for happiness and\nsings often:\n\n  This earth, he cries, is not my place;\n    I seek my place in heaven.\n\nThe negroes sing with a peculiar faith the common stanzas of their hymns:\n\"We've seen our foes before us flee,\" \"We've seen the timid lose their\nfears\", \"We've seen the prisoners burst their chains\", \"We've seen the\nguilty lose their stains.\" So, too, they conceive, as of old, of the\neternal rest and sing, with its full stanzas:\n\n  How sweet a Sabbath thus to spend,\n    In hope of one that ne'er shall end.\n\nThe singing of these hymns is beautiful and impressive, testifying to the\ntruth that their favorites appeal to the fitness of worship and accord\nwith the ideal of rhythmical perfection as expressed in the feeling of the\nworshipper.\n\nThe general state of feeling which accompanies the song thus has much to\ndo with the song itself. The singing with its results is the most\nsatisfying and agreeable part of the worship to the negro's nature. It\nsatisfies his social wants and relieves to some extent his child-like\npsychophysical cravings. His worship is music to his soul, whether it be\nin the word-music of the sermon and prayer, or in the natural outburst of\nhis song, or in the rhythm of all combined. It is all freedom from\nrestraint and the gratification of impulse and the experience of sustained\nlanguor. Although the negro expends a great deal of energy in his singing,\nit is nevertheless rest for him as he feels it. Unrestrained expression\ngoes far toward relieving him of his troubles, sometimes real, sometimes\nimaginary. What the negro imagines to be total confession and contrite\nsubmission has a very soothing effect upon him; the songs reach the climax\nof this state of feeling. Many negroes may be seen, with their heads\nresting backward and eyes closed, singing vigorously their favorite songs;\noften they lean forward, sway back and forth, apparently in a complete\nstate of passivity. Tears and shouts of joy are not inconsistent with the\nsaddest strains of pathos. Their senses are all turned toward the\nperception of one attitude, and besides a wonderful tranquility of\nfeeling, they also feel and see visions. At such a time the negro is at\nease and is at liberty to give full expression to his feelings among his\nown people, without incentive to action and without interruption. Is it\nsurprising that after a day's work, while he has passed the hours away in\nemptiness of thought or in misguided thinking and with perverted notions,\nhe finds sweet rest in some melodious songs and rhythmic verses as he\nrests his body in the pew? Is it surprising that he is unwilling to leave\nthe church until a late hour or that he does not tire of singing? For what\nhas he to attract him at home where he unwillingly begins to think of\nwork again? It is little surprising that after the outburst of song and\nshouts which reveals so much of the negro's nature that his attitude is\none of listlessness and apathy when he has finished.\n\nThis revelation of emotions which the negro shows in his singing but\nmanifests the reality of his religion. And although the greater part of\nhis feeling in religion is pleasurable excitement, it is, nevertheless,\nfor this very reason the one reality in life to him. A study of the\nemotional element does not, then, detract from the beauty and value of the\nnegro's song; it does aid in interpreting that part of his songs that\narise spontaneously and also shows something of their origin and growth.\nIndeed without a knowledge of the negro's nature and environment, one\nwould scarcely realize the fullest appreciation of his folk-songs. In\nproportion as the investigator becomes acquainted with the people and\ncircumstances which have furnished unique folk-songs, to that degree will\nhe be eager to search out their origin and be able to interpret them\nintelligently as they are fundamentally related to the race.\n\nThe negro has found much material upon which to base his songs and many\nsources from which he has selected a wide range of subject-matter. His\nreligion is often synonymous with his song, and he has sung with little\nrestraint the various religious experiences common to such a religion. The\nsermon and prayers, even the songs themselves suggest new themes for an\nimaginative and religious being to sing. So, too, the Church, the\nChristians and the \"world\" have furnished themes for his song. Sin, evil\nand the devil are ever-present subjects for religious thought. The scenes\nof everyday life form continuous allegories to be imaged with the\nassistance of the negro's definite self-feeling. But perhaps nowhere has\nthe negro found more acceptable subject-matter for his song than in the\nScriptures; his songs abound in references to scriptural characters and\noften portray individuals and scenes with unusual concreteness. A perusal\nof the negro's songs thus reveals the most common themes, but it is more\ndifficult to locate the accidental circumstances which gave rise to\nparticular forms of a song, or to ascertain the temperamental nature which\noriginated many of the best known spirituals. In general, it may be said\nthat the folk-song of the negroes has found its rise in every phase of\nnegro life. It is scarcely possible to trace the origin of the first\nspirituals and plantation songs. The American negroes appear to have had\ntheir own songs from the earliest days of slavery. And while their first\nsongs were undoubtedly founded upon the African songs as a basis, both in\nform and meaning, little trace of them can be found in the present songs:\nnegro folks produce spontaneous song. The linguist and the anthropologists\nare able to find the parallel and apparent origin of many words, that have\nbeen used by the Southern negroes in their lore and song, among the\npeoples of Africa, but there is now no practical relation between these\nwords and the meaning of the words in their present usage. The origin of\nfolk-song has always been an interesting theme, proving full of\nfascination for him who finds it, nymph-like, vanishing from his grasp.\nStill the song of a people is ever present and appear, almost like myths,\nto have sprung into life in some way and at some time which no one can\nexactly tell. Many a bard of the common life has intensified their meaning\nand made them a part of that life.\n\nHowever, many of the negro folk-songs may be explained when one has\nobserved the negro in many walks of life, or has found the origin from\nwhich they arose. Many of the old spirituals were composed in their first\nforms by the negro preachers for their congregations; others were composed\nby the leaders of the church singing: others were composed by the slaves\nin the various walks of life, while still others were first sung by the\n\"mammies\" as they passed the time in imaginative melody-making and sought\nharmony of words and music. A great many of these songs never became\ncurrent because they lacked the pleasurable features that appealed most to\nthe negroes. Those that proved satisfactory were seized upon and their\ngrowth and popularity dated from the moment they were heard. With the\nnegroes of to-day songs have arisen in much the same way. The difference\nof environment must necessarily make a difference in the nature of the\nsongs; at the same time the coloring of present-day life is much in\nevidence in some of the old songs composed by the slaves but sung by the\nnegroes of the present generation. Some suggestions as to the natural\norigin and growth of negro songs may be both interesting and valuable.\n\nThe negroes have always been known as full of feeling and very expressive.\nTheir natures demand not only some expression of their emotions but this\nexpression must be easy and rhythmic, at the same time that it is intense\nand continuous. The negro's musical nature easily turns these expressions\ninto melody, and a word, phrase or exclamation becomes a song in itself.\nThe song is completed by the imaginative mind and the sense of fitness in\nsound. Worshippers often follow the preacher through his sermon in a\nmental state of song and when he has finished they burst out into song,\nsinging no other than an elaborate sentence which the preacher has used in\nhis sermon. When this is joined to a familiar chorus and tune, and then\nvaried, a song has originated. Sometimes the song is remembered and sung\nagain; sometimes, like the words of the preacher, it simply becomes a part\nof the satisfaction of the hour and is forgotten. A negro preacher\nrecently reached a climax in his discourse in the phrase, \"Oh, with the\nwings of the morning, I'd fly to that heavenly land.\" He repeated this a\nnumber of times and made gestures with his arms suggestive of flying. His\nblack robe added to the forcefulness of the suggestion and the impression\nbecame a part of the song of that church. So with praying, the pathetic\nappeal and word-music of a _p-l-e-a-s-e My Lo-rd_ is often the inspiration\nfor a song when a happy phrase from the prayer becomes an addition to a\nsong that follows. Even more than preaching and praying, shouting gives\nrise to song among the negroes; during exciting times in worship the\nnegroes often sing unheard of songs nor do they ever recall them again. It\nis indeed a mixed scene of song and motion, each contributing largely to\nthe other, while the spectator looks on in wonderment at the astonishing\ninventiveness of the worshippers. The general motion, expressions of the\nface, words and harmonies, rests and rhythm, sense of fitness and even of\nhumor, repetition--these make an occasion that defies limitation to its\nexpression. If a single personality dominates the whole in an expression\nthat appeals to the present sense of fitness, he is the author of a new\nsong. Such a personality in the person of a visiting minister recently\nshouted out during such a scene: \"Oh, the hearse-wheel a-rollin' an' the\ngraveyard opening--h-a, ha,\" but got no further for his refrain was taken\nup by the chorus and the next day was a new version of the well-known\nsong.\n\nSuch occasions might be cited in great numbers. Not infrequently a negro\nwho has assumed the position of song leader sings a line while the others\njoin in with a chorus of singing and shouting. When the leader has given\nall the lines that he knows, he will often continue in the simplest manner\npossible, as if he had known them for a long time, to improvise lines,\nwhich often have little meaning, but which fit into the tune and sound\nwell. This process may be continued indefinitely, sometimes with\nrepetition of lines already uttered but slightly varied and the emphasis\nplaced on the differing particular. It thus happens that the songs need\nnot have a limit. The necessity of the occasion becomes the cause for the\ninvention of the song. Itinerant worshippers are often thus gratified to\nsing to new congregations. As a rule the negroes always give attention and\nrespect to strangers so that the man or woman who comes to them is at\nliberty to sing old or new songs, and they often become skilled in\nimprovising songs. The new songs are then learned and begin their history\nas folk-song. Again, negroes often feel themselves called upon to\nintroduce new features into some of their songs and conceive of various\nnovelties. The negro's feeling toward leadership puts a premium upon such\na practice. In this effort, a song that is little known among the negroes\nwill be changed in some particulars, printed on a sheet of paper and\ndistributed as the song of brother or sister So and So. The song may be\nfound in a hymn book. However, songs entirely new and the efforts of their\nown poetic attempts are often thus circulated. This gives rise to a new\nclass of negro spirituals, examples of which may be seen in the following\npages.\n\nA number of popular spirituals apparently had their rise in the effort of\nthe church to satisfy the physical cravings of the negroes. The church\ndeemed the fiddle and the dance instruments of the devil, and although the\nnegro was and is passionately fond of dancing, he was forbidden by the\nchurch to do so. The church needed some kind of substitute for the rhythm\nand excitement of the dance that would satisfy and still be \"in the Lord.\"\nConsequently marching services were often instituted. The benches were\npiled up together and marching room left for the worshippers. They had\nvarious orders for this service and many forms of it have been known to\nexist. Sometimes they marched two by two, a \"sister and brother in the\nLord\", sometimes they marched singly, and at other times they marched in a\ngeneral \"mix-up.\" At first they followed a leader to a simple melody,\nkeeping step and working into a rhythmic swing. Then as they became more\nexcited they became more expressive and with the elaboration of the march\ninto a dance their songs became marching songs. Often they thus marched,\nwith intervals for rest, until the hours of the morning. Sometimes they\nall sang; sometimes the leader sang the leading part and all joined in the\nchorus with more satisfactory effect. In the march the negroes swayed back\nand forth, to and fro, and found the usual satisfaction that comes from\nabsolute lack of restraint. As the songs given in the following pages\nindicate, the negroes often imagined themselves to be the children of\nIsrael, while their marching songs represented Moses leading them out from\nunder the bondage of Pharaoh, or they considered themselves as marching\naround the wall of some besieged city. Victory would be theirs sooner or\nlater. This is not confined to the songs composed by the slavery negroes,\nbut is common in the later songs. Such scenes are often portrayed by negro\npreachers of the present day and very appropriate applications, as they\nthink, are made. The march songs that have been found current to-day were\ncomposed since the war. Often the negroes enacted similar scenes without\nthe formal putting away of the benches in the church, and the same general\nresults were the outcome. Shouting scenes in negro worship to-day are very\nmuch similar to the old marches except that they are more promiscuous. The\n\"strange, sweet harmonies and melodies\" of the old songs are still good\nshouting songs.\n\nIndividuals have composed spirituals while at work or while wandering from\nplace to place, as a simple outgrowth of the circumstances. The\nexpression, so common in negro songs, \"O my Lord\", seems to have been\nintroduced into a number of songs in this way. The single expression\nrepeated itself forms a favorite melody that is often sung. A group of\nnegroes sing while working; one sings a new verse of the song: \"Where you\ngit dat?\" \"I made hit maself, didn't you know I'm a songster?\" And he did\nmake it, and thus gratified, tries other attempts; with him others begin\nand they have become \"songsters\". Negroes, in order to verify a boast that\nthey know a certain song to exist, have been known to compose on the\nmoment just such a song, mixing all sorts of songs together with the ideas\nthat arise. Others who have been offered an attractive price for songs\nhave composed them without scruples of conscience and when asked to sing\nthem, have done so with perfect ease. They were paid for the songs,\nthinking that they had \"fooled that white man\", who valued his song thus\ncomposed as much perhaps as an old spiritual that was still current. What\nthe negro composed accidentally he learned to sing, and thus introduced a\nreal song in his community, which was to be soon carried to other\nlocalities. The negro is going to sing whether he has a formal song or\nnot. The following song originated with two negro laborers, apparently in\na dialogue. The lines may be sung to any tune and put to any chorus.\n\n  The church bell a ringin', how sweet I do declar'.\n  Why don't you go to meetin' an' pray all day long?\n  I'm goin' to church an' pray all day long.\n  Of course I'm a sinner but prayin' might do me good\n  An' if I do succeed I sure will tell the news.\n\nAnother song that was composed spontaneously in the effort to dignify his\nconversation is the following. It will be seen that for the most part it\nis composed of phrases common to other songs, and it is only the\ncombination that is new.\n\n  Walk right and do right an' trust in the Lord--\n  Lay down all yo' sinful ways an' trust in the Lord.\n\n  _I am goin' to trust in the Lord,\n  I am goin' to trust in the Lord,\n  I'm goin' to trust in the Lord till I die._\n\n  My God he's a wonderful God an' trust in the Lord,\n  He will answer yo' prayers don't care wher' you are,\n            _An' trust in the Lord_.\n\nThe next example was composed by a negro man after he had recently \"come\nthrough.\" He always loved to talk of what he had seen, what he knew would\nhappen and how he could get out of difficulties. Along with this he had an\nunusually imaginative mind and told many ingenious stories. Here is the\nsong:\n\n  The devil come down to the worl' one day\n  An' I heard him holler, hoo-ray, hoo-ray!\n  Come out, I'm havin' a holiday.\n\n  That was the word I heard him say,\n  But I knowed if I danced to his holiday,\n  There'd be something doing an' the devil to play.\n\nThe above song is difficult to classify. It would seem to be very much\nlike some rhymes that the negro had seen published in a newspaper but for\nall his purposes it was a good song and it mattered little where he had\nobtained the ideas. It was indeed his own song. One other example of an\neffort to compose a new song shows the tendency of the negro to mix his\nserious themes with ridiculous expressions.\n\n  There was a man by the name of Cy,\n  He never prayed an' he never try,\n  So when ole Cy was come to die,\n  He hollow out, \"in hell I'll cry.\"\n\n  _In hell ole Cy did cry,\n  In hell ole Cy did cry,\n  In hell ole Cy did cry_,\n  Now don't you die like ole Cy die.\n\nThe song is a variation of two or three secular songs and becomes a\nreligious song because of its chorus. It is actually sung in the churches.\nThe \"author\" continued,\n\n  Ole Cy did lead a mighty bad life,\n  He was always after some other man's wife,\n\nwhich clearly showed the trace of the secular element; this phrase is\napplied to many of the notorious characters in the negro secular songs.\nStill there was an opportunity for the moral and the song represents the\npeculiar gratification which the negroes find in having composed something\nmore or less original.\n\nEnough has been said to give a definite idea concerning the actual and\npossible origin of some of the negro folk-songs. Further examples will be\ngiven when the discussion of the negro's secular song has been reached.\nThe psychology of negro music and song is not difficult to explain in the\nlight of the facts already suggested. His plaintive appeals in prayer, his\nemotional and religious nature, his primitive expression, his love of\nrhythm and melody, his feelings and misguided imagination, his\ninterpretation of life and Scripture, his faith in dreams and visions\nquickly exaggerated into fabrications, his whole nature but reveals within\nhim what we call the musical nature of the race. With the negro, motion\nand song instinctively go together. Systematic movement is more conducive\nto singing than a careless, haphazard motion. Movement and song give\nrhythm that is not to be found under other circumstances. Regularity and\nrhythm in movement, emphasis and rhythm in music, these give the negro\nsongs essential pleasure-giving qualities that appeal strongly to the\nnegro's entire being. If his music is primitive and if it has much of the\nsensuous in it; if his songs and verse are full of primitive art having\nmany qualities of possible worth, nevertheless they are not thereby\nrendered less distinct.\n\nIn no way can a better insight into the negro's religion be obtained than\nby a careful study of his songs. An analysis of those songs that have been\npreserved will give us at once a better conception of his folk-songs and\nhis religion. The references are reproduced in their exact forms in order\nthat they may serve as an aid in the study of the verse contained in the\ncommon songs of the negroes from the time of slavery to the present day.\nOnly the chief conceptions which have been portrayed in negro song are\nhere given; further analysis may be made in connection with the songs\nthemselves. The devil is prominent in the religious songs of the negroes.\nHe is the constant terror and proverbial enemy of the race. He is alive,\nalert, and concrete. He represents the demon trickster incarnate in the\nform of a man. He is the opposite of God but always less powerful. He is\nthe enemy against whom the battle is always on; it is a personal battle,\nbut he is usually outwitted or disappointed. Here are some pictures of\n\"Old Satan\" as found in the songs of the slave and the negro of to-day:[3]\n\n  Ef you want to see ole satan run,\n  Jes' fire off dat gospel gun.\n\n  Ole satan is a liar an' conjurer, too,\n  An' if you don't mind he'll conjure you.\n\nOther forms are\n\n  An' if you don't mind he'll cut you in two,\n  An' if you don't mind he'll cut you through.\n\n  Ole satan lak a snake in the grass,\n  Always in some Christian's path,\n\nor\n\n  If you don't mind he'll git you at las'.\n\n  Ole satan weahs a mighty loose ole shoe,\n  If you don't min' gwine a slip it on you.\n\n  Ole satan like dat hunting dog,\n  He hunt dem Christians home to God.\n\n  O shout, shout, de debbil is about,\n  O shut yo' do' an' keep him out.\n\n  All de debbils in hell can't pluck me out,\n  An' I wonder what satan's a grumblin' erbout,\n  He's boun' in hell an' can't get out,\n  But he shall be loose an' hab his way,\n  Yonder at de great reserection day.\n\n  I went down de hillside to make a one prayer,\n  An' when I get dere ole satan wus dere,\n  O what you think he said to me?\n  Said, \"Off frum here you better be.\"\n\n  Old satan tole me to my face,\n  \"I'll git you when a you leave this place;\"\n  O brother dat scere me to my heart,\n  I was 'feared to walk a when it wus dark.\n\n  I started home but I did pray,\n  An' I met ole satan on de way;\n  Ole satan made a one grab at me,\n  But he missed my soul an' I went free.\n\n  I tell you brother you better not laugh,\n  Ole satan'll run you down his path,\n  If he runs you lak he run me,\n  You'll be glad to fall upon yo' knee.\n\n  We shout so fas' de debbil look,\n  An' he gits away wid his cluven foot.\n\n  Ole satan is mad an' I am glad,\n  He missed the soul he thought he had.\n\n  What make ole satan hate me so?\n  'Cause he got me once an' let me go.\n\n  Ole satan tole me not to pray;\n  He want my soul at jedgement day.\n\n  I wrestle wid satan and wrestle wid sin,\n  Stepped over hell an' come back agin.\n\n  Ole satan tremble when he sees,\n  The weakest saint upon his knees.\n\n  Go 'way satan I doan min' you;\n  You wonder, too, you can't come through?\n\n  Oh brother, breth'ren, you better be engaged,\n  For de debbil he's out on a big rampage.\n\n  I plucked one block out o' satan's wall,\n  I heard him stumble an' saw him fall.\n\n  Ole satan thought he had me fas',\n  Broke his chain an I'm free at las'.\n\n  I met ole satan in my way;\n  He say, young man, you too young to pray.\n\n  The devil tries to throw down everything that's good,\n  He'd fix a way to confuse the righteous if he could,\n  Thanks be to God-er-mighty he can't be beguiled,\n  Ole satan will be done fighting after awhile.\n\nThe negroes have many other phrases which they apply to satan and picture\nhim in other relations. \"Ole satan is a mighty busy ole man, an' throw\nrocks in my way.\" \"What makes ole satan follow me so? Satan ain't got\nnothin' fer to do with me.\" As a _busy man_ he also has his \"shield and\nsword\", not only _gives_ trouble but _gets_ into trouble. Says the negro:\n\"I heard de debbil howlin' when I come out'n de wilderness an' I gib de\ndebbil battle.\" \"Now stan' back, satan, an' let me go by ... why doan de\ndebbil let a me be?\" \"Ole satan mighty busy, he follow me night an' day.\nOle satan toss ball at me, he think the ball hit my soul, the ball for\nhell an' me for heaven.\" \"Ole satan gettin' in mighty rage\", for \"satan's\ncamp's afier.\" \"Satan mount de iron gray hoss an' ride half way to pilot\nbar.\" But \"We'll shout ole satan's kingdom down, gwine a pull down satan's\nkingdom, gwine a win ag'in de debbil.\" Victory is the negro's for he\nexclaims: \"I saw dem bindin' satan\", and \"I saw ole satan's kingdom\nfallin'.\" But while satan is a great schemer and is very busy and \"wash\nhis face in ashes\", \"put on leather apron\", his greatest attribute is the\nliar. The negro cannot give too insistent warning:\n\n  When I got dere Cap'n satan wus dere.\n  Sayin' \"Young man, dere's no use to pray,\n  For Jesus is daid an' God gone away.\"\n  An' I made 'im out a liar an' went on my way.\n\nWith these pictures and warnings the negro song gives a final bit of\nadvice. \"If you ain't got de grace ob God in yo' heart, den de debbil will\ngit you sho'\", then the singer rests securely in the knowledge that _he_\nis filled with the grace that holds against the devil.\n\n\"King Jesus\" was the original name most commonly given to Christ in the\nspirituals. Besides this He was the bosom friend of the negro. He comes in\nto intercept satan and to save the individual from hell. He is very real\nand no one is more vividly described than He. He bears many relations to\nhis people.\n\n  Now my Jesus bein' so good an' kind,\n  My Jesus lowered his mercy down,\n  An' snatch me from de doors of hell,\n  An' took me in with him to dwell.\n\n  Oh, Jesus tole you once befo'\n  To go in peace and sin no mo'.\n\n  I heard o' my Jesus many one say,\n  Could move po' sinner's sins away.\n\n  Den Jesus he come ridin' by,\n  Gib me wings to ride an' fly.\n\n  Jesus Christ the first and las',\n  _No man wuks lak him_;\n  He built a platform in de air,\n  He meets de saints from eve'where.\n\n  Virgin Mary had one son,\n  The cruel Jews had him hung.\n\n  Me an' my Jesus goin' live at ease,\n  Me an' my Jesus goin' do as we please.\n\n  If you want er die like Jesus died,\n  Fold yo' arms an' clasp yo' eyes.\n\n  I tell you breth'ren an' I tell you twist,\n  My soul done anchored in Jesus Christ.\n\n  Up on de hillside King Jesus spoke,\n  Out of his mouth come fire an' smoke.\n\n  Yer say yo' Jesus set you free;\n  Why don't you let yo' neighbors be?\n\nOther shorter lines give equally concrete pictures and mention equally\ndefinite attributes.\n\n  You'll see my Jesus come to wake up de nations underground.\n  King Jesus died for every man.\n  An' de son He set me free.\n  I got my Jesus as well as you.\n  If you want to see Jesus go in de wilderness.\n  Gwine serve my Jesus till I die.\n  I call my Jesus king Emanuel.\n  He pluck my feet out'n de miry clay.\n  He sot dem on de firm rock of age.\n  Christ hab bought yo' liberty.\n  King Jesus' settin' in de kingdom.\n  De win' blow eas' an' de win' blow wes' from Jesus.\n  Oh yonder comes my Jesus, I know him by his shinin'.\n  Hear my Jesus when he call you? Hear my Jesus callin'?\n  I'm goin' to hebben where my Jesus dwell.\n  O I walk and talk with Jesus.\n  Jesus loosen de man frum under de groun'.\n  Jesus ain't comin' here to die no mo'.\n  The son of man he dunno where to lay his weary head.\n\n  See what wonder Jesus done:\n  Jesus make dumb to speak.\n  Jesus make de cripple walk.\n  Jesus gib de blin' deir sight.\n  Jesus do mos' anything.\n  I want to do (or die) like Jesus.\n  Jesus stan' on de udder side Jordan.\n  Jesus settin' on de water side.\n  Jesus is our captain, Jesus got de hellum.\n  Jesus mount (ride) a milk-white hoss.\n  You had better follow Jesus.\n  Daddy Peter set out for Jesus.\n  Jesus will bring you milk an' honey.\n  Mas' Jesus is my bosom friend.\n  Gwine follow King Jesus, I really do believe.\n  King Jesus he was so strong, my Lord, till he jar down de walls ob hell.\n  Gwine to write to my Jesus.\n  King Jesus settin' in de heaven.\n  King Jesus on de mountain top.\n  O Jesus is a mighty man. Ride in kind Jesus, who set po' sinner free.\n  For Jesus came an' lock de do'.\n  De Jews kill po' Jesus.\n  Jesus call you--Jesus waitin'.\n  I wus los' in de wilderness; Jesus hand me de candle down.\n  Mas' Jesus gib me little broom fer to sweep my heart clean.\n  Jesus fed me when I was hungry, he clothed me when I was naked, he gave\n      me drink when I was dry.\n  Jesus rose an' flew away on Sunday morning.\n  Christ was there four thousand years ago, drinking of the wine.\n  Jesus he wore the starry crown. Did you see Jesus when he wore the\n      starry crown?\n  Jesus he wore long white robe.\n  King Jesus speaks an' de chariot stops.\n  King Jesus is the Rock.\n  Well did you say you love Jesus?\n  Jesus done bless my soul an' gone to glory.\n  Won't you ride on Jesus? O yes.\n  I look fer Jesus all o' my days.\n  Jesus is a listening all the day long.\n\nThe scenes of the crucifixion seem to impress the negroes very forcibly\nand their songs abound in references to His suffering. Some of these\nexpressions are full of feeling, and are touching in their sentiment.\n\n  They nail my Jesus down\n  They put him on the crown of thorn (thorny crown).\n  O see my Jesus hangin' high!\n  He look so pale an' bleed so free:\n  O don't you think it was a shame,\n  He hung three hours in dreadful pain?\n\nNext to Jesus and often synonymous with Him is God. He is \"My Lord\", \"My\nGod\", \"Lord God-er-mighty\", and \"king Jehobah\", and represents the\npersonal God and the ruler of the world.\n\n  Upon de mountain Jehobah spoke,\n  Out o' his mouth come fire an' smoke.\n\n  My God a walkin' down hebbenly road,\n  Out o' his mouth come two edged sword.\n\n  If yo' find yo' way to God,\n  The gospel highway mus' be trod.\n\n  De father he look upon de Son an' smile,\n  De Son he look on me,\n  De Father redeem my soul from hell,\n  De Son he set me free.\n\n  I'm a chile of God wid my soul set free.\n  For Christ hab bought my liberty.\n\n  I'm goin' home fer to see my Lord.\n  My Lord did give me ease.\n  Ever since my Lord set me free.\n  I believe it for God he tole me so.\n  O my Lord's comin' ag'in,\n  It may be las' time. I don't know.\n  I goin' to do all I can fer my Lord; I goin' to mourn, pray, weep all I\n      can fer my Lord.\n  The Lord is a listenin' all the day long.\n  My Lord is a talkin (preachin') at de jedgement day.\n  De Lord goin' to wake up the dead.\n  My Lord come down wid de key an' unlock de jail house do'.\n  O, my Lord's a doctor in a weary lan';\n  My Lord's a preachin' and teachin', and walkin' in a weary lan'.\n  My Lord calls me by the thunder; by the lightning.\n  Dat mus' be my Lord in the cloud.\n\n  My Lord says there's room enough.\n  I'm goin' to tell God 'bout my trials.\n  Thank God-a-mighty, My God's been here.\n  When I talk I talk wid God.\n\n  Gwine to chatter wid de Fadder.\n  My Fadder call an' I mus' go.\n  My righteous Lord shall fin' you out.\n  Look to de Lord wid a tender heart.\n  O de Lord He plant de garden dere and raise de fruit for you to eat.\n  O de Lord He comfort sinner.\n  God did go to Moses house an' tell him who He wus.\n  God an' Moses walked and talked an' God did sho' him who He wus.\n\n  God sits in Heaven an' answers prayer.\n  I gwine tell God how you sarved me.\n  Look in my God's right hand.\n  His chariot wheels roll round.\n  God's goin' call dem chilluns frum de distant lan'.\n  My Lord's a-ridin' all the time.\n  De Lord has been here an' de love come tricklin' down.\n  Me an' my God goin' to walk an' talk.\n  O God don't talk lak a nat'ral man.\n  My Lord God-ermighty come a steppin' down, come a steppin' down on a sea\n      ob glass.\n\n_Heaven_ for the negro is an eternal resting place where he shall occupy\nthe best place. It is a place of glory and splendor in the material sense.\nNor does he think that he will fail to miss his home when he dies. _Hell_\nis a place for _thieves_ and _sinners_ and _liars_, but such persons are\nfar removed from him. His religion is the panacea for all evils and all\nsins, and when he has the \"love of God in his heart\" nothing can doom him,\nfor has he not been \"washed in the blood of the lamb?\" and had not the\n\"blood done sign his name\"? His ideas of heaven are those which his mind\nnaturally conceives of as applying to a home; his conclusions from the\nScriptures are not unusual. A few of the references to heaven will give a\nbetter conception of the negro's reality and vividness of interpretation.\n\n  I want to go to heaven when I die,\n  To shout salvation as I fly.\n\n  You say yer aiming fer de skies,\n  Why don't yer quit yer tellin' lies.\n\n  I hope I git dere bye an' bye,\n  To jine de number in de sky.\n\n  When I git to heaven gwine to ease, ease,\n  Me an' my God goin' do as we please,\n  Settin' down side o' de holy Lamb.\n\n  When I git to heaven goin set right down,\n  Gwin-er ask my Lord fer starry crown.\n\n  Now wait till I gits my gospel shoes,\n  Gwin-er walk 'bout heaven an' carry de news.\n\n  We'll walk up an' down dem golden streets,\n  We'll walk about Zion.\n\n  Gwine sit in de kingdom, I raly do believe, where sabbaths have no end.\n  Look way in de heaven--hope I'll jine de band--Sittin' in de kingdom.\n  I done bin to heaven an' I done bin' tried.\n  Dere's a long white robe in de heaven for me,\n  Dere's a golden crown, golden harp, starry crown, silver slippers in\n      heaven for me I know.\n  O yes I'm gwine up to see my Lord; gwine all de way up to see my robe; O\n      de heaven is shinin', shinin'.\n  Gwine shout in hebben, gwine hab a big meetin'.\n  If you want to go to heaven come along wid me.\n  Take my flight up to de skies in de mornin'.\n  O de heaven gates are open.\n  Gwine up to heaven where my Jesus dwells.\n  My Jesus walkin' de hebbenly road.\n  De bell is ringin' in odder bright worl'.\n  If you touch one strin' de whole hebben ring.\n  De sun gib light in de hebben all round.\n  I wish I wus in de kingdom settin' side o' my Lord.\n  No more hard trial in de kingdom; no more tribulation, no more parting,\n      no more quarreling, backbiting in de kingdom,\n  No more sunshine fer to bu'n you; no more rain fer to wet you.\n  Ev'y day will be Sunday in heaven.\n  Sweet music in heaven jes beginning to roll.\n  Goin feast off'n milk an' honey.\n\nThe negro does not dwell upon thoughts of hell as he does of heaven. Even\nif he has \"stepped over hell an' come back 'gain,\" he does not reveal so\nmuch of its character. Some conceptions, however, are definite enough.\n\n  O hell is deep an' hell is wide,\n  O hell ain't got no bottom or side.\n\n  I'd rather pray myself away,\n  Than live in hell an' burn one day.\n\n  O when I git to hebben, I'll be able to tell,\n  How I shunned dat dismal hell.\n\n  Ev'y since my Lord done set me free,\n  Dis ole worl' bin a hell to me.\n\n  When I come to find out I's on de road to hell, I fleed to Jesus.\n\nThe negro song finds little satisfaction in his various ideas of hell.\n\"This ole world's a hell to me,\" says the negro; but \"hell is a dark and\ndismal place,\" so that the only immediate conclusion which he can reach\nis that he must \"shun de gates of hell\" and make for the home beyond the\nJordan.\n\nA rich variety of references to scriptural characters is seen in the\nmajority of the negro spirituals, both of the past and of the present. The\nnegro portrays the conduct of heroes in the past with imaginative skill.\nTheir songs are often running-stories of scripture, in which the effort is\nmade to include as many characters as possible and at the same time draw\nconclusions which have suitable morals, but these songs may be better\nstudied in the examples that follow. Some of the typical references to the\nScriptures will show the average interpretation given them by the negroes.\n\n  O, sisters, can't you help me sing,\n  For Moses' sister did help him.\n\n  Where wus Ezekiel when de church fell down?\n  Down in de valley wid his head hung down.\n\n  Ezekiel said he spied de train a comin',\n  He got on board an' she never stop runnin'.\n\n  God made Adam an' Adam wus first,\n  God made Adam out o' the dust o' the earth.\n\n  Well God show Noah de rainbow sign,\n  No more water but fire nex' time.\n\n  Mose live till he got old,\n  Buried in de mountain so I'm told.\n\n  Mary wept and Martha mourned,\n  Jesus Christ laid de corner stone.\n\n  Mary wore the golden chain,\n  Every link was in Jesus' name.\n\n  Judas was a deceitful man--\n  Well he betrayed the innercent lam'.\n\n  John wrote a letter an' he wrote it in haste,\n  If yer want to go to heaven, you better make haste.\n\n  John declar he saw a man,\n  Wid seben lamps in his right han'.\n\nThe negroes wonder \"wher's sister Mary, Martha, Brudder Moses, brudder\nDaniel (and the others) gone.\" So, too, \"Sister Hannah, Hagar, brudder\nMoses\" and the rest \"took dey seat.\" And again, \"Wondah whar good ole\nDaniel, doubtin' Thomas, sinkin' Peter\" and others. Moses \"smote de water\"\nand the negro says:\n\n  I want to go where Moses trod,\n  For Moses gone to de house o' God.\n\nPeter is commanded again and again to \"go ring dem bells\"; \"Daddy Peter go\nto Jesus\", \"Fisherman Peter out at sea\", the latter perhaps being the\norigin of \"sinkin' Peter.\" Elijah is one of the favorites of the Old\nTestament. \"Elijah gwine ride in de chariot in de mornin'\", and Isaiah who\n\"mounted on de wheel o' time\" is a kindred character to Ezekiel and\nElijah. Jacob's ladder and struggle is vivid enough to be sung. \"I'm gwine\nclimb up Jacob's ladder\"; \"Rastlin' Jacob, let me go.\" \"Jacob tremblin' on\na limb.\" Noah's victory is the common theme. \"Dey call Brudder Noah a\nfoolish man\", but that makes no difference for \"de Lord tole Noah fer to\nbuild him ark\", and \"de ole ark a moverin.\" The negro remarks\ncharacteristically: \"God placed Adam in de garden, 'was 'bout de cool o'\nday.\" Gabriel is proverbial and the attitude of the singer is always ready\n\"fer to hear Gabriel blow his horn.\" \"Don't you hear Gabriel's trumpet in\nde mornin'\"? \"Little David play on de harp\" has been a shining example for\nmany another \"David\" who loved to blow on his harp. \"Father Abraham\nsittin' down side o' de holy Lamb\", is almost synonymous with Christ.\nProminent among the clear impressions made by the Scriptures is that of\nthe delivery of Daniel, the Hebrew children and Jonah. However, one must\nread the songs in order to get the full significance of the references.\n\nAlthough the negro bases everything in his religion upon the Bible, and\nhis songs and sermons and exhortations abound in quotations from the \"Holy\nword\", he has comparatively little to say of the Bible itself as a book.\nHe thinks sometimes that it is a \"cumpass\" and also bases his convictions\non the truth of the Bible. He asks \"How do you know? For my Bible hit tell\nme so.\"\n\n  For in dat Bible you will see.\n  Jesus died fer you an' me.\n  Matthew, Mark, Luke an' John\n  Tell me where my Master's gone.\n\n  Go read de fifth of Matthew\n  An' read de chapter through,\n  It is de guide to Christians\n  An' tell 'em what to do.\n\n  Now take yo' Bible an' read it through,\n  An' ev'y word you fin' is true.\n\nAs the Bible is the _compass_, so sometimes the Holy Ghost is thought of\nas the _pilot_. The Holy Ghost is too vague for the negroes to fathom and\nis not tangible enough for their imaginations. But he says: \"If this ain't\nde holy Ghost I don't know\", but goes little further.\n\nJust as the negro expects to talk and walk with God and Jesus, so he looks\nforward to seeing the angels in Heaven. He wants to see them with their\nwhite robes and hear them sing; he even says they mourn. \"Bright angels\nhoverin' on de water by de light\", are but a part of the angel band which\nhe hopes to join. \"Join de hebben wid de angels\" is his watchword and by\nit he sees in his child-like fancy all the beauties of ideal creatures.\n\n  I'm gwine to keep a climbin' high,\n  Till I meet dem angels in de sky.\n\n  Dem pooty angels I shall see--\n  Why doan de debbil let a me be?\n\n  O when I git to heaven goin' sit an' tell,\n  Three archangels gwine er ring dem bells.\n\n  Two white angels come a walkin' down,\n  Long white robes an' starry crown.\n\n  What's dat yonder dat I see?\n  Big tall angel comin' after me.\n\nThe negro makes a terrible picture of the day of judgment. For him it\nmeans everything that could possibly happen at the end of the world. It is\nthe destruction of the sinner and the glory of the righteous. Nor does he\nhesitate to affirm that the Christian in heaven will shout amen to the\nsinner's damnation. The sinner will see his mother and friends in heaven\nwhile he is doomed to hell. It serves as a warning theme for the song more\nthan it indicates reality of thought. But here is a part of his picture:\n\n  My Lord what a morning when de stars begin to fall,\n  You'll see de worl' on fire,\n  You'll see de moon a bleedin' an'\n  De moon will turn to blood,\n  Den you'll see de elements a meltin',\n  You'll see de stars a fallin',\n  O yes, de stars in de elements a fallin',\n  An' de moon drips way in blood,\n  When God goin' call dem childuns from de distant lan',\n  Den you see de coffins bustin',\n  Den you see de bones a creepin',\n  Den you see po' sinner risin',\n  Den you hear de tombstones crackin',\n  An' you see de graves a bustin',\n  Hell an' seas gwine give up their daid,\n  Den you see de forked lightenin',\n  Den you hear de rollin' thunder,\n  Earth shall reel an' totter,\n  Hell shall be uncapped,\n  De dragon be loosed,\n  Don't you hear them sinners cryin'?\n\nSuch a scene vividly told of at a revival and sung to the associations of\nthe moment is too much for the average negro; the sinner cries for mercy\nand turns to a Christian; the latter sings: \"Fare you well po' sinner\" and\n\n  A mighty sea of glass mingled wid fier,\n  Good-bye, brother, I'm goin' higher.\n\nAlong with the scenes which are associated with the resurrection and\njudgment go the sadder strains of the \"mourners\"; \"weepin' mournin',\ncry'n'\"--these will be much in evidence. A study of the songs that follow\nwill give some idea of the emotional nature of the themes and music. The\nnegroes sing sympathy. \"Weepin' Mary, weep no mo'\"--\"Mary wept, Martha\ncried\", why can't they too? \"Now ain't dis hard trial and tribulation?\" He\nsings often in his songs of hard times and trials. \"When you see me,\" he\nsays, \"pity me.\" \"Nobody knows de trubble I seen\" but \"I boun' to leave\ndis worl'; Fare you well, dere's a better day comin'.\" His prayers are\nmore pathetic than his songs; his appeals interpret the spirit of song and\nof worship. But one would scarcely look for a more pathetic wail than that\nof the negro who sings\n\n  Sometimes I hangs my head an' cries,\n  But Jesus goin' to wipe my weep'n' eyes.\n\nIf the negro loves to mourn and if his songs are full of sadness and\npathos, he also loves to shout and vigorously defends the right to shout\nas much as he pleases. His songs have many \"Hallelujahs\" in them; many\nnotes of victory may be read in the songs of his choice. They often sing,\nhowever, the songs which should be the most joyous in the same sad and\nplaintive tone of the sadder ones. They forget the words. In many,\nhowever, the shouting takes away any sadness and these livelier songs\nvoice the light and sensuous emotions equally as well as the more serious\nones tell of hardships. The negro maintains that always and everywhere,\n\"You'll hear the Christian shout.\" \"De richest man I ever seed, his heart\nwas fill wid Jesus an' Holy Ghost.\" \"I got de glory in my soul\" he says\nand\n\n  I real'y do b'lieve widout a doubt,\n  Dat de church hab a mighty right to shout.\n\n  I tell you what I lak de bes',\n  It is dem shoutin' Mefodes'.\n\nIf the negro's mother and sister and father and preacher and the others,\nas the songs put it, \"died a shoutin',\" why he is \"goin' die shoutin'\ntoo.\"\n\n  Gwine hab happy meetin',\n  Gwine shout in hebben,\n  Gwine shout an' nebber tire,\n  O slap yo' han's chilluns,\n  O pat yo' feets chilluns,\n  I feels de spirit movin'\n  O now I'm gittin' happy.\n\nOf true love and devotion to God one finds little definite and concrete\nexpressions as compared with other themes. The negro is constantly\naffirming his love for \"his Jesus\" and offering his eternal allegiance in\na general way. But in the average instance the testimony is subordinated\nto some special word or phrase which receives the greater part of the\nsignificance in the song. What does he mean when he asks: \"Does yo' love\ncontinue true?\" or when he insists: \"I wants to know, does you love yo'\nJesus?\" The negroes are often heard to say that they want to do something\n\"for the Lord\". In the same way they sing \"I goin' to weep all I can for\nmy Lord, I goin' pray all I can for my Lord, I goin' do all I can for my\nLord.\" In each case the relation of the negro and his God are ideal and he\nconceives of his own deeds as being, not the practical every-day life, but\nas coming in the future when there will be nothing unpleasant about them.\nIt was doubted if the negro's ideas of God and Heaven and his relation to\nthem were truly expressed in his songs. A series of experiments were made\nwith negro children, wherein questions were answered by them at the time\nthey were given, others being carried to their homes or teachers. Their\nideas of hell and heaven, God and the angels are almost identical. Perhaps\nsome of them were gained from the songs; some of them were certainly not;\nall seemed to agree with each other and with those of the race in a\nremarkable way.\n\nNature contributes something to the negro spirituals. Certain parts of\nnature are symbolic and serve to convey the picture of a vivid imagination\nas nothing else can do. The wonders of God and the terrors of the judgment\nmust be seen in their relation and effect upon the forces of nature.\nCertain natural phenomena inspire awe and reverence; they add thus to the\nconception of his religious fear. Other references to nature convey, as\nthey only could, pleasing features of life, hence of heaven and God. The\nnegro refers to the \"break o' day\", the \"settin' o' the sun\", the \"cool o'\nde evenin'\" and each is very expressive. Morning and evening are common;\nhe prays in the evening perhaps; in the morning he is going to heaven. The\nhillside, the mountain and mountain top, the valley, signify and typify\nthe experiences of the Christian of the past and present; the heavenly\nbreeze comes from the valley. The negro sees a paradise and a wilderness,\na sunshine and a storm. But\n\n  Dere's a tree in paradise,\n  Christians call de tree ob life,\n\nand he faithfully believes \"I specs to eat de fruit off'n dat tree\". The\nearth trembles and is jarred; the sky is \"shook.\" The river is \"chilly an'\ncold, wide an' deep.\" The \"rock\" is better than the miry clay and \"nebber\nmind de sun--see how she run.\" The stars, moon, and world fall, bleed, and\nburn. The thunder and the lightning are in the stormy cloud; Jesus may be,\ntoo. Satan is a snake in the grass and a hunting dog. Young lambs and \"de\nsheep done know de road.\" The summer, spring, flowers and the field are\nmentioned. The negro wishes he had wings like Noah's dove. He is sometimes\nawed:\n\n  I looked toward dat northern pole,\n  I seed black clouds of fire roll.\n\nWith his vivid imagination the negro feels much of the thought expressed\nin the folk-song. Thus sin and the sinner are intimately connected with\nlife and death, religion and repentance. How skillfully the songs express\nthe folk-feeling may better be inferred in the further analysis of the\nfollowing\n\n\n_Types of Negro Spirituals._\n\nAn exact classification of negro songs, either as to subject-matter or as\nto form, is scarcely possible. There is little unity of thought in their\ncontent; their metres conform to no consistent standards. A single\nfavorite stanza, regardless of its meaning, is constantly being sung in a\ndozen different songs. It is a distinct folk-song; and it matters little\nto which one it belongs; it serves its purpose in any one of them. So in\nthe form of the verse, a single tune is adapted to lines that differ\nwidely in length; likewise a single line is not infrequently made to fit\ninto any tune that is desired. Again, no final version of any song can be\ngiven. The lines are rarely sung in exactly the same form. There are\nordinarily as many versions of a line as there are combinations of the\nwords without spoiling the effect of the rhyme or emphatic word. The\nstanzas have no order of sequence, but are sung as they occur in the mind\nof the singer; a song does not have a standard number of stanzas, but the\nlength depends upon the time in which it is wanted to sing that particular\nsong. In the songs that follow the most common versions are given. In\ngiving the dialect no attempt is made at consistency; for the negro of the\npresent generation has no consistency of speech. He uses \"the\" and \"de\",\n\"them\" and \"dem\", \"gwine\" and \"goin'\", \"and\" and \"an'\", together with many\nother varied forms, which will be noted in a later chapter; nor does it\nmatter that each of the forms is used in the same line or stanza. In the\nold songs that are here quoted for comparisons, the exact form of speech\nin which they have been published is used. In the miscellaneous songs\ngathered here and there, what may be called the average dialect is used.\nThe songs that form the basis of this work are those that are found among\nthe present-day negroes of the South; in many cases the corresponding song\nof earlier days is given in order that a better study of the folk-songs\nmay be made and the many points of resemblance noted. In all instances the\n_basis_ of the chapter is the _present-day song_, and these should not be\nconfused with those that have already been published. The words of the\nchorus and refrain are italicized. Further particulars will be pointed out\nin connection with the several songs.\n\nPerhaps no better beginning can be made towards general classification of\nthe religious songs of the negroes than by introducing some that combine\nseveral characteristics, but still have a general theme predominating. Sin\nis an important factor in the religious life of the negro and his songs\nrefer to it in many forms. The three general tones which pervade the theme\nare: A note of victory over sin and the conception of it as being in the\npast or belonging to some other person; the conception of sin as being\npresent and the singer as being in its grasp; and thirdly, the\n\"sinner-man\" himself and warnings given him. The very popular song, \"All\nmy Sins Done Taken Away\" is typical of the first class mentioned above.\nThere is no reason why the stanzas given below should come in the order\npresented, except that they are heard in this arrangement as much as in\nany other. The stanzas consist of two rhymed lines with the refrain.\nThese, however, are usually extended to four, the first two and refrain\nbeing sung slowly and in a more or less plaintive tone, while the\nrepetition of the same lines with the rhymed line and refrain are rapid\nand joyous. The common version follows.\n\n  I'm goin' to heaven an' I don't want ter stop,\n  Yes, I'm goin' to heaven an' I don't want ter stop,\n    _All o' my sins done taken away, taken away_;\n  I'm goin' to heaven an' I don't want ter stop,\n  An' I don't want ter be no stumblin' block,\n    _All my sins done taken away, taken away_.\n\nInstead of repeating the chorus line at the end of the first two lines\nthat are sung, the negroes often vary the song by repeating the last half\nof the line, as in the following stanza:\n\n  Well \"M\" for Mary, an' \"P\" for Paul,\n  Well \"M\" for Mary, an' \"P\" for Paul,\n          An' \"P\" for Paul;\n  Well \"M\" for Mary an' \"P\" for Paul.\n  \"C\" for Chris' who died for us all,\n  _All o' my sins done taken away, taken away_.\n\nThe chorus is again varied from \"all my sins\" to \"all o' my sins\" or \"all\nof my sins,\" \"done taken away,\" or \"bin taken away,\" while the entire line\nis sometimes changed in a single stanza. Sometimes it is sung as given\nabove; at other times the line goes: \"All my sins done taken away, bin'\ntaken away,\" or omitting either \"done\" or \"bin\" it is sung equally well as\n\"All my sins taken away, taken away,\" while in the grand chorus at the\nclimax of song the chorus goes:\n\n  _Yes all o' my sins bin taken away,\n  Yes all my sins done taken away,_\n\n  _Yes all o' my sins done taken away,\n  Yes all my sins done taken away,\n  Glory, glory to His name-e,\n  All my sins done taken away, taken away._\n\nThis last chorus may be repeated whenever the singers do not think of\nwords to fit in with the songs, although this is rarely necessary. The\nfollowing stanzas are sung in the same manner as those just given.\n\n  If I had er died when I wus young,\n  I never would a had dis rist to run,\n  _All o' my sins done taken away, taken away_.\n\n  Well you oughter bin dere to see de sight,\n  The peoples come runnin' both cullud an' white.\n\n  My feet got wet in de midnight dew,\n  An' de mornin' star was a witness, too.\n\n  If you doan b'leave I bin redeem,\n  Jes follow me down to Jordan stream.\n\n  When a sinner see me it make him laugh,\n  Thank God-a-mighty, I'm free at las'.\n\n  Mary wept an' Martha mourned,\n  Mary wept all 'round the throne.\n\n  Mary wept an' Martha mourned,\n  All because deir brother done daid an' gone.\n\n  Mary wept an' Martha cried,\n  All 'cause dey brother done gone an' died.\n\n  I'm goin' to ride on de mornin' train,\n  All don't see me goin' ter hear me sing.\n\n  I'm gwine to heaven on eagle's wing,\n  All don't see me goin' ter hear me sing.\n\n  My mother's sick an' my father's daid,\n  Got nowhere to lay my weary head.\n\n  I went down in de valley to pray,\n  My soul got happy an' I stayed all day.\n\nA number of other versions are common. Instead of \"Mary wept all 'round\nthe throne\" is sung \"all 'round God's hebbenly throne.\" Instead of the\nmorning star as a witness the old songs have it \"angels witness too.\"\nInstead of in the valley, the old songs also had \"on de mountain\" and also\ninserted \"I didn't go dere to stay.\" This version is sung in some of the\nsongs still. \"The Sabbath has no End\" is the name of a favorite somewhat\nsimilar to \"All my sins done taken away.\" It has a number of forms for the\nchorus.\n\n  I went down in de valley,\n    I didn't go ter stay,\n  My little soul got happy\n    An' I like to a stayed all day.\n\n  _I thought I had religion, I b'lieve\n  I thought I had religion, I b'lieve.\n  I thought I had religion, I b'lieve,\n        Dat Sabbath hath no end._\n\n  I wouldn't be a sinner,\n  Tell you de reason why--\n  Feard de good Lord might call me,\n  An I wouldn't be ready ter die.\n\n  _Gwine rock trubbel over, I b'lieve,\n  Rock trubbel over, I b'lieve,\n  Rock trubbel over, I b'lieve,\n        Dat Sabbath has no end._\n\n  Ole Satan's mighty busy,\n  Fixin' up his snares,\n  He'll ketch all dem mourners,\n  If dey don't keep deir prayers.\n\n  _Yer better get ready, I b'lieve\n  Yer better get ready, I b'lieve,\n  Yer better get ready, I b'lieve,\n        Dat Sabbath has no end._\n\nThe singer is a little more definite in his convictions in \"I am de light\nuv de Worl'\". He is no longer a sinner and looks forward to the time when\nhe will \"cross de ribber.\"\n\n  _Hallaluyer, good Lord,\n    I am de light uv de worl',\n  Halleluyer, good Lord,\n    I am de light uv de worl'._\n\n  Ever since my Lord done sot me free,\n  Dis ole worl' bin a hell to me,\n  _I am de light uv de worl'_.\n\n  I looked toward dat Northern pole,\n  I seed black clouds of fier roll,\n  _I am de light uv de worl'_.\n\n  _I gwine 'clare de word,\n    I am de light uv de worl',\n  I'm gwine 'clar de word,\n    I am de light uv de worl'._\n\n  Der ain't but one train on dis track,\n  Goes straight to heaven an' run right back.\n  _I am de light uv de worl'._\n\n  _Ever since I bin in de worl',\n    I am de light uv de worl',\n  Ever since I been in de worl',\n    I am de light uv de worl'._\n\n  When I cross Jordan I'll be free,\n  Gwine a slip an' slide dem golden streets,\n    _I am de light uv de worl'_.\n\n  _'Way up in de kingdom, Lord,\n    I am de light uv de worl',\n  'Way up in de kingdom, Lord,\n    I am de light uv de worl'._\n\nThe negro is not troubled because he cannot see his Lord; he has heard Him\nspeak and believes that He has gone \"on to glory.\" His personal relation\nwith Jesus is satisfactory and he sings His praises often as he tells of\nhis own experiences. Says he:\n\n  One day, one day, while walkin' along,\n        _Jesus done bless my soul_;\n  I heard a voice an' saw no one,\n        _Jesus done bless my soul_.\n\n  O go an' tell it on de mountain,\n        _Jesus done bless my soul_;\n  O go an' tell it in de valley,\n        _Jesus done bless my soul_.\n\n  He done bless my soul an' gone on to glory, Good Lord,\n        _Jesus done bless my soul_;\n  Done bin here an' bless my soul an' gone on to glory.\n        _Jesus done bless my soul._\n\nIn one of the old plantation songs a similar idea is given of the\nblessing, but in a different version.\n\n  One day when I wus walkin' along, Oh yes, Lord,\n  De element opened, an' de Love came down, Oh yes, Lord,\n  I never shall forget dat day, Oh yes, Lord,\n  When Jesus washed my sins away, Oh yes, Lord.\n\nAnother chorus inquired: \"O brothers where were you? O sisters where were\nyou? O sinners, O Christians, O mourners, etc., where were you?\" for \"My\ngood Lord's bin here, bin here, bin here; My good Lord's bin here, An' he\nblessed my soul an' gone.\" So the negro exhorters often conclude their\nservices, saying that the Lord has been to the meeting and gone. Said one\ndeacon who was exhorting for a large collection: \"De good Lord's done bin\nwith us to-night--I knows he has, done been here an' gone, an' now we\nwants to git down to bizness, I wants some money.\"\n\nAgain, the negro fresh and enthusiastic from his religious experience and\nhaving \"come through\" sings with some relief:\n\n  I have been tryin a great long while,\n  _Lord, I jus' got over on yo' side_.\n\n  _Lord, I jus' got over-er,\n  Lord, I jus' got over,\n  Lord, I jus' got over-er,\n  I jus' got over on yo' side._\n\n  I pray'd an' I pray till I come over,\n  _Lord, I jus' got over on yo' side_.\n\nSo also he \"weeps\" and he \"mourns\" and \"cries\" till he \"gets over on the\nLawd's side.\" Then he sings \"O de sunshine,\"\n\n  O the sunshine, O the sunshine,\n  O sunshine in my soul this mornin',\n  Yes the sunshine, the sunshine,\n  Yes sun shine in my soul.\n\n  Down in the valley, down on my knees,\n      _Sunshine in my soul_,\n  There I met that heavenly breeze,\n      _Sunshine in my soul_.\n\n  Ole devil like a snake in the grass,\n      _Sunshine in my soul_,\n  He's always in some sister's path,\n      _Sunshine in my soul_.\n\nWhile the song is also sung at times with more dialect, it lends itself\nmore readily to the above form. Very much mixed and somewhat similar to\nthose already given is \"Bless the Name.\"\n\n  I've got to go to judgment, I don't know how soon,\n        _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_,\n  I've got to go to judgment to hear my sins,\n        _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_.\n\n  My Jesus fed me when I's hungry, gave me drink when I's dry,\n        _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_,\n  My Jesus clothed me when I was naked,\n        _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_.\n\nIn the same song and with the same tune are sung the shorter lines that\nfollow. The chorus is often sung \"Lor' bless the name\", and is a form of\nthe phrase \"Bless the name of the Lord.\" It is used as a refrain after\neach line or it may be omitted.\n\n  Mary wept and Martha mourned,\n  _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_,\n  Jesus Chris' laid the corner of stone,\n  _Lord bless the name, Lord bless the name_.\n\n  Mary wore the golden chain,\n  Every link was in Jesus' name.\n\n  You may talk about me just as you please,\n  I'll talk about you when I git on my knees.\n\n  God made man an' man was sure,\n  There was no sin an' his heart was pure.\n\n  God made Adam an' Adam was first,\n  God made Adam out o' the dust o' the earth.\n\nThe old slave songs also had other interpretations of man's creation which\ndiffer slightly in particular from the last stanza quoted. One form occurs\nin\n\n  God made man an' he made him out o' clay,\n        _Settin' on de golden altar_,\n  An' he put him on de earth but he did not stay,\n        _Settin' on de golden altar_.\n\nA favorite chorus for the old spiritual was: \"_What you gwine do when de\nlamp burns down?_\" So there was also another version of the weeping of\nMary and Martha:\n\n  Mary wept an' Martha cried,\n  To see deir Saviour crucified,\n  Weepin' Mary weep no mo',\n  Jesus say he gone befo'.\n\nIt proves an interesting task to follow the development and changes in a\nsong that has survived from slavery days. In \"Free, free my Lord\", one of\nthe verses was quite a puzzle. During the recent summer the following\nstanza was heard:\n\n  The moon come down like a piper's stem,\n      The sun 'fuse to shine,\n  An' ev'y star disappear,\n      King Jesus set me free.\n\nInquiry was made in order to see if the words had not been misunderstood.\nThe older negroes gave this version and insisted that it was correct, but\nnone of them could explain what it meant. It was thought that perhaps it\nwas a figure applied to the moon's rays or that the loss of the sun might\nhave meant the peculiar appearance of the moon. Anyway, they maintained,\nthis was the \"way we got de song an' guess it must be right.\" The words of\nthe original song were,\n\n  The moon run down in purple stream,\n    The sun forbear to shine,\n  An' ev'y star disappear,\n    King Jesus shall be mine,\n\nof which there seemed to be several versions. Other verses that are found\nto-day are:\n\n  As I went down in de valley one day,\n    I fell upon my knees,\n  I begged and cried fer pardon,\n    The Lord did give me ease.\n\n  _Free, free, my Lord,\n  Free, free, my Lord,\n  Free, free, my Lord,\n  To march de heaven's highway._\n\n  The Lord called Moses,\n    Moses refuse to answer,\n\n  _Free, free_, etc.\n\n  My mother look at de son an' smile,\n    My Father look at me,\n  My mother turn my soul from hell,\n    King Jesus set me free,\n\nis an unusual variation and interpretation of the old song; just how and\nwhen the negro inserted the idea of mother would be difficult to\nascertain; perhaps it came from \"master,\" or more likely it was introduced\nby them while they interpreted _father_ and _son_ as names of the ordinary\nmembers of a human family. The original form seems to have been,\n\n  De Father, he looked on de Son and smiled,\n    De Son, he looked on me;\n  De Father, he redeemed my soul from hell;\n    An' de Son, he set me free.\n\nThe chorus, too, has been much confused and is given as \"_Children light\non dat cross, God bless you forever mo'_.\" The song is not a common one\namong the negroes and is not known, apparently, among the younger ones. In\ncontrast with this favorite of the older negroes may be given a favorite\nof the younger generation, \"Glad I got religion.\" The repetition\nrepresents pretty well the relative depth of the feeling which the convert\nfeels. But he loves to sing it for its pleasing sound and for the faith it\ngives him in his own religious state. The song is a long and continued\nchorus and may well be taken as a type of the song which reflects the\nnegro's feeling of immunity from sin.\n\n  I'm so glad, so glad; I'm so glad, so glad,\n          Glad I _got religion_, so glad,\n          Glad I _got religion_, so glad.\n\n  I'm so glad, so glad; I'm so glad, so glad,\n          I'm _glad all over_, so glad,\n          I'm _glad all over_, so glad.\n\n  I'm so glad, so glad; I'm so glad, so glad,\n          Glad I bin' _changed_, so glad.\n          Glad I bin' _changed_, so glad.\n\nAnd so he continues singing; he is glad that he is _goin' to heaven_, he\nis glad that he is _not a sinner_, glad he has been _set free_, and many\nother such states. Then when he has finished he begins all over again, if\nhe wishes and sings: \"Sister, ain't you glad? Brother, ain't you glad?\"\nand goes through with as many of these as he wishes, _preacher_,\n_mourner_, _auntie_, and the others.\n\nThe \"sinner-man\" is the theme for many verses of the negro favorites.\nDirected at him are warnings and admonitions. He is told what he must do\nand when; how he must do and why. He is told of the experiences of the\nChristians and he is told of the doom of the damned. The negro rejoices\nover his own safety and boasts of the sinner's destruction; at the same\ntime he constantly refers to the \"po' sinner\" in a sympathetic way. But\nthe sinner must be warned:\n\n  _God knows it's time, it's time, it's time,\n  That a sinner was makin' up his min'\n  It's time, it's time he was makin' up his min' to die._\n\n  A sinner was walkin' off his time, his time,\n  An' when my God call him he did not have the _time_,\n  God know it was time, it was time, it was time for him to die.\n\nAgain the words of the righteous to the sinner are driven home by\nrepetition, and, by a dark and dismal picture,\n\n  O hell is deep an' hell is wide,\n  O hell is deep an' hell is wide,\n  O hell is deep an' hell is wide,\n  O hell ain't got no bottom or side.\n\n  Well before I lay in hell all day, hell all day,\n  Well before I lay in hell all day, hell all day,\n  Well before I lay in hell all day, hell all day,\n  I goin' to sing an' pray myself away, self away.\n\n  O sinner don't you let this harves' pass, harves' pass,\n  O sinner don't you let this harves' pass, harves' pass,\n  O sinner don't you let this harves' pass, harves' pass,\n  Do you die an' got to hell at las', hell at las'.\n\nThe sinner may be a _gambler_ or a _dancer_ or a _rogue_ or a _drunkard_.\nBut each name has the same signification in the religious phraseology of\nthe negro song. There are various ways of _repenting_ and of _serving the\nLord_ just as there are as many ways of offending and sinning against him.\n\"Workin' on the Building\" appeals to the average negro.\n\n  If I wus a sinner man, I tell you what I'd do,\n  I'd lay down all my sinful ways an' work on the building, too.\n\n  _I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,\n    Fer my Lord, fer my Lord,\n  I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,\n    I'm workin' on the building, too._\n\n  If I wus a gamblin' man, I tell you what I'd do,\n  I'd lay down all my gamblin', an' work on the building, too.\n\n  If I was a ho-munger, I tell you what I'd do,\n  I'd lay down all my munglin' and work on the building, too.\n\nAnd so he sings for the _dancer_ and the _drunkard_ and the \"_cussin'\nman_.\" So in another song the negro sings of the _sinners_ and _mourners_.\n\n  If I wus a mourner jus' like you,\n                          'u-m-u',\n  I'd go to church an' try to come thru',\n                          'um-u'.\n\n  When I was a mourner, um-u', jus' lak you,\n  I prayed an' prayed till I come thru, um-u'.\n\n  Upon de mountain King Jesus spoke, um-u',\n  Out of his mouth come fier an smoke, um-u'.\n  Now mourner won't you please come on, um-u',\n  An' join us in that heavenly lan', um-u'.\n\nIn the \"Downward road is crowded\" a mournful picture is given of the\nsinner who failed to repent. His example is held up for the contemplation\nof those who are following in his steps.\n\n            Young people who delight in sin,\n            I tell you what I lately seen,\n            A po' godless sinner die,\n            An' he said: \"In hell I soon'll lie.\"\n\n  _Hark, the downward road is crowded, crowded, crowded,\n  Yes the downward road is crowded with onbelievin' souls._\n\n            He call his mother to his bed,\n            An' these is the dyin' words he said,\n            Mother, mother, I long farewell,\n            Your wicked son is damned in hell.\n\n            He dance an' play hisself away,\n            An' still put off his dyin' day,\n            Until at las' ole death was sent,\n            An' it 'us too late fer him to repent.\n\nThey also sing of _mother_ and _sister_ being called to the bedside. The\nold plantation song of the same name had a similar chorus but the stanzas\nwere quite different.\n\n  When I wus a sinner,\n    I loved my distance well,\n  But when I come to fin' myself,\n    I was hangin' over hell.\n\n  Ole Satan's might busy,\n    He follers me night an' day,\n  An' every where I 'pinted,\n    Dere's something in my way.\n\nThe Lord will come to judge the world and _wake up the dead_. It is the\nsupreme ambition of the singer to be ready to meet his Lord when He comes.\nJust what form the Lord will take the negro does not say; perhaps it will\nbe in a _cloud_ or _fire_ or He will come as in the days of Moses. \"My\nLord's comin' again\" gives a general conception.\n\n        _O my Lord's comin' again,\n        O my Lord's comin' again,\n            (Talk about it:)\n        Yes my Lord's comin' again,\n        It may be las' time, I don't know._\n\n  Well he's comin' to judge the worl',\n  Well he's comin' to judge the worl',\n            (_Talk about it_:)\n  Yes my Lord's comin' to judge the worl',\n  It may be las' time, I don't know.\n\n  Well you had better put off lyin' shoes,\n  Well you better put off lyin' shoes,\n            (_Talk about it_:)\n  Better put off lyin' shoes,\n  For it may be las' time, I don't know.\n\nAnd so he sings \"Better put off _dancin'_ shoes\", \"better put off\n_gamblin'_ shoes\". For the sinner's shoes will not be suitable to \"walk on\nthe cross\". He sings: \"God's goin' to wake up the Dead\" and makes a\nbeautiful melody out of the simple repetition.\n\n              _Goin' to wake up the dead,\n              Goin' to wake up the dead,\n              God goin' to wake up the dead,\n              Who's a sleepin' in the grave,\n              God is goin' to wake up the dead._\n  You had better min' my brother how you walk on the cross,\n              _God's goin' to wake up the dead_;\n  If yo' right foot slip, then yo' soul be los'\n              _God goin' wake up the dead_.\n\nThen \"you better min' my _sister_, my _brother_, my _mother_, my\n_preacher_\" are sung. The old song contained words similar to the lines\njust given, with the chorus: \"_De young lambs mus' fin' de way_\":\n\n  My brudder better mind how you walk on de cross,\n  For yo' foot might slip an' yo' soul git lost,\n\n  Better mind dat sun, and see how she run,\n  An' mind don't let her catch ye wid yer works undone.\n\nBut the sinner sometimes gets confused, it would seem; sometimes he heeds\nthe preacher's warnings, sometimes he scoffs at them. Often he does not\nhear them. More rarely he inquires into conditions. In the lines which\nfollow the negroes make each a stanza, repeating three times. It perhaps\nrepresents the retort of the \"_sinner man_.\"\n\n  Some goin' thru' Jordan, some tryin' to go 'round.\n  The Mef'dis' they say sprinklin', de Baptis say' baptize.\n  Now Lord the sinner man so hard to believe,\n  Now Lord sinner man want you to show him de way\n\nBut the sinner gets little reply to his inquiries. \"Time is comin' when\nsinner mus' die\" and there is none so pitiable as the lost sinner.\n\n  _Sinner, die, sinner die,\n  Sinner dies wid his head hung down,\n  Sinner die, sinner die,\n  Sinner die in de midnight dew._\n\n  _Sinner die, sinner die,\n  Sinner die, with achin' heart,\n  Sinner die, sinner die,\n  Sinner die with weary min'._\n\n  Stump'ty up an' stump'ty down,\n  Time is comin' when sinner mus' die,\n      _Hurry home, hurry home_;\n  Time is a comin' sinner mus' die.\n  Don't you let that sinner change yo' min',\n  Time is comin' sinner mus' die.\n      _Hurry home, hurry home_;\n  Time is comin' sinner mus' die.\n\nThe plantation song of some years ago, sometimes called \"O sinner, you\nbetter get ready\", had the same line refrain, \"Time is a comin' dat sinner\nmus' die.\" The repetition of \"sinner die\", is a new addition. In the old\nsong were lines similar to those quoted:\n\n  O sinner man you better pray,\n  For it look a like judgment every day.\n\n  I heard a lumb'ring in de sky,\n  Dat make a me tink my time was nigh.\n\n  I heard of my Jesus a many one say,\n  Could 'move poor sinner's sins away.\n\n  Yes, I'd rather pray myself away,\n  Dan to lie in hell an' burn a one day.\n\n  I think I heard my mother say--\n  'Twas a pretty thing to serve the Lord.\n\n  O when I git to heaven I'll be able fer to tell,\n  O how I shun dat dismal hell.\n\nIn addition to the line-refrain which was sung after each line of the\nsong, an additional chorus followed at intervals; this chorus had \"ready\nmy Lord\" where the new one has a short line, \"Hurry home\".\n\n  _Oh, sinner, you'd better get ready, ready my Lord,\n  Oh, sinner, you'd better get ready._\n\nAn interesting type of song is that in which an imaginary conversation is\ncarried on between two parties. If the song is correctly rendered the\nleader or one part of the chorus sing the first part or take the words of\none of the speakers, while the other chorus take up the other speaker's\nwords. Both then join in the grand refrain, which in the following song is\n\"Lord, I'm on my way\".\n\n  Sinner, what you goin' to do\n      _When de devil git you?_\n  What you goin' do\n      _When de devil git you?_\n  What you goin' do\n      _When de devil git you?_\n      _Lord, I'm on my way._\n\n  I'm goin' run to the rocks.\n      _Well, they can't hide you._\n  Goin' run to the rocks--\n      _They can't hide you_;\n  Run to the rocks,\n      _Well, they can't hide you,\n      Lord, I'm on my way_.\n\n  _I'm goin'_ to run to the water;\n      _An' water goin' to cry \"fire\"_,\n  Goin' to run to the water,\n      _An' water cry \"fire\"_,\n  Run to the water,\n      _An' water cry \"fire\"_,\n      _Lord, I'm on my way._\n\nAnd so the sinner will then \"run to the mountain,\" and \"De mountain fly\nopen\" or \"De mountain cry mercy.\" The sinner must needs be hopeless at his\ndeath and there is neither mercy nor pity for him. It is the idea of the\nnegro that at the great day \"we won't be bothered with them any mo'\". A\nsad picture he makes of the poor, and forsaken man who dies \"with achin'\nheart\", with \"weary min'\", and with his \"head hung down\". Consequently it\nis not surprising to find appeals of all sorts made to the sinner man; now\nhe is told of his doom, now of possible salvation, now of the joys of\nbeing saved, now of immediate satisfaction. Sung like the above song is\n\"Come, sinner, come\".\n\n  Won't you come, won't you come?\n    _Come, sinner, come_;\n  Great day of wrath is comin',\n    _Come, sinner, come_.\n\n  Look over yonder what I see;\n    _Come, sinner, come_;\n  Two tall angels comin' after me,\n    _Come, sinner, come_.\n\nIn the same manner he sings, \"Won't you come an' see yo' Lord?\" and \"Ole\nSatan like a snake in de grass, Always in some sister's path,\" \"Ole Satan\nweahs mighty loose ole shoe, Ef you don't min' gwine slip it on you\". \"Up\non hill side King Jesus spoke, Out of his mouth come fier an' smoke\",\n\"Down in de valley, down on my knees, Ask de Lord to save me if He\nplease\", and others. The plantation song asked,\n\n  O whar you runnin', sinner?\n    _I do love de Lord_;\n  De Judgment day is comin',\n    _I do love de Lord_;\n\n  You'll see de worl' on fire,\n    _I do love de Lord_;\n  You'll see de element a meltin',\n    _I do love de Lord_.\n\nBesides these stanzas there were sung the various other warnings such as\nhave been given in the idea of Judgment and Resurrection already noted. In\nthe old slave song the sinner asks:\n\n  My Lord, My Lord, what shall I do?\n    _An' heaven bell ring an' praise God._\n\n  What shall I do for hiding place?\n  I run to de sea but de sea run dry.\n  I run to de gate but de gate shut fast.\n  No hiding place for sinner dere.\n  For I am gone an' sent to hell.\n\nInstead of the regular refrain which is sung by the chorus of voices in\nresponse to a line by the leader, the negroes often respond with \"um-m'\"\nin a general mingling of chant, humming, and \"amens\". For the most part\nthey do this with closed lips; the volume is surprisingly strong, however,\nand makes a stirring effect. The meaning of the expression is something\nlike \"Yes?\" or \"Of course, we know it is true\" or \"Sure, you talkin'\nbrother\". The singer says: \"I look for Jesus all my days\", and the chorus\nanswers, \"_um-u'_\" and he then continues,\n\n  An' when I found him this is what he said,\n                        _um-u'_\n  Yo' sin forgiven an' you soul set free,\n                        _um-u'_\n\n  _I pray all night, an' I pray all day, um-u' um-u',\n  Then my Lord taken my sins away, um-u', um-u'._\n\n  Nex' day, nex' day while walkin' along, um-u', um-u',\n  I heard a voice an' saw no one, um-u', um-u',\n  It said, sinner man, you better come home, um-u', um-u'.\n\n  One day I was walkin' long dat lonesome road, um-u', um-u',\n  King Jesus spoke unto me an' lifted off dat load, um-u'.\n\nAgain, \"Brother, you'd Better be a Prayin'\", while mostly repetition makes\na long song when sung to its limit. \"_Sister_\", \"_Sinner_\",\n\"_Backslider_\", \"_Mourner_\", \"_Children_\", each serves to make a complete\nstanza of eight lines:\n\n  Brother you'd better be a prayin',\n  Brother, you'd better be a prayin',\n  My brother, you'd better be a prayin',\n  An' I'll be carried above,\n  An' I'll be carried above,\n  An' I'll be carried above,\n  I'll see king Jesus in his reign,\n  An' I'll be carried above.\n\nThe chorus song, \"Wheel in middle of Wheel\" is most likely a variation of\nthe old song \"Wheel in a wheel\" which was \"run by _love_, by _faith_,\" and\nwas sometimes conceived as a chariot wheel upon which \"gwine take a ride,\nOn de chariot wheel\", for \"de chariot's comin', O my Lord\". Sometimes the\nwheel was conceived as being a \"Little wheel a-turnin' in my heart\", in\nwhich case it signified some sort of feeling. The phrase means nothing\nmore than a chorus in the present-day song.\n\n  O sinner man, how can it be?\n    _Wheel in de middle of wheel_,\n  If you don't serve God, you can't serve me,\n    _Wheel in de middle of wheel_.\n\n  _In the wheel, in the wheel,\n    Wheel in de middle of wheel,\n  In the wheel, in the wheel,\n    Wheel in the middle of wheel._\n\n  Well don't you know it's prayin' time?\n    _Wheel in middle of wheel_;\n  Lay down yo' way an' go to God,\n    _Wheel in middle of wheel_.\n\n  Well don't you know it's mournin' time?\n    _Wheel in middle of wheel_;\n  He'll hear yo' prayers an' sanctify,\n    _Wheel in middle of wheel_.\n\nJesus and God are represented as \"Listenin' all the day long\", and the\nsinner is directed to pray. The plantation songs called to him: \"Where you\ngoin' sinner? O come back, don't go dat way.\" And one of the singers\naffirmed that \"about the break o' day\" his sins were forgiven and \"his\nsoul set free.\" The song \"Jesus is a listenin'\" seems at some time to have\nbeen considerably corrupted. The negroes have sung it: \"_I've_ been a\nlistenin' all day long, and all night long, to hear some sinner pray.\"\nHowever, the correct version now seems to be:\n\n  Jesus is a listenin' all the day long,\n  He keep listenin' all the day long,\n  He keep listenin' all the day long,\n  For to hear some sinner pray.\n\n  If I was a sinner I would please him,\n  I would pray an' pray a day,\n  An' when I got to heaven,\n  So he could say he heard me pray.\n\nBut in \"Bear yo' Burden, sinner\", another version is given of the same\nidea. This song is a popular one, while the figures used give a definite\nconviction.\n\n  The Lord is a listenin' all the day long,\n      _Bear yo' burden sinner_,\n  If you will only pray, he will bear you on,\n      _Bear yo' burden in the heat o' the day_.\n\n      _Bear yo' burden, sinner,\n      Bear yo' burden, sinner,\n      Bear yo' burden in the heat o' the day._\n\n  I'm goin' home fer to see my Lord,\n      _Bear yo' burden, sinner_,\n  An' don't you wish you could go 'long,\n      _Bear yo' burden, let in the heat_.\n\n  The way to bear yo' burden is to get down on yo' knees,\n      _Bear yo' burden, sinner, let in the heat_,\n  Ask God to forgive you if you please,\n      _Bear yo' burden in the heat of the day_.\n\nThis last stanza is an improvisation made by a young negro of some\ntwenty-five years, although he claimed that it belonged to the song that\nwas regularly sung, maintaining that they only forgot to sing it in the\nchurch on that special occasion. \"True Religion\" gives one view of the\nrequisites of him who will be saved. The song is based in form on a\ncurrent secular song, and belongs to the class of colloquies.\n\n  Well you must have that true religion,\n  You must have true religion an' yo' soul converted,\n  You must have that true religion.\n      _Or you can't cross there._\n\n  Where are you goin', sinner,\n  Where are you goin', I say?\n  I goin' down to de river of Jorden,\n      _An' you can't cross dere_.\n\nHe continues, \"Where are you goin' _gambler, backslider, drunkard, liar,\nhypocrite?_\" and answers each with, \"An' you can't cross there,\" while the\nentire chorus, \"You must have that true religion,\" is often repeated after\neach. The sinner is asked still other questions, one of which is given in\nthe song \"Waitin'\".\n\n  Why does you tarry, sinner,\n  Why does you wait so long?\n  For my Lord is a waitin',\n  Why don't you come to His call?\n\n      _He is waitin', Lord,\n      He is waitin', Lord,\n      He is a-waitin' fer the good Lord,\n      To come, My Lord._\n\n  But when my Lord get here,\n  You want have time to pray at all,\n  For he is goin' to judge you,\n  An' hell you be bound.\n\nThe negro preacher often rebukes his flock for talking about each other in\nuncomplimentary terms. Sometimes the \"sisters\" who do not like the\npreacher retort variously, \"I heard you talkin 'bout So and So, you know I\ndid\" or \"We gwine talk 'bout you,\" or \"Yes, you knows it.\" Slander and\ngossip are fast runners and the average negro assumes that somebody is\ntalking about him or something which he has done. Out of this has grown\nthe song \"Talk about me\" and others.\n\n        _Yes, I know you goin' talk 'bout me,\n        Yes, I know you goin' talk 'bout me,_\n\n  _For you talk 'bout my father when he's on his knees a prayin',\n  An' I know you goin' talk 'bout me._\n\nSo likewise he sings \"I know you're goin talk about me\" because \"you talk\nabout my mother when she's on her bed a-dyin'\"; he actually sings\n_father_, _brother_, _mother_, _sister_, _mourner_, _preacher_, to both\n\"on his knees a prayin'\", and \"on bed a dyin'.\" A very popular stanza\nwhich is regularly sung in a number of songs goes: \"You may talk about me\njust as you please, I'm goin' to talk about you when I git on my knees.\"\n\nThe old slave and plantation song asked: \"Who'll jine de Union?\" saying,\n\"Say, ef you belong to de union ban', den here's my heart an' here's my\nhand.\" There have been societies known as \"The Union\" or \"Union Band\" both\nin the church and outside. The name \"Union\" itself is a favorite one among\nthe negro societies and organizations. It was thought in the old days that\na union band would march to heaven and that these only would be enabled to\nreach the destination. It is almost certain that a number of references in\ntheir songs referred to the Union army in and after the war. However, the\nexact origin of the song as it is now sung has not been found, but appears\nto be a general corruption of several old songs.\n\n  _Get in the Union, Jesus is a listenin',\n  Get in the Union, Jesus die.\n  Well, won't you get in the Union?\n  Jesus is a listenin', Jesus die._\n\n  Where was Ezekiel when the church fell down?\n  Down in de valley wid his head hung down.\n\n  Hypocrite, hypocrite, God do despise,\n  Tongue so keen till he will tell lies.\n\n  Upon the mountain Jehober spoke,\n  Out of his mouth come fier an' smoke.\n\nWith this chorus are sung also as already given, \"Satan, the snake in the\ngrass\", \"Ole satan weah mighty loose ole shoe\", etc. The \"Hallelujah\" so\ncommon among the old songs is less frequently heard now: it will be found\nto some degree in the shouting songs and songs of heaven.\n\nNot the least among the warnings to the sinner were to be reckoned the\ntimes when \"Gable\" should blow his horn. \"Gable\" has been proverbial among\nthe negroes; Gabriel and the trumpet are, however, significant in the same\nway among the whites in vulgar reference. Many ideas of \"Gable's\" trumpet\nhave appeared in the negro songs. Sometimes it is \"blow louder, Gable.\"\n\"How loud mus' I blow?\" Reference has already been made to these lines.\nThe song \"Blow, Gable, blow\" has changed considerably from the old\nplantation songs of the same name.\n\n  Blow Gable, at the judgment,\n  Blow Gable, at the judgment bar.\n  For my God is a talkin' at the judgment,\n  For my God is a talkin' at the judgment bar.\n\n  Now won't you blow Gable at the judgment?\n  For my God is a preachin' at the judgment bar.\n\n  Now won't you blow Gable at the judgment bar?\n  Well, I'm goin' to meet my preacher at the judgment bar.\n\nIn the same manner, making a four-line stanza of each one, are sung,\n\"Goin' to meet brother, mother, sister, etc.\", and also \"My God is a\nwalkin', tryin', etc.,\" at the judgment bar. So, too, it is \"_prayin'_\ntime, _mournin'_ time, _singin'_ time, _shoutin'_ time, _tryin'_ time,\netc., at the judgment bar.\" This song may be given as the last one of the\nclass peculiar to warnings and admonitions to sinners. It closes with\nstill other verses that give vivid pictures of the judgment bar.\n\n  Well, sinners, keep a prayin' at the judgment bar.\n  Well, it's too late to pray at the judgment bar.\n  Why didn't you take heed at the judgment?\n  Some come crippled at judgment.\n  Oh, I look fer my mother, brother, sister, at de judgment.\n\nBoth the sinner and the seeker has a \"hard time\" during some time in his\nexperience. The duties of everyday life, too, often seem hard. Now on his\nknees, now shouting, now sorrowful and now glad, the negro comes from\n\"hanging over hell\" to die and \"set by de Fadder's side.\" The average\nnegro appears to pity himself, and his song intensifies the feeling. The\nsongs that follow may be classed as those that give the state of\nuncertainty and doubt, together with pity mingled now and then with the\nnote of triumph. In \"Oh, what a hard time\", _sisters_, _brothers_,\n_children_, _preachers_, _seekers_--all have the same difficulties.\n\n  _Oh, what a hard time, Oh, what a hard time,\n  Oh, what a hard time--All God's children have a hard time._\n  Oh, what a hard time, oh, what a hard time,\n  Oh, what a hard time, my Lord had a hard time, too.\n\nSo in another division will be given the song \"My Trouble is Hard\", the\nidea of which seems to be derived from the old plantation songs, though\nthe new song is entirely different from the old ones. The plantation\nnegroes used to sing \"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen\", in which they\nwere \"sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes almost to de groun'.\" Others\nsung it \"Nobody knows the trouble I see, or I've had\", and asked:\n\"Brother, sister, preacher, will you pray for me?\" In the same pathetic\ntone the \"Sinner man\" gives another phase of the feeling.\n\n  My mother' n yo' mother both daid an' gone,\n  My mother' n yo' mother both daid an' gone,\n  My mother' n yo' mother both daid an' gone,\n    Po' sinner man he so hard to believe.\n\n  My folks an' yo' folks both daid an' gone,\n    Po' sinner man he so hard to believe.\n\n  My brother 'n yo' brother both daid an' gone,\n    Po' sinner man he so hard to believe.\n\nIn the same way \"my sister\", etc., completes the song, with favorite\nlines, \"Down in de valley\", \"Upon mountain Jehober spoke\", etc., being\ninserted as often as they desire. \"Hanging over hell\" gives more intensity\nto the feeling of the sinner. He says:\n\n        _When I wus hangin' over hell, over hell,\n        When I wus hangin' over hell, over hell,\n        Well, I had no one to pity poor me, poor me._\n\n  Well, my mother sick an' my father daid, father daid,\n  Well, my mother sick an' my father daid, father daid,\n        Well, I ain't got no one to pity poor me, poor me.\n\n  Well, I ain't got no one to pray for me, to pray for me.\n\n  I ain't got no one to feel for me, feel for me.\n\nLikewise he has no one to \"_cry_\" for him, to \"_mourn_\" or to \"_care_\" for\nhim. It will be noticed that the negroes insert the word \"well\"\nfrequently. There is no regularity or rule for its use; it apparently\ngives the song a more plastic turn and makes it seem more conversational.\nIn some of their songs they insert in the same way, \"says\", and \"er\", \"a\",\n\"an\", at will. The _struggle_ is well represented by the song \"Keep\ninchin' along\", which was also common in the old plantation melodies; the\nchorus is the same, while the words are entirely different from the older\nsong.\n\n  _Keep er-inchin' erlong, keep er-inchin erlong,\n        Jesus'll come bye'm bye,\n  Keep er-inchin', keep er-inchin erlong,\n        Jesus'll come bye'm bye._\n\n  De road is rocky here below,\n        _But Jesus'll come bye'm bye_,\n  But Jesus leads me as I go,\n        _Jesus'll come bye'm bye_.\n\n  Sometimes I hangs my head an' cries,\n        _But Jesus'll come bye'm bye_.\n  An' He gwi' wipe mer weepin' eyes,\n        _But Jesus'll come bye'm bye_.\n\n  Uh, run 'long mourner an' git yo' crown,\n  By yo' Father's side set down.\n\n  I'm glad that I'm bo'n ter die,\n  Frum trouble here my soul gwi' fly.\n\nIn the same hopeful strain the negro sings \"Boun' ter cross Jord'n in dat\nMornin',\" which has a large number of stanzas, none of which have any\nsimilarity of meaning to the general theme.\n\n  Yonder come er sister all dressed in black,\n  She look lak er hipercrit jes' got back,\n  _I'm boun' ter cross Jord'n in dat mornin'_.\n\n  _Cross me over,\n  Great Jehover,\n  My Lord, I'm boun' ter cross Jord'n in dat mornin'._\n\n  See dat Christian on his knees,\n  He's gwin' ter cross dem jasper seas,\n  _I'm boun' ter cross Jord'n in dat mornin'_.\n\n  Swing low chariots in er line,\n  Carry me ter glory in due time,\n  _I'm boun' ter cross Jord'n in dat mornin'_.\n\n  Ain't but the one thing grieve my min'\n  Sister goin' to heaven an' leave me behin',\n  _I'm boun' ter cross Jord'n in dat mornin'_.\n\nIt is a favorite theme of the negroes to sing much of their \"Lord\" and\n\"God\". Much has been noted of the names and attributes which Deity holds\nin the negro's songs. As his friend the negro believes that God is always\ntrue; consequently he sings his loyalty to Him. The old plantation song\n\"Tell Jesus\" had as its chorus: \"Tell Jesus done done all I can, Tell\nJesus done done all I can, Tell Jesus done done all I can, I can't do no\nmore\". Very much like it is the song \"For my Lord\" that is much in demand\namong the present-day negroes.\n\n  _I goin' to do all I can fer my Lord,\n  I goin' to do all I can fer my Lord,\n  I goin' to do all I can fer my Lord,\n  I goin' to do all I can fer my Lord,\n  I do all I can till I can't do no more,\n  I goin' do all I can fer my Lord._\n\nIn the same way he sings \"I goin' _weep_ all I can till I can't weep no\nmore\", \"I goin' _pray_ all I can till I can't pray no more\", and \"_sing_\"\nand \"_mourn_\" and \"_work_\" for his Lord. The phrases \"till I can't do no\nmo'\", and the others are characteristic of the negro's prayers. He usually\ncloses his church prayers, \"Now Lord, when we's done prayin' an' can't\npray no mo'; when we's done meetin' an' can't meet no mo'\", etc. The\nclosing scene, the final act of life, seems to appeal to the negro with\nwonderful dramatic power. It is in the _end_ that he himself will be\ngreat; it is then that God and Jesus and the angels will be made manifest,\nand it is there in the new home that his condition will be one of ease and\nrest, at the same time that it is one of prominence. He sings \"Gwi' lay\ndown my life fer my Lord\".\n\n  De Lord giv' me mer trumpet an' tole me ter blow,\n  He giv' me mer cummission an' tole me ter go.\n\n      _Fer my Lord, fer my Lord,\n      Fer my Lord, gwi' lay down my life fer my Lord._\n\n  You can hinder me here but you can't hinder me dere,\n  For de Lord in Heaven gwi' hear my prayer.\n\n  De enemy's great but my Cap'n is strong,\n  U'm fightin' fer de city an' de time ain't long.\n\n  When I git dar I'll be able fer to tell,\n  How I whipped ole Satan at de door ob hell.\n\n  Mer head got wet wid de midnight dew,\n  Dat mornin' star was shinin' too.\n\nSo again the negro magnifies his Lord in \"a weary Lan'\" and makes both a\nstriking picture and a pleasing song. His Lord is not only \"a _walkin'_ in\na weary lan'\", but he is also a \"_doctor_\", a \"_preacher_\" and a\n\"_shelter_\". Thus he pictures him \"_walkin'_\" \"_talkin'_\" \"_preachin'_\",\nand \"_healin'_\" in the weary land.\n\n  My Lord's a walkin' in the weary lan',\n  In a weary lan', in a weary lan',\n  Yes, my Lord walkin' in weary lan',\n  He's a shelter in a mighty storm.\n\nLikewise he is a healer in a _mighty storm_ or in _the time of storm_. It\nis but natural that the negro should call upon the Lord to remember him.\nThe old plantation song \"Do Lord remember me\" was apparently based upon\nthe idea of being remembered at Christmas times; indeed the negroes always\nask to be remembered at such a time by the \"whitefolks\". They were always\nremembered and often their homes were made happy. The song asked: \"O do\nLord remember me, O do Lord remember me, O do remember me until de year\nroll round, Do Lord remember me.\" The song now current is most likely not\nthe same song but an entirely different one.\n\n  _Do my Lord remember me,\n  Do my Lord remember me,\n  Do my Lord remember me,\n      Do Lord remember me._\n\n  Upon de housetop an' can't come down,\n        _Do Lord remember me_.\n  Upon de house an' can't come down.\n        _Do Lord remember me_.\n\n  When I am hungry do feed me Lord,\n        _Do Lord remember me_.\n  When I am thirsty do give me drink,\n        _Do Lord remember me_.\n\nThe negroes sometimes call the following song the \"riddle song\", asking\n\"who is the Rock\", while the answer comes back, like the Psalmist, \"King\nJesus is the Rock\".\n\n  Lead me to the Rock, lead me to the Rock,\n  Lead me to the Rock that is higher an' higher.\n  O, Lead me to the Rock,\n  Yes, lead me to the Rock that is higher an' higher.\n\n  King Jesus is the Rock, yes, King Jesus is the Rock,\n  King Jesus is the Rock that is higher an' higher,\n  O King Jesus is the Rock,\n  Yes, King Jesus is the Rock that is higher an' higher.\n\n  Standing on the Rock, yes standing on the Rock,\n  Standing on the Rock that is higher an' higher.\n  O, standing on the Rock,\n  Yes, standing on the Rock that is higher an' higher.\n\nAs Jesus is the Rock so the negroes have sung \"Dere's no one lak' Jesus\".\nThe chorus-line was common in the old songs; the verses of the song of\nto-day are different.\n\n  I think I heard a rumblin' in de sky,\n        _Dar's no one lac Jesus_.\n  It mus' be mer Lord passin' by,\n        _Dar's no one lac Jesus_.\n\n        _Stan' still, walk study, keep de faith,\n        Dar's no one lak' Jesus._\n\n  Sister Mary went up on de mount'n top,\n        _Dar's no one lak' Jesus_.\n  She sung a li'l song an' she never did stop,\n        _Dar's no one lak' Jesus_.\n\n  She argued wid de Fadder an' chatter'd wid de Son,\n        _Dar's no one lak' Jesus_.\n  She talk'd erbout the ole worl' she cum frum,\n        _Dar's no one lak' Jesus_.\n\nThe song \"Gi' me Jesus\" was said to have been the product of \"over-free\nspirit and super-religiousness\" just after the war. The negro claims that\nthe white man took him at his word when he sang, \"Gi' me Jesus, You may\nhave all this worl\", and has left him nothing in this world but Jesus. At\nleast this is one view of the song, which is represented as a bargain\nwhich the white man wants the negro to keep. The song is a typical and\nwell known one, said to have been first sung by a blind negro preacher.\n\n  In de mornin' when I rise,\n  In de mornin' when I rise,\n  In de mornin' when I rise,\n    Giv' me Jesus.\n\n    _Giv' me Jesus,\n    Giv' me Jesus,\n    You may hab' all dis worl',\n    Giv' me Jesus._\n\n  Ef it's midnight when I rise,\n  Ef it's midnight when I rise,\n  Ef it's midnight when I rise,\n      _Giv' me Jesus_.\n\n  Jes' fore day when I cried,\n      _Giv' me Jesus_.\n\n  When I wade death's cold stream,\n        _Giv' me Jesus_.\n\nThe negro says that if you love Jesus, it seems to him that you \"can't\nkeep it\", and that you are duty bound to let the world know it. The custom\nis a common one of asking \"members\" at the class meeting and revival\nservices whether or not they \"love the Lord\". It is the duty of the class\nleader to see to the religious welfare of the members. The song \"Love the\nLord\" represents this phase of worship.\n\n  Well, did you say that you love Jesus?\n  Did you say that you love the Lord?\n\n        _Yes, I say that I love Jesus.\n        Yes, I say I love the Lord._\n\n  All I wants to know is, \"Does you love Jesus?\"\n  All I wants to know is, \"Does you love the Lord?\"\n\n        _Yes, I say that I love Jesus,\n        Yes, I say I love the Lord._\n\n  If you love Jesus, you can't keep it,\n  All I want to know is, \"Does you love the Lord?\"\n\n        _Yes, my mother, I love Jesus,\n        Yes, my mother, I love the Lord._\n\nThe chorus then varies from \"Yes, I _say_\" to \"Yes, my _mother_\", \"Yes, my\n_sister_\", \"Yes, my _brother_\".\n\nIn striking contrast to his earthly life, the negro sings of his heavenly\nhome. It will be seen in the study of his social songs that home plays a\nsmall part in their subject matter. It is true that the negro has little\nlove of home or devotion to loved ones. Perhaps for this very reason he\nexpects to have a better home in the beyond. He wants that which is ideal\nand impractical; he wants that which will come without effort. If in\nslavery days he had no home, it was natural that he should look to Heaven\nfor his home. This conception, intensified by the negro's emotional nature\nand self-pity, is still prominent. Not only is his home to be a happy one,\nbut it is to be exclusive; only the fortunate, of whom he is the chiefest,\nmay go there. This class of songs--of Heaven and home--is perhaps as large\nas any. The negro sings:\n\n  I got a home where liars can't go,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  Jus' between the heaven an' earth,\n  Where my Saviour bled an' died,\n  I got a home where liars can't go,\n        _Don't you see?_\n\n  I got a home where sinners can't go,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  Jus' between the earth an' sky,\n  Where my Saviour bleed an' die,\n        _Don't you see?_\n\n  When the earth begin to shake,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  You better get a ticket or you'll be late,\n        _Don't you see?_\n\nIn the same way the singers repeat, using the words \"_drunkards_,\"\n\"_hypocrits_\", and other sinners. Sometimes instead of saying \"I got a\nhome where the drunkards can't come\", the sinner will say \"where the\ndrunkards can't _find me_\". Another version of the same song is found in\ndifferent localities:\n\n  I got a home in the Rock,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  Just between the heaven an' earth,\n  Well, yes, I got a home in the Rock,\n        _Don't you see?_\n\n  Judas was a deceitful man,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  Well he betrayed the innercent Lam',\n  Well he lost a home in the Rock,\n        _Don't you see?_\n\n  Well the sun refuse to shine,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  The sun refuse to shine,\n  An' the sun refuse to shine,\n        _Don't you see?_\n\n  God don't talk like a natural man,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  God don't talk like a natural man,\n  He talk so sinners can understan',\n        _Don't you see?_\n\n  Well I don't want to stumble,\n        _Don't you see?_\n  Well I don't want to fall,\n  I read that writin' on de wall,\n        _Don't you see?_\n\nThe \"Home in the Rock\" and the \"Rock of ages\" mean little to the negroes;\nthey are suitable terms and appeal to their sense of sound. Like other\npeoples, the negroes have inserted them into their religion as forceful\nsymbols. Interesting comparisons may be made in a later chapter. The\nchorus of \"Heaven\" hummed in a monotone, with lips sometimes closed, makes\na beautiful song, and one that appeals much to both old and young negroes.\n\n  You got a robe, I got a robe,\n  All God's children got a robe,\n  Goin' try on my robe an' if it fits me,\n  Goin' to wear it all round God's heaven.\n\n  _Heaben--heaben, ev'ybody goin' to heaben\n  An' I'm goin' dere, too._\n\n  Gamblers dere an' gamblers here,\n  I'm so glad dat God declare,\n  Dere ain't no gamblers in heaven.\n\nThis version and wording is rather that of the children, who are very fond\nof singing it. They continue \"Heaven so high you can't go over it\",\n\"Heaven so low you can't go under it\", \"Heaven so deep you can't go\nthrough it\", and \"Heaven so wide you can't go round it\". The most common\nform of the song is a variation of the above. _Sinners_, _gamblers_,\n_dancers_, _liars_, _drunkards_ are _everywhere_, but not in Heaven.\n\n  Well there are sinners here and sinners there,\n    An' there are sinners everywhere,\n  But I thank God that God declare,\n    That there ain't no sinners in heaven.\n\n      _Heaven, Heaven,\n      Everybody talkin' 'bout heaven an' goin' there,\n      Heaven, Heaven,\n      Goin' to shine all 'round God's heaven._\n\n  Well there are drunkards here an' drunkards there,\n    An' there are drunkards everywhere,\n  But I'm so glad that God declare,\n    There ain't no drunkards in heaven.\n\n      _Heaven, Heaven,\n      Preachers all preachin' 'bout heaven an' goin' there,\n      Heaven, Heaven,\n      Goin' to shine all 'round God's heaven._\n\nAs has been indicated, many of the negro songs consist of single lines\nrepeated in couplets or by fours in order to give length to the singing.\nThe most simple sentences that could be devised may serve as a good song.\nThe negro happens to think of an ordinary truth; he then sings it to his\ntune and chorus.\n\n  I'm goin' to be a Christian if I keep a prayin' on,\n  I goin' to be a Christian if I keep a prayin' on,\n  I goin' to be a Christian, I'm goin' to be a Christian,\n  I goin' to be a Christian if I keep a prayin' on.\n\n  An' when I git religion, I goin' to keep a prayin' on.\n\n  I goin' to see my Jesus if I keep a prayin' on.\n\n  I goin' to see my mother if I keep a prayin' on.\n\nIn the same way he is \"going to see\" his _father_, _brother_, _master_,\n_preacher_, singing each line four times, altering them as he desires and\nputting in any chorus that appeals to his fancy. The next song shows a\ntypical variation of a line, and the negro sometimes sings the second\nversion with more determination than the first.\n\n  Lord, I want to go to heaven fer to stan' my trials,\n  Lord, I want to go to heaven fer to stan' my trials,\n  Yes, I want to go to heaven fer to stan' my trials,\n        _Great Judgment day_.\n\n  Well, _I'm goin'_ to heaven fer to stan' my trials,\n  An' _I'm goin'_ to heaven fer to stan' my trials,\n  Yes, _I'm goin'_ to heaven fer to stan' my trials,\n        _Great Judgment day_.\n\nThe darkeys used to sing, \"Hail, hail, hail, I'm gwine jine saints above,\nI'm on my journey home\". So, too, in many of their songs the \"promise\nLan'\" was held out as the goal of future happiness. So it is to-day. \"On\nmy journey home\" and \"Goin' to Heaven\" represent the common conception.\n\n  Sister when you pray you mus' pray to de Lord,\n  For I hab some hopes ob glory,\n  _I feel like, I feel like I'm on my journey home,\n  I feel like, I feel like, I'm on my journey home_.\n\n  _I'll away, I'll away to de promise lan',\n  My Father calls me, I mus' go,\n  To meet Him in de promise lan'._\n\n  I have a father in the promise lan',\n  Go meet him in de promise lan',\n  _I feel like, I feel like I'm on my journey home,\n  I feel like, I feel like I'm on my journey home_.\n\nSo, too, the singer has a _mother_, a _sister_, an _auntie_ and others in\nthe \"promise lan'\". Likewise he says instead of \"sister when you pray,\"\netc., _brother_, _member_, _mourner_, _sinner_, _preacher_, and the\nothers. As a rule morning signified to the negroes the time for going to\nheaven and for the resurrection. The morning star shining as a witness to\nhis conversion, and the midnight dew typified the early morning time of\nhis religion. \"In the morning\" is sung as of old.\n\n  I have been tempted, _O yes_,\n  An' I have been tried, _O yes_,\n  I have been to the river an' been baptize,\n  An' I want to go to heaven in the morning.\n\n    _Won't you ride on Jesus?\n    Ride on Jesus, ride on crowning King,\n    For I want to go to heaven in the morning._\n\n  If you see my mother, _O yes_,\n  Please tell her for me, _O yes_,\n  That the angels in heaven done change my name,\n  An' I want to go to heaven in the morning.\n\nSo if you see \"_brother John, sister Nancy_,\" and others makes the song\ncomplete. The song once so popular, \"Yes, I'll be dere, When gen'ral roll\ncall\" is still heard occasionally. Many of these songs have been corrupted\nand changed, consolidated and revised into new songs. Such a song is\n\"Study war no mo'\", which combines the old camp meeting, \"down by the\nriver side\", and a new element of _peace_, the origin of which is not\nknown.\n\n  Well there's goin' to be a big camp meetin',\n  Well there's goin' to be a big camp meetin',\n  Well there's goin' to be a big camp meetin',\n      Down by the river side.\n\n  _Well, I ain't goin' to study war no mo',\n  Well, I ain't goin' to study war no mo',\n  Well, I ain't goin' to study war no mo'._\n\n  Well such a shoutin' an' prayin'\n      Down by the riverside.\n\n  Well I goin' to meet my sister,\n      Down by the riverside.\n\n  Well the brothers got to shoutin',\n      Down by the riverside.\n\nSaid the old singers: \"Some o' dese mornin's, hope I'll see my mother,\nhope I'll jine de ban', hope I'll walk bout Zion, Talk wid de angels, Talk\nmy trouble over\" while they looked \"away to hebben\". Now the negro sings:\n\n  Gwine to weep, gwine to mourn,\n  Gwine to git up early in de morn,\n  Fo' my soul's goin' to heaven jes' sho's you born,\n  Brother Gabriel goin' to blow his horn.\n\n  Goin' to sing, goin' to pray,\n  Goin' to pack all my things away,\n  Fo' my soul's goin' to heaven jes' sho's you born,\n  Brother Gabriel gwine ter blow his horn.\n\n\"Pray come an' go wid me\" sings the Christian, for \"I'm on my journey home\nto the New Jerusalem\". If refused he says, \"Now don't let me beg you to\nfollow me, for I'm on my journey home\", and finally he sings, \"Well,\nbrother come an' go wid me.\" If the sinner needs other exhortation he may\nlisten to the mixed song \"Dry bones goin' to rise ergain\", in which there\nis first warning, then hope of glory.\n\n  Some go ter meetin' to sing an' shout,\n  _Dry bones goin' ter rise again_;\n  Fore six month deys all turned out,\n  _Dry bones goin' ter rise again_.\n  _O little chillun, O little childun,\n  O lit'le childun, dry bones goin' rise ergin._\n\n  Talk erbout me but taint my fault,\n      Dry bones goin ter rise ergin;\n  But me an' Godermighty goin' walk an' talk,\n      Dry bones goin' ter rise ergin.\n\n  Ef you want ter go to heaven when you die,\n      Dry bones goin' rise ergin;\n  Jes' stop yo' tongue from tellin' lies,\n      Dry bones goin' ter rise ergin.\n\nIn the old plantation song Ezekiel was represented down in a valley \"full\nof bones as dry as dust\" and\n\n  He gib de bone a mighty shake,\n  Fin' de ole sinners too dry to quake,\n\nDeath for the Christian is _shouting_: death for the sinner is _doom_.\n\"When I git to heaven, goin' shout on my knees\" gives an accurate picture\nof what the negro conceives to be happiness. But he not only expects to\nshout while on earth and when he gets home, but even when he dies. For\nsays he,\n\n  My mother dies a shoutin', an' I goin' die shoutin', too,\n  Yes, my mother died a shoutin' an' I goin' die shoutin', too.\n\n  My mother died a shoutin', my mother died a shoutin',\n  Yes, my mother died a shoutin' an' I goin' die shoutin', too.\n\nStill his mother is not the only one who has died shouting; he sings in\nthe same way of _father_, _preacher_, _brother_, _sister_ and others; the\nslave song included \"_Missus_\" and \"_Marster_\" or \"_Massa_\". But shouting\nmust not be all. The negro and his brothers, sisters, mother are all to\ndie \"_mournin'_\", and \"_prayin'_\". In \"Join de Heaven wid de Angels\" the\nrich voice of one or two leaders and the swelling chorus produce an effect\nscarcely surpassed.\n\n  O join on, join my Lord,\n  _Join de heaven wid de angels_;\n  O join on, join my Lord,\n  _Join de heaven wid de angels_.\n\n  What kin' er shoes is dem you wear?\n  _Join de heaven wid de angels_;\n  Dat you kin' walk upon de air,\n  _Join de heaven wid de angels_.\n\n  Oh, God don't talk like a nat'al man,\n  Join de heaven wid de angels;\n  He talk to de sinner, he understan',\n  Join de heaven wid de angels.\n\n  I'm Baptis' bred an' I'm Baptis' bo'n,\n  Join de heaven wid de angels;\n  An' when I die dey's a Baptis' gone,\n  Join de heaven wid de angels.\n\n  Jes' so de tree fall jes' so it lie,\n  Join de heaven wid de angels;\n  Jes so de sinner lib' jes' so he die,\n  Join de heaven wid de angels.\n\nThe song has been found in several forms among which one has it that\n_John_ is to be in de heavens with the angels. In fact the probable origin\nof \"join on\" seems to have been \"John saw de heaven wid de angels\". In one\nof the old songs the singer answers,\n\n  Dem shoes I wears is gospel shoes,\n      _View de lan', view de lan'_;\n  An' you can wear dem if you choose,\n      View de lan', view de lan'.\n\nThere are other references, too, besides the above, to the denominations\nof the negro churchmen. It has already been seen that the negro likes\n\"bes'\" the \"shoutin' Mefodes'\". So he says \"There's fire in de eas' an'\nfire in de wes; An' fire among de Methodes'\". He is loyal and proclaims:\n\"Methodist, Methodist is my name, Methodist till I die, I'll be baptize in\nthe Methodist name, An' I'll lib' on the Methodist side\". In the same way\nhe is _Baptist_ and _Presbyterian_; the _Baptist_ is the favorite church\nof the negro, however, and there are more Baptists than all other\ndenominations combined.\n\nThe \"Angel Band\", while a very simple song in which the chorus constitutes\nthe greater part, is one of the most beautiful that the negroes sing. The\ntune is a variation of a well-known hymn used by the whites. The power of\nthe song seems to lie in the tender interest which centres about the vivid\nportrayal of the little angels in the heavenly band. The chorus is\nrepeated after each stanza, while each stanza itself is the repetition of\na single line. From one to ten; from ten to twenty and so on to one\nhundred is ordinarily sung, thus making a lengthy song. The children love\nto sing the chorus; two forms are ordinarily found, varying the monotony\nenough to please the negro.\n\n  _Dere's one little, two little, three little angels,\n  Dere's four little, five little, six little angels.\n  Dere's seven little, eight little, nine little angels,\n  Dere's ten little angels in de band.\n  Dere's leben, dere's twelve, dere's thir'een little angels,\n  Dere's fourteen, dere's fifteen, dere's sixteen little angels.\n  Dere's seventeen, dere's eighteen, dere's nineteen little angels,\n  Dere's twenty little angels in de band._\n\nThe \"little\" in the chorus is preferred to the \"dere's\" as a rule,\napparently serving to describe the angels. The stanzas of the song are\nequally as unlimited and as simple as the chorus. \"Sunday morning\" is the\ncommon factor to all of the verses; sometimes it is omitted.\n\n      Jesus rose on Sunday mornin',\n      Jesus rose on Sunday mornin',\n      Jesus rose on Sunday mornin',\n      On Sunday mornin' so soon.\n\n  He rose an' flew away on Sunday mornin'.\n\n  My mother died on Sunday mornin'.\n\n  Oh wasn't that sad on Sunday mornin'?\n\n  Dere's goin' to be a big camp meetin' on Sunday mornin'.\n\n  Dere's goin' to be a mournin' on Sunday mornin'.\n\n  Mourners got to shoutin' on Sunday mornin'.\n\n  I'm goin' away to leave you on Sunday mornin'.\n\n  Well, my sister's goin' to heaven on Sunday mornin'.\n\nWhile this form of the song may be continued indefinitely, other verses\nmay also be inserted. Instead of the \"On Sunday mornin'\" is often\nsubstituted \"Fer to see my Lord\".\n\n  Well, my sister's goin' to heaven fer to see my Lord,\n        To see my Lord, to see my Lord;\n  Well, my sister's goin' to heaven fer to see my Lord,\n        What's de onbelievin' soul?\n\nAnd so he continues with _preacher_, _brother_, _mother_, _auntie_ and any\nothers that he wishes to enumerate. As a shouting song or as a\n\"collection\" song, it is not surpassed.\n\nThe negro's fancies of the \"Heaven's bright home\" are not exceeded by the\nworld's fairy tales. There are silver and golden slippers; there are\ncrowns of stars and jewels and belts of gold. There are robes of spotless\nwhite and wings all bejewelled with heavenly gems. Beyond the jasper seas\nhe will outshine the sun; the golden streets and the fruit of the tree of\nlife are far superior to any golden apples or silver pears of a Mother\nGoose. In fact the negro's fairy stories centre on heaven; the children's\ndefinitions of heaven consisted entirely of pictures of splendor and\nglory. To this place the negro imagines he will go and who knows but that\nhe may fly there?\n\n  Some o' dese mornin's bright an' fair,\n  _Way in de middle of de air_;\n  Gwi' hitch on my wings an' try de air,\n  _Way in de middle of de air_.\n\n  _Come over, den, John saw de holy number,\n    Way in de middle of de air;\n  John saw de holy number,\n    Way in de middle of de air;_\n\n  If yer wanter dream dem heavenly dreams,\n    Way in de middle of de air;\n  Lay yo' head on Jord'n's stream,\n    Way in de middle of de air.\n\n  I got a book goin' read it thru',\n    Way in de middle of de air,\n  I got my Jesus well as you,\n    Way in de middle of de air.\n\nWith a golden \"band all round his waist, An' de palms ob victory in a-his\nhands\", the negro sings in reality: \"Pray come an' go wid me\", for so\nvivid is his picture that he has been known to start up a post or pillar\nin the church, saying, \"Good bye brothers, I'm gone\". His songs make much\nof flying; different from that just quoted he repeats:\n\n  _One mornin' soon,\n  One mornin' soon, my Lord,\n  One mornin' soon,\n  I goin' try the air,\n  I goin' try the air,\n  Pray come an' go wid me._\n\n  Well I got on my travellin' shoes,\n  Well I got on my travellin' shoes,\n  Well I got on my travellin' shoes,\n      Pray come an' go wid me.\n\nHe sings, too, \"I goin' to put on my long white robe\", \"We'll try on de\nslippah shoe an' wear de golden belt\". Again he sings of his doings in the\n_morning_, _noontime_, and _midnight_.\n\n  In the morning--um-u',\n  In the morning--um-u',\n  In the morning--um-u',\n  I goin' put on my golden shoes.\n\n  In the midnight--um-u',\n  In the midnight--um-u',\n  In the midnight--um-u',\n  I goin' put on my long white robe.\n\n  Talk about it--um-u',\n  Talk about it--um-u',\n  Talk about it--um-u',\n  I goin' wear that starry crown.\n\nThe angels and Jesus wear the starry crown and long white robes; there\nwill be no separating line between us and God in the new world. \"Oh how I\nlong to go dere, too\", sang the old negroes. Now he pictures again the\nappearance of Jesus.\n\n  Jesus, he wore the starry crown,\n  Jesus he wore the starry crown,\n  Jesus he wore the starry crown, starry crown.\n\n  How does you know he wore the crown?\n  How does you know he wore the crown?\n  How does you know he wore the crown? wore the crown?\n\n  For the Bible it tell me so,\n  For the Bible it tell me so,\n  For the Bible it tell me so, tell me so.\n\nThen, too, Jesus \"he wore the long white robe, for the Bible it tell me\nso.\" More than the _world_ or _riches_ or _dress_ the singer claims he\nvalues the treasures of heaven. In this assertion he is doubtless sincere,\nboth because he is thinking only of his religious state while he sings,\nand because he has little opportunity for obtaining these earthly riches.\nSays he:\n\n  I don't care fur riches,\n  Neither dress so fine,\n  Jes' giv' me my long white robe,\n  An' I want my starry crown.\n\n  _For my Lord done bin here,\n  Done bless my soul an' gone away._\n\n  Po' man goin' to heaven,\n  Rich man goin' to hell,\n  For po' man got his starry crown,\n  Rich man got his wealth.\n\nThis \"ole worl' bin a hell to me\" indicates the contrast between the\neveryday life of the world and that which the negro will enjoy after\ndeath. In his eagerness and impatience to rest in the \"promise lan',\" the\nnegro does not always think kindly of the world and he does not care even\nthough \"Death is in dis lan'.\"\n\n  Ever since my Lord has set me free,\n      _Death is in dis lan'_,\n  This ole worl' bin a hell to me,\n      _Death is in dis lan'_.\n\n  _I'm so glad death is in dis lan',\n  I'm so glad death is in dis lan'._\n\n  O run 'long mourner 'n git yo' crown,\n      _Death is in dis lan'_,\n  By yo' father's side set down,\n      _Death is in dis lan'_.\n\n  Some er dese mornin's bright and fair,\n      _Death is in dis lan'_,\n  Gwin'r hitch on my wings an' try de air,\n      _Death is in dis lan'_.\n\nIf the negro expects to go to heaven and there mingle with God, the angels\nand his loved ones, he also expects to sing in all the glory and splendor\nimaginable. The negroes used to sing of \"jinin' de association, climbin'\nJacob's ladder, climbin' higher an' higher, sittin' down at de welcome\ntable, feastin' off'n milk an' honey, tell God how you served me, jine de\nbig baptizin\", after which \"den my little soul gwine shine.\" So they sang\nof a mother, father, brother in heaven who \"outshines de sun\", and ended\nby declaring that when they got to heaven \"we will outshine de sun.\" In\nvery much the same way the negroes sing to-day in one of their favorites,\n\"Goin' to Outshine de Sun.\"\n\n  Well, my mother's goin' to heaven,\n  She's goin' to outshine the sun, _O Lord_,\n  Well, my mother's goin' to heaven,\n  She's goin' to outshine the sun,\n  Yes, my mother's goin' to heaven to outshine the sun,\n      An' it's way beyon' the moon.\n\n  You got a home in the promise lan',\n  Goin' to outshine the sun, _O Lord_,\n      An' it's way beyon' the moon.\n\n  The crown that my Jesus give me,\n  Goin' to outshine the sun, _my Lord_,\n      An' it's way beyond the moon.\n\n  Goin' to put on my crown in glory,\n  An' outshine the sun, _O Lord_.\n      'Way beyon' de moon.\n\nOther verses sing of putting on slippers, long white robe, in each case\nthe singer is to \"outshine the sun.\" The dazzling splendor of it all makes\nanticipation full of staying qualities; it makes the picture one of\nreality because of the vigor of an imaginative power. Who knows if the\nnegroes often dream of the grandeurs of the sky?\n\nThe negro uses many figures and symbols in his religion. He can see the\nchariot wheel and the chariot of fire taking him to heaven as easily as\nElijah. He can imagine that he, too, can ascend even as Christ and the\nangels. Besides these methods he has the Gospel Train and the Ship of\nZion. The train has much fascination for the negro: much will be seen of\nthis in his social songs. It is but natural that he should bring it into\nhis religious songs. The negro often goes to meet the train at the\nstation, even when sick. It is a great social event of a Sunday. So again,\nhe wishes to go on an excursion; few things can hinder him. Very much in\nthe same strain is the religious song, \"When the train come along.\"\n\n  Well, I may be sick an' cannot rise,\n  But I meet you at de station when de train come along.\n\n  _When de train come along,\n  When de train come along,\n  I'll meet you at de station when de train come along._\n\n  Well, I may be blind an' cannot see,\n  But I'll meet you at de station when de train come along.\n\n  Well, I may be lame and cannot walk,\n  But I'll meet you at de station when de train come along.\n\nWhile no mention is made of the exact kind of train, it is generally\nunderstood to mean the Gospel train. This song also has a popular variant\nwhich is used in a secular way. In either case it expresses in a very\nforceful way the importance of meeting the train. In proportion as a\npicture resembles real life or magnifies that which has been imaged, to\nthat degree does it bring home its truth to the negro's mind. The negro\ncontinues to sing of the train on which he is to ride into the Kingdom.\nSays he:\n\n  I am talkin' 'bout the same train,\n  Same train that carried my father,\n          _Same train_.\n\n  Same train that carried my mother,\n          _Same train_,\n  Same train will be back to-morrow,\n          _Same train_.\n\n  Same train will be here to-morrow,\n          _Same train_,\n  Well you better be ready,\n      _It's the same train_.\n\nThe \"same train\" also carried his _brother_, _sister_, _preacher_ and\nothers. But the train which will come back to-morrow will not wait always.\nOne must not only be at the station but must also have a ticket. There is\nplenty of room, according to the negro's conception, but there is not\nplenty of time. It would be a wistful negro that looked upon the train\npulling out for heaven and he all alone is left behind. He sings,\n\n  Well you better git yo' ticket,\n  Well you better git yo' ticket,\n  Well you better git yo' ticket,\n        Bye and bye.\n\n  There's a great day er comin',\n  There's a great day er comin',\n  There's a great day er comin',\n        Bye and bye.\n\n  For the train it's er comin',\n  For the train it's er comin',\n  For the train it's er comin',\n        Bye and bye.\n\n  _I am sure God is ready,\n  I am sure God is ready,\n  I am sure God is ready,\n        Bye and bye._\n\nInstead of the chorus just given he often sings: \"I sure God am ready,\"\nand \"I sho' God is ready.\" With this in view he is willing and glad for\nthe train to come along. If he is ready, all the better for him to be on\nhis journey. So he continues in another song and at another time:\n\n  If God was to call me I would not care--um-u',\n  For he done move away my fears--um-u'.\n\n  I'm goin' to heaven, an' I'm goin' fo' long--um-u',\n  All don't see me will hear my song--um-u'.\n\n  When de gospel train come 'long--um-u',\n  That's the train carry me home--um-u'.\n\n  Wake up, sinner, you will be too late--um-u',\n  Gospel train done pass yo' gate--um-u'.\n\nIn the old plantation songs the exhortation was given to \"Git on board\nlittle children, dere's room for many a mo'.\" So also they sang:\n\n  De gospel train's a comin',\n  I hear it jus' at hand,\n  I hear de car wheels rumblin',\n  An' rollin' thru de land.\n\n  I hear de train a comin',\n  She's comin' round de curve,\n  She's loosened all her steam an' brakes,\n  An' strainin' eb'ry nerve.\n\n  De fare is cheap an' all can go,\n  De rich an' pore are dere,\n  No second class abord dis train,\n  No difference in de fare.\n\nIn addition to the above stanzas the Jubilee singers added others. They\nheard the bell and whistle and \"she's playin' all her steam an' power.\"\nThe rhyme and imagery of the old song struck a more responsive chord than\nthe present song; this is due to the fact that the negro of to-day sings\nhis railroad songs and enjoys them in his secular music. There he pictures\nthe train with such vividness that the train may be easily heard and seen\nin his imagination. Other verses of the _Gospel Train_ as it was sung by\nthe Jubilee singers are:\n\n  There's Moses and Noah and Abraham,\n  And all the prophets, too,\n  Our friends in Christ are all on board,\n  O what a heavenly crew.\n\n  We soon shall reach the station,\n  O how we then shall sing,\n  With all the heavenly army,\n  We'll make the welkin ring.\n\n  She's nearing now the station,\n  O sinner, don't be vain,\n  But come an' get your ticket,\n  And be ready for the train.\n\n  No signal for the other train,\n  To follow on the line,\n  O sinner, you're forever lost,\n  If once you're left behind.\n\nWhile the song as reported by the Jubilee singers does not possess the\nmere characteristics of form and dialect, it nevertheless appeals to the\nnegroes and it is sometimes sung. One of the fears of the negro is that\nothers may go to heaven and he be left behind. This, as has been\nindicated, constitutes the sum total of misery. So he has a number of\nsongs in which he expresses this feeling and prays that he may not be left\nbehind in the race of life for the eternal goal. One of the most touching\nof these songs represents the negro as an orphan who is unwilling to stay\nalone in the world:\n\n  My muther an' my father both are daid, both are daid,\n  My muther an' my father both are dead,\n  My mother an' my father both are dead,\n  Good Lord, I cannot stay here by merself.\n\n  _I'm er pore little orphan chile in de worl', chile in de worl',\n  I'm er pore little orphan chile in the worl',\n  I'm a pore little orphan chile in de worl',\n  Good Lord, I cannot stay here by merself._\n\n  De train done whistled an' de cars done gone, cars done gone,\n  De train done whistled an' de cars ere gone,\n  De train done whistled an' de cars ere gone,\n  _Ezekiel_, I cannot stay here by merself.\n\n  My brothers an' my sisters are all gone, all gone,\n  My brothers an' my sister're all gone, all gone,\n  My brothers an' sisters all are gone,\n  _Mer Jesus_, I cannot stay here by merself.\n\n  Git me ticket fer de train, fer de train,\n  Git me ticket fer de train,\n  _I got_ mer ticket fer de train,\n  _Thank God_, I _ain't gwine_ stay here by merself.\n\nVery much like the song just given the negroes used to sing: \"Dar's room\nin dar, room in dar, room in de heaven, Lord, I can't stay behin'\". So,\ntoo, \"I can't or don't want to stay here no longer\" are common and classic\nverses of negro song. Again they sang the \"good news\" because \"De\nchariot's comin', I doan want her to leave a-me behind, Gwine get upon dat\nchariot, Carry me home\". In a prayer the negro sang: \"Jesus, don't leave\nme behind\". In his songs to-day the negro says:\n\n  Dear brother, don't you leave,\n  Dear brother, don't you leave,\n    This ole world's a hell to me.\n\n  _This ole world's a hell to me,\n  This ole world's a hell to me._\n\n  Yes, I bleedzed to leave this world,\n  Yes, I bleedzed to leave this world,\n  Sister, I's bleedzed to leave this world,\n    For it's a hell to me.\n\nWhile the old negroes used to sing \"Oh brother, sisters, mourners, don't\nstay away, For my Lord says there's room enough\", the modern negro sings\n\"You can't stay away\".\n\n  _Sister, you can't stay away,\n  Sister, you can't stay away,\n  Sister, you can't stay away, stay away._\n\n  My Lord is a callin' an' you can't stay away,\n  My Lord is a callin' an' you can't stay away,\n  Yes, my Lord is a callin' an' you can't stay away,\n        An' you can't stay away.\n\n  King Jesus is a ridin' an' you can't stay away,\n  _O preacher, you can't stay away_.\n\nThere have been a great many versions of the song \"Ole Ship of Zion\", none\nof which differ materially. The four or five versions most common in the\nslave and plantation song represented the Ship of Zion somewhat as\nfollows: \"She has landed many a thousand, She can land as many more, Do\nyou think she will be able, For to take us all home? You can tell 'em I'm\ncomin' home\", \"Dis de good ole ship of Zion, An' she's maken' fer de\npromise lan'. She hab angels fer de sailors. An' how you know dey's\nangels? Dat ship is out a sailin' she's a sailin' mighty steady. She'll\nneither reel nor totter, She's a sailin' 'way cold Jordan. King Jesus is\nde captain, captain\". \"De gospel ship is sailin', O Jesus is de captain,\nDe angels are de sailors, O is yo' bundle ready? O have you got yo'\nticket!\" Another version has \"her loaded down with angels\"; Another \"wid\na-bright angels\". Another asks what ship is that \"you're enlisted upon\"?\nand answers that it is the \"Good ship of Zion\", which \"sails like she's\nheavy loaded\", and \"has King Jesus for the captain\", and \"the Holy Ghost\nis de pilot\" The coast negroes had many songs that originated in ideas\nsuggested by the boats. To-day the river negroes have songs of their own,\nbut they do not go into the church songs. The Old Ship of Zion, however,\nis sung, but only as a remnant of the former song, less elaborate.\n\n  This ole ship is a reelin' an' a rockin',\n  This ole ship is a reelin' an' a rockin' rockin' rockin'\n        Makin' fer de promise lan'.\n\nWhile the negro sings, he sees the ship reelin' an' rockin', and repeats\nthese phrases enough and in a rhythmic manner, so that he imitates the\nimagined motion of the ship. The other stanzas of the song are practically\nthe same as those of the earlier days.\n\n  _O my Lord, shall I be the one?\n  O my Lord, shall I be the one?\n  O my Lord, shall I be the one?\n        Makin' for the promise lan'?_\n\n  Yes, 'tis that good ole ship of Zion, of Zion,\n  Yes, 'tis that good ole ship of Zion, of Zion,\n  Yes, 'tis that good ole ship of Zion,\n        Makin' for the promise lan'.\n\n  O the ship is heavy loaded, loaded, loaded,\n        Makin' for the promise lan'.\n  It's loaded with many er thousand, thousand, thousand,\n        Makin' fer the promise lan'.\n\n\"This ole worl's a rollin'\" is most likely a figure of the ship and\nmodelled on the same song. However, it conveys a different idea, one of\njudgment and the end of the world. The negro sings:\n\n  Well the ole worl' is a rollin', rollin', rollin',\n  Yes, the ole worl' is rollin', rollin' away.\n\n  Well ain't you goin' to get ready?\n  Yes, ain't you goin' to get ready? for it's rollin' away.\n\n  Well get on board little children, children, children,\n  Well get on board, for this ole worl's rollin' away.\n\nHe sings for the _sinner_, _mourner_, and all his _friends_ and\n_relatives_ to get on board the world as she rolls away. It reminds one\nsomewhat of the song once current among the negroes: \"O de ole ferry boat\nstan' a-waitin' at de landin', Chilluns we'se all gwine home\". The same\nfeeling of motion and the end of the world as is indicated in the moving\nof the train, ship, and the world itself is also reflected in the opening\nof the graveyards and the rolling of the hearse wheel. The same rhythmic\neffect of motion and words give a strikingly appropriate attitude to the\nsinger.\n\n  O the lightening flashin' an' the thunder rollin', rollin', rollin',\n  O the lightening flashin' an' thunder rollin', rollin', rollin',\n  O the light'ning flashin' an' thunder rollin',\n  Lawd, I know my time ain't long; Lawd, I know my time ain't long.\n\n  The hearse wheel rollin' an' graveyard openin', openin', openin',\n  The hearse wheel rollin' an' graveyard openin', openin', openin',\n  The hearse wheel rollin' an' the graveyard openin',\n  Lawd, I know my time ain't long, my time ain't long.\n\nAnd very much like the above song is \"Every Day\". However, it is so\nsimilar to other songs that one concludes that it is only a putting\ntogether of what the singer already knew. The Bahama negroes have a song,\n\"If hev'ry day was judgment day\", that is almost exactly the same in\nmeaning as this one. The song, however, is a powerful one and seems to be\ngaining in popularity.\n\n  Well the hearse wheel rollin',\n      _Every day, every day_,\n  Carryin' yo' brother to the graveyard,\n      Every day, every day--_move, Zion, move_.\n\n  Well ain't it a pity, pity?\n      Every day, every day,\n  Well ain't it a pity, ain't it a pity?\n      Every day, every day, _move, Zion, move_.\n\n  Well they're carryin' a sinner, sinner,\n      Every day, every day,\n  Yes, they're carryin' a sinner,\n      Every day, every day, _move, Zion, move_.\n\n  Move, Zion, move, for you got to go to judgment,\n      Every day, every day,\n  Move, Zion, move, for you got to go to judgment,\n      Every day, every day, _move, Zion, move_.\n\nThe getting of mail, and especially of letters, usually means much to the\nnegroes; perhaps simply because they receive little mail. To have a letter\nfrom a distinguished person is superlative honor and the recipient usually\nmakes the fact known generally. Just how the negro conceived of receiving\nletters from God, or why he imagined the angels and apostles as writing\nletters does not appear clear. One gets a letter, another reads it; one\nwrites a letter and all know its contents. Such a reference is found in a\nnumber of songs, that serve as a warning or admonition.\n\n  Well my mother got a letter, O yes,\n  Well she could not read it, O yes,\n  What you reckon that letter said?\n  That she didn't have long to stay here.\n\n  _Won't you come, won't you come?\n  Won't you come an' get ready to die?\n  Won't you come, for my Lord is callin' you?_\n\n  How do you know that my Lord is callin', O yes?\n  If you look at this letter, O yes,\n  You see it come from the Hebrews, O yes,\n  Won't you come, for my Lord is callin' you.\n\nPerhaps the idea of the letter came from the _epistles_ of the New\nTestament. John and Peter wrote letters; Mary and Martha read them. The\nletters of the Hebrews and Ephesians are spoken of. The idea \"It just\nsuits me\" seems to have sprung up from satisfaction in reading the \"word\"\nor in hearing the sermon and praying in the usual way.\n\n  John wrote a letter and he wrote it in haste,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_:\n  John wrote a letter and he wrote it in haste,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n\n  John wrote a letter and he wrote it in haste,\n  If yer want to go to heaven yer better make haste,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n\n  I'll tell you a little thing that was in that letter,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n  I'll tell you a little thing that was in John's letter,\n  The Holy Ghost came to make us better,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n\nIn the same form and repetition are sung other stanzas, all of which\n\"suit\" the negroes pretty well.\n\n  If this isn't the Holy Ghost I don't know,\n  I never felt such a love befo',\n          _But it jus' suit me_.\n\n  O my brother, you oughter been at de pool,\n  To see me put on my gospel shoes,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n\n  Ezekiel said he spied the train a comin',\n  We got on board an' she never stopped runnin',\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n\n  This kind er religion is better than gold,\n  It's better felt than ever told,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n\n  I tell you a little thing you can't do,\n  You can't serve God and the devil, too,\n          _But it jus' suit me_.\n\n  When trouble is done an' conflict have passed,\n  I rise to reign in peace at last,\n          _An' it jus' suit me_.\n\nBy this time the singers are happy enough and the preacher joins them in\nshouting, \"Yes, brethren, it just suits me.\" It is gratifying to the\nnegroes that their sins have been \"washed in the blood of the Lamb\", as\nindeed it ought to be. Perhaps they give it its undue prominence without\nthought; for they have no conception of the seriousness of their claims.\nThe negro singers have exhibited a characteristic specimen of their _word\ncombinations_, _concrete pictures_, and _theological principles_ in their\nsong, \"De blood done sign my name.\"\n\n  _O de blood, O de blood,\n  O de blood done sign my name;\n  O Jesus said so, Jesus said so,\n  O de blood done sign my name._\n\n  I believe it for God he tole me,\n  _That the blood done sign my name_,\n  I believe it for God he tole me,\n  _That the blood done sign my name,\n  Yes, the blood done sign my name_.\n\n  How do you know so, God he said so\n  _That the blood done sign my name_.\n\n  Well it's written in de Kingdom,\n  _That the blood done sign my name_.\n\n  Well in de Lamb's book it is written,\n  _That the blood done sign my name_.\n\n  Well the wheels a turnin', wheels a turnin',\n  _Blood done sign my name_.\n\n  I'm boun' for glory, boun' for glory,\n  _The blood done sign my name_.\n\n  On de mountain, on de mountain,\n  _The blood done sign my name_.\n\n  In the valley, in the valley,\n  _Blood done sign my name_.\n\nBut the Christian does not have an easy time after his conversion. Satan\nis always at hand and ready to lead him away if there is a chance. The\nnegro's idea of satan and the devil has been noted. In his march songs the\nnegro imagines that he is marching against his foe; this foe is sometimes\nsatan himself. \"The other world is not lak' dis\" is a typical marching\nsong.\n\n  I er's walkin' 'long de oder day,\n          De udder worl' is not lak' dis,\n  I met ole satan on de way,\n          De udder worl' is not lak' dis,\n  He said, \"Young man, you're too young to pray\",\n          De udder worl' is not lak' dis.\n\n            _Tell all dis worl',\n            Tell all dis worl',\n            Tell all dis worl',\n            De odder worl' is not lak' dis._\n\n  As I went down in de valley to pray,\n          De udder worl' is not lak' dis,\n  I met a little looker on de way,\n          De udder worl' is not lak' dis,\n  He said: \"Look out fer de Judgment day\",\n          De udder worl' is not lak' dis.\n\nAnother marching song that is a rousing one is \"Goin' down to Jord'n\". It\nrepresents, like the one just given, the attributes of satan and his\nrelation to the Christian. The scene as pictured, the army marching on\ndown to Jordan, the imaginary foe, and the rhythm of the song make it a\nfavorite.\n\n  Halleluyer to the Lam',\n        Goin' on down to Jordan,\n  Lord God's on that givin' han',\n        Goin' on down to Jordan.\n\n        _Goin' down to Jordan,\n        Goin' down to Jordan,\n        I got my breas'plate, sword an' shield,\n        Goin' down to Jordan,\n        Boldly mar chin' thru' the field,\n        Goin' on down to Jordan._\n\n  I plucked one block out'n satan's wall,\n        Goin' on down to Jordan,\n  I heard him stumble an' saw him fall,\n        Goin' on down to Jordan.\n\n  Ole satan's a liar an' a conjurer, too,\n        Goin' on down to Jordan,\n  If you don't mind he'll conjure you,\n        Goin' down to Jordan.\n\n  Ole satan mad an' I am glad,\n  He missed a soul he thought he had.\n\n  Ole satan thought he had me fast,\n  Broke his chain an' I'm free at last.\n\n  I've landed my feet on Jordan's sho',\n  Now I'm free forever mo',\n        _Goin' on down to Jordan_.\n\nSomething has been observed about the negro's attitude toward the\ncrucifixion. The old songs asked: \"Wus you dere when dey crucified my\nLord? When dey put the crown of thorns on?\" and other scenes. In some of\nthe songs the negroes sang \"_I wus_ dere when\", etc., while still others\nonly affirm the facts. The songs of the present generation of negroes are\nless vivid and less full of feeling for the suffering of the Master. Some\nof the verses are similar to those of the plantation songs.\n\n  He carried his cross, he carried his cross,\n        Up Zion hill, up Zion hill,\n  He carried his cross, he carried his cross,\n        Up Zion hill, up Zion hill,\n        He carried his cross up Zion hill, Zion hill, Zion hill.\n\n  They put on him the thorny crown (3),\n  Then they nail my Jesus down,\n  They nail him down, nail him down, nail him down,\n  They lif' the cross high in the air (3),\n  To show the worl' how they nail him there,\n  How they nail him there, nail him there, nail him there.\n\nA peculiar corruption of this song represents the prodigal son as being in\nthe place of Christ; now it is the prodigal, now it is the Lord. It\nindicates the manner of the development of many of these songs, and shows\nsomething of the insignificance of the words on the minds of the singers.\nHe sings with his holy laugh:\n\n  Yes, the prodigal son come home, ha, ha,\n  Yes, the prodigal son come home, ha, ha,\n  The prodigal son come home by hisself.\n\n  An' they nail him to the cross, ha, ha,\n  An' they nail him to the cross, ha, ha,\n  An' they nail him to the cross on that day.\n\n  An' the blood come runnin' down, ha, ha,\n  The blood come runnin' down, ha, ha,\n  An' the blood come runnin' down, on that day.\n\n  An' they kill the fat'nin' calf, ha, ha,\n  An' they kill the fat'nin' calf, ha, ha,\n  They kill the fat'nin' calf on that day.\n\n  An' they carried my Lord away, ha, ha,\n  An' they carried my Lord away, ha, ha,\n  They carried my Lord away, by hisself.\n\nPaul and Silas, Peter and John are models for proper contemplation. One of\nthe old songs represented Peter and Paul as bound in jail. \"Togedda dey\nsung, togedda dey prayed, De Lawd he heard how dey sung an' prayed. Den\nhumble yo'selves, de bell done rung.\" \"Paul an' Silas bound in jail, The\nChristians pray both night and day,\" represented another song, one version\nof which has survived and is current to-day. Most of the song consists in\nrepetitions.\n\n  Paul and Silas bound in jail,\n  Paul and Silas bound in jail,\n  Paul and Silas bound in jail,\n  Paul and Silas bound in jail.\n\n  Paul did pray one mournful prayer (4).\n\n  Don't you wish you could pray like Paul?(4)\n\n  He prayed an' the good Lord set him free (4).\n\nAnother version prays for the _angels_ to come down and _unlock_ the door\nof the jail. It has a striking parallel among the secular songs and might\nhave been composed with the idea of the negro in jail as being rescued.\n\n  Come down angel with the key,\n  Come down angel with the key,\n  My Lord, angel, come down with the key.\n\n  Unlock the door for me-e-e,\n  Unlock the door for me-e-e,\n  My Lord, unlock the door for me.\n\n  Paul and Silas is in jail,\n  Paul and Silas is in jail,\n  My Lord, Paul and Silas is in jail.\n\n  Unlock the jail-house door,\n  Unlock the jail-house door-oor,\n  My Lord, unlock the jail house door.\n\nAmong those of the Bible who have been the special subject of song, Noah\nhas a prominent place. References to him have been made already. He is\nalways the hero of the flood. In most of the songs wherein a special\ncharacter has an important part, it is in the chorus or refrain. So in\n\"Fohty days an' nights\", a general mixture of songs and ideas, Noah and\nthe flood make the chorus.\n\n  Dey calls bro' Noah a foolish man,\n      _Fohty days an' nights_,\n  He built de ark upon de lan',\n      _Fohty days an' nights_.\n\n  _En, ho, ho, didn't it rain?\n  O yes, you know it did.\n  Ho, ho, didn't it rain?\n  O yes, you know it did._\n\n  Ole Satan wears a iron shoe,\n      Hit's fohty days an' nights,\n  Ef you don't mind gwine slip it on you,\n      Fohty days an' nights.\n\n  Some go to meetin' to put on pretense,\n      _Fohty days an' nights_,\n  Until de day ob grace is spent,\n      _Fohty days an' nights_.\n\n  Some go to meetin' to sing an' shout,\n      _Fohty days an' nights_,\n  Fo' six months dey'll be turned out,\n      _Fohty days an' nights_.\n\n  I tell you brother an' I tell you twice,\n      _It's fohty days an' nights_,\n  My soul done anchored in Jesus Christ,\n      _Fohty days an' nights_.\n\n  If you git dar befo' I do,\n      _Forty days an' nights_,\n  Look out fer me I'se comin' too,\n      _Fohty days an' nights_.\n\n  You baptize Peter an' you baptize Paul,\n      _It's fohty days an' nights_,\n  But de Lord-God-er-mighty gwine baptize all,\n      _It's fohty days an' nights_.\n\nAnother version in one of the old songs says: \"Some go to church to laugh\nand talk, but dey knows nuthin' 'bout de Christian's walk\". \"De Ole Ark\na-moverin'\" was the title of a plantation song which gave the story of\nNoah and the flood. Noah and his sons \"went to work upon dry lan'\", and\neverything went according to the original \"plan\".\n\n  Jes' wait a little while, I'm gwine tell you 'bout de ole ark,\n  De Lord told Noah for to build him an ole ark,\n  Den Noah and his sons went to work upon dry lan',\n  Dey built dat ark jes' accordin' to comman',\n  Noah an' his sons went to work upon de timber,\n  De proud begin to laugh the silly to point de finger,\n  When de ark was finished jes' accordin' to plan,\n  Massa Noah took his family both animal an' man,\n  When de rain begin to fall and de ark begin to rise,\n  De wicked hung round wid der groans and der cries,\n  Fohty days and fohty nights de rain it kep' a fallin',\n  De wicked clumb de trees an' for help dey kep' callin',\n  Dat awful rain she stopped at las', de waters dey subsided,\n  An' dat ole ark wid all aboard on Ararat rided.\n\nThis is the picture which the plantation and slave negro has made for his\nsatisfaction. The present-day song that apparently originated in the above\nsong is less elaborate, having only portions of the old song, and not\nbeing much in demand. It, too, is called \"Didn't it rain?\"\n\n  God told Noah 'bout de rainbow sign--\n        _Lawd, didn't it rain?_\n  No more water but fier nex' time--\n        _O didn't it rain? Halleluyer._\n\n  _O didn't it rain, O didn't it rain?\n  Halleluyer, didn't it rain?\n  Some fohty days an' nights._\n\n  Well it rain fohty days an' nights widout stoppin',\n        _Lawd, didn't it rain?_\n  The sinner got mad 'cause the rain kept a droppin',\n        _O didn't it rain? Halleluyer._\n\nAmong the most interesting of all the negro spirituals are those which\nhave been composed in recent years. These are significant in their bearing\nupon the temperament and religion of the present-day negro. These songs\nare efforts at poetry, while at the same time they unite biblical story\nwith song. How they are often begun and for what purposes they are\ncomposed was mentioned in the previous discussion concerning the origin of\nnegro songs. Further analysis of the form may be made in the study of the\nnegro's mental imagery. The following song, which gets its name from the\nchorus, is entitled \"My Trouble is Hard\", and was composed by \"Sister\nBowers\". It was printed on a single sheet for distribution; each person\nwho contributed to the collection was entitled to a copy, or a copy could\nbe had for a nickel. She sung her new song to the crowds wherever she\nwent, and then was given a _pro-rata_ of the collections. With the chorus\nrepeated after each stanza, as the negroes always do, it becomes a song of\nunusual length:\n\n  I know a man that was here before Christ,\n  His name was Adam and Eve was his wife,\n  I'll tell you how this man lived a rugged life,\n  Just by taking this woman's advice.\n\n        _My trouble is hard, O yes,\n        My trouble is hard, O yes,\n        My trouble is hard, O yes,\n        Yes indeed, my trouble is hard._\n\n  Whilst you are sitting on your seat,\n  Let me tell you something that is sweet,\n  When all God's people in glory meet,\n  They will slip and slide the golden street.\n\n  Stop young man, I've something to say;\n  You know you're sinful and why don't you pray?\n  You're sinning against a sin-venged God,\n  Who has power to slay us all.\n\n  O Lord, aint it a pity--ain't it a shame--\n  To see how my Lord and Saviour was slain?\n  I hate to call the murderer's name,\n  I know they are dead but left the stain.\n\n  Read the Scriptures and be content,\n  You are bound to know what Jesus meant,\n  John was here before his advent;\n  Stood in the wilderness and cried \"Repent\".\n\n  Christ called his apostles two by two,\n  He particularly told them what to do,\n  Preach my gospel as I command you,\n  And I'll be with you all the way through.\n\n  Just me tell you what David done,\n  Old man Jesse's youngest son:\n  He slayed Goliath that mighty one,\n  Ole Saul pursued him but he had to run.\n\n  Ole Saul pursued poor David's life--\n  It's a mighty good thing he had a wife,\n  They went to his house and did surround\n  And she took a rope and let him down.\n\n  God called Jonah in a powerful way,\n  He told old Jonah just what to say;\n  Tell them people if they don't pray,\n  I'll destroy the city of Nineveh.\n\n  Just let me tell you how this world is fixed,\n  Satan has got it so full of tricks,\n  You can go from place to place,\n  Everybody's runnin' down the colored race.\n\nAlmost equally interesting is \"That's another Witness for my Lord.\" It\nwill be noticed in these songs that references and phrases taken from the\nold songs are often used, but in different combinations. They thus lose\ntheir former worth. It will be interesting, too, to compare the negro's\nreligious conceptions of the Bible and God as expressed in these songs\nwith those expressed in the older productions: Has he advanced in his\ntheology?\n\n  Read in Genesis, you understand,\n  Methuselah was the oldest man,\n  Lived nine hundred and sixty-nine,\n  Died and went to heaven in due time.\n\n  _Methuselah is a witness for my Lord,\n  Methuselah is a witness for my Lord._\n\n  You read about Sampson from his birth,\n  Strongest man that lived on the earth,\n  'Way back yonder in ancient times,\n  He slayed three thousand of the Philistines.\n\n  Sampson he went wanderin' about,\n  For his strength hadn't been found out,\n  His wife dropped down upon her knees,\n  Said: \"Sampson, tell me where your strength lies, please.\"\n\n  Delila' talked so good and fair;\n  He told her his strength lie in his hair;\n  \"Shave my head just as clean as your hands,\n  And my strength'll be like a nachual man's.\"\n\n  _Wasn't that a witness for my Lord?\n  Wasn't that a witness for my Lord?_\n\n  Isaiah mounted on de wheel o'time,\n  Spoke to God-er-mighty way down the line:\n  Said, \"O Lord, to me reveal,\n  How can this vile race be healed?\"\n\n  God said: \"Tell the sons of men,\n  Unto them'll be born a king,\n  Them that believe upon his Way,\n  They shall rest in the latter day.\"\n\n  _Isaiah was a witness for my Lord,\n  Isaiah was a witness for my Lord._\n\n  There was a man amongst the Pharisees,\n  Named Nicodemus and he didn't believe,\n  He went to the Master in the night,\n  And told him to take him out er human sight.\n\n  \"You are the Christ, I'm sure it's true,\n  For none do de miracles dat you do,\n  But how can a man, now old in sin,\n  Turn back still and be born again?\"\n\n  Christ said, \"Man, if you want to be wise,\n  You'd better repent and be baptized;\n  Believe on me, the Son of Man,\n  Then you will be born'd again.\"\n\n  _Wasn't that a witness for my Lord?\n  Wasn't that a witness for my Lord?_\n\n\"After 'While\" gives a slightly different form of verse, but with somewhat\nthe same characteristics in other respects as those just given. There is\nlittle regularity in the metrical arrangement, but it makes a good song.\n\n      The worl' is full of forms and changes,\n      It's just now so confuse,\n      You will find some danger\n      In everything you use:\n      But this is consolation to every blood washed child,\n      God's goin' to change our station after while.\n\n      _Afterwhile, afterwhile,\n      God's goin' to change our station, afterwhile._\n\n      The devil tries to throw down\n      Everything that's good,\n\n      He'd fix a way to confine\n      The righteous if he could,\n      Thanks be to God almighty, he cannot be beguiled,\n      Ole satan will be done fightin' afterwhile.\n\n  Some men and women who help the world along,\n  By constantly complaining of everything that's done,\n  They want to be called Christians and all their badness hide,\n  God's goin' to open the secret afterwhile.\n\n  Preachers in their sermons stand up and tell the truth,\n  They'll go about and murmur with slander and abuse;\n  They want the whole arrangement to suit their selfish style,\n  God's goin' to rain down fire afterwhile.\n\nIn a general mixture of old song and new song, of old traits and new\ntraits, the negro sings a beautiful song which he has called: \"Whar' shall\nI be?\" The usual imagery is seen.\n\n      Moses lived til he got old,\n          _Whar' shall I be?_\n      Buried in de mountain, so I'm told,\n          _Whar' shall I be?_\n\n  _Whar' shall I be when de fust trumpet sounds?\n  Whar' shall I be when it sounds so loud?\n  When it sound so loud that it wake up the dead,\n  Whar' shall I be when it sounds?_\n\n      Well God showed Noar de rainbow sign,\n          Whar' shall I be?\n      No more water but fire nex' time,\n          Whar' shall I be?\n\n      Mathew, Mark, Luke and John,\n          Whar' shall I be?\n      Tole me whar' my Saviour gone;\n          Whar' shall I be?\n\n      John declar'd he saw a man,\n          Whar' shall I be?\n      Wid seben lamps in his right han',\n          Whar' shall I be?\n\nThe exact meaning of the following song could not be ascertained. It is\napparently derived from some idea of the scriptural invocation and\nblessing upon the disciples. It is said to have a special message to the\npreacher, and is sometimes represented as being the words of God; at other\ntimes the encouragement of a friend and the reply.\n\n      Go and I will go with you;\n      Open your mouth and I'll speak for you;\n  If I go and tell them what you say they won't believe me.\n\n      Shout and I shout with you;\n      Throw out your arms and I catch you;\n  If they see you going with me, they won't believe on you.\n\n      So it's go and I go with you;\n      Open your mouth and I speak for you,\n      Shout and I shout with you,\n      Throw out your arms and I catch you,\n  If I go and tell them what you say they won't believe me.\n\nAnother song of the modern type seems to appeal to the negroes very\nstrongly. Again he is seeing a vivid picture of the Christ in the long\nyears ago. But just where he gets the exact ideas by which to make the\ncombinations is a little doubtful. Perhaps he gets the central thought\nfrom the miracle of Cana.\n\n  If my mother ask you for me, tell her I gone to Gallerlee,\n  I ought to a been there four thousand years ago,\n          To drink of the wine.\n\n    _Drinkin' of the wine, drinkin' of the wine,\n    Drinkin' of the wine, Drinkin' of the wine,\n    Christ was there four thousand years ago,\n    Drinkin' of the wine._\n\n  You may mourn, sinner, mourn, the Lord help you to mourn,\n  Christ was there four thousand years ago,\n          Drinkin' of the wine.\n\nSo, too, you may _moan_, _weep_, _cry_, _pray_, _brother_, _sister_,\n_father_, _mother_, _backslider_, and any others that the singer happens\nto think of, and the chorus, \"Drinkin' of the wine,\" is the favorite\nrefrain. Again in \"The Blind Man\" the picture is one of confusing the\nscriptural scenes with those of the present, and of placing himself in the\nstead of the central character of the story.\n\n  Well the blind man stood by the grave and cried,\n  Well the blind man stood by the wave and cried,\n  Yes, the blind man stood by the wave and cried.\n\n  He cried, \"O Lord, don't you hear po' me?\"\n  Hark, the blind man stood by the wave and cried,\n  He cried, \"O Lord, don't you hear po' me?\"\n\n  Brother don't you hear the blind cries, blind cries?\n  Brother don't you hear the blind cries, blind cries?\n  O brother, don't you hear the blind cries?\n\n  Jesus he give de blind man sight, blind man sight,\n  Jesus he give de blind man sight, blind man sight,\n  Yes, Jesus he give de blind man sight.\n\nHe also sings \"_sister_, don't you hear,\" etc., _brother_, _father_,\n_preacher_. A peculiar modification of \"Walking in the Light\" is the song\nof the same name among the negroes, which seems to have its origin in the\nscriptural injunction, \"Ye are the light of the world.\"\n\n  Let yo' light shine all over the world,\n  Walkin' in the light, beautiful light.\n\n  Mos' wonderful light, shine by night,\n  Let yo' light shine all over the world.\n\n  I am the light, most pitiful light,\n  Let yo' light shine all over the world.\n\n  Follow the light, mos' beautiful light,\n  Let yo' light shine all over the world.\n\n  Sinner, what you gwine do when the lamp stops burnin',\n  Let yo' light shine all over the world?\n\nThe negro prays to be remembered at Calvary; so, too, he asks to remember\nCalvary and the Lord. A single fragment of the old song remains:\n\n  O Lord remember me, remember Calvary,\n  For without any doubt and you remember the Lord,\n  I pray thee, Lord, remember me,\n  O Lord, remember me, remember Calvary.\n\nThe \"Pilgrim's song\" that has been considered so beautiful is still a\nfavorite; the words of the stanzas differ little. It may be called a\nstandard hymn of the negroes. There is a story that Bishop Allen, the\nfounder of the A. M. E. church, composed the song on his dying bed. He was\nvery well educated and a man of considerable ability and feeling. While\nthe sadly hopeful words of the song are of a higher type than the average\nspiritual, and while its metrical form is far above the usual, the song\nstill combines many of the ideas and phrases of the favorite spirituals of\nthe slaves. One of these songs, \"I hope my mother will be there, In that\nbeautiful world on high\", embodies the same sentiment and in similar\nwords. Another, \"Give 'way Jordan, I want to go across to see my Lord. I\nheard sweet music, I wish dat music would come here\", represents the other\npart of the song. The Pilgrim's song as it is found is:\n\n  I am a poor way-faring stranger,\n    While journeying through this world of woe,\n  But there is no sickness, toil, nor danger,\n    In that bright world to which I go.\n\n  _I'm going there to see my classmates,\n    They said they'd meet me when I come,\n  I'm just a going over Jordan,\n    I'm just going over home._\n\n  I know dark clouds'll gather round me,\n    I know my road is rough and steep,\n  Yet there bright fields are lying just before me,\n    Where God's redeemed and vigils keep.\n\n  _I'm going there to see my mother,\n    She said she'd meet me when I come,\n  I'm just going over Jordan,\n    I'm just a going over home._\n\n  I'll soon be free, free every trial,\n    My body will sleep in the old churchyard.\n  I'll quit the cross of self-denial,\n    And enter in my great reward.\n\n  _I'm going there to see my mother,\n    She said she'd meet me when I come,\n  I'm just a going over Jordan,\n    I'm just going over home._\n\nThe only differences in the versions of the old song and its present form\nis the substitution of \"But\" for \"yet\", \"and\" for \"their\", and \"free\" for\n\"from\", \"drop\" for \"quit\" in the various lines. Very much in the same\nclass of song is \"Steal Away\". The present version is much the same in\ngeneral as the old, of which there were several, differing only in minor\ndetails. There is in some of the church song books a version of the song;\nhowever, the most common verses now sung are:\n\n  O the green trees a-bowin',\n  An' po' sinner stan' tremblin',\n  Well the trumpet soun' in my soul,\n  An' I ain't got long to stay here.\n\n  _O steal away, steal away,\n  O steal away to my Jesus,\n  Steal away, steal away,\n  For I ain't got long to stay here._\n\n  My Lord is a callin',\n  Po' sinner he can't answer,\n  Well, the trumpet sound in my soul,\n  An' I ain't got long to stay here.\n\nOne of the most beautiful and at the same time simple and pathetic songs\nof the negroes is \"Heal me, Jesus\". Here the negro is at his typical best\nin prayer: without pretension, without reserve, claiming nothing, he\nsimply pleads for his desire.\n\n  O Lord, I'm sick an' I want to be healed,\n  O Lord, I'm sick an' I want to be healed,\n  O Lord, I'm sick an' I want to be healed,\n  O Lord, I'm sick an' I want to be healed.\n\n        _Heal me Jesus, heal me Jesus,\n          Along the heavenly way,\n        Heal me Jesus, heal me Jesus,\n          Along the heavenly way._\n\n  O Lord, I'm blind an' I want to see,\n  O Lord, I'm blin' an' I wan' ter see,\n  O Lord, I'm blin' an' I wan' 'er see,\n  Heal me Jesus along the heavenly way.\n\n  O Lord, I'm crippl'd an' I wan' 'er walk,\n  O Lord, I'm crippl'd an' I wan' 'er wa-a-a-l-k,\n  O Lord, I'm cri-p-p-l-e-d an' I want 'er walk,\n  Heal me Jesus along the heavenly way.\n\n  O Lord, I'm deaf an' I want to hear, etc.\n\nThe negroes are great believers in dress and uniform. Color, too, appeals\nto them as significant and the more strikingly distinct the color, the\nstronger impression it makes upon their imaginations. Chief among all\nothers is the white which the angels wear; gold and purple, too, are\nconcerned with the heavens. Among men red and black are strongest. This\nidea of color dressing has become interwoven in many of their songs. The\nrhyme helps to give the picture its vividness. The following song, with\nits variants, is still sung with considerable zest.\n\n  Who is that yonder all dressed in red?\n    _I heard the angels singing_;\n  It look like the children Moses led,\n    _I heard the angels singin'_.\n\n        _Down on my knees,\n        Down on my knees,\n        I heard the angels singing._\n\n  Well who that yonder all dressed in black?\n    I heard the angels singing;\n  It look like it's de mourner jus' got back,\n    I heard the angels singing.\n\n  Yes' who's that yonder all dressed in blue?\n  It look like the children just come through.\n\nInstead of \"mourners jus' got back\" the negroes sing \"a sister, a sinner,\na hypocrite, etc., jus' got back\". Once the negroes sang: \"Who's that\nyonder all dressed in black? Must be children of the Israelites\", which is\nthe common version for the answer to \"Who's all them come dressed in\nwhite?\" The songs almost invariably have a different chorus for the\ndifferent versions and combinations. In one of the old songs, the above\nverses were sung to the chorus\n\n  Oh, what you say, John?\n  Oh, what you say, John?\n  Oh, what you say, John?\n    _De ressurection drawin' nigh._\n\nwith this last line as a refrain after each line of the song, just as\nabove in \"I heard the angels singing\". In another of the old songs the\nchorus was:\n\n  Go, Mary, an' ring de bell,\n  Come, John, and call de roll,\n      I thank God.\n\nThe negro visualizes with a good deal of satisfaction. He imagines that he\ncan see the things about which he sings. So they have imagined seeing the\npeople dressed in white, black, red and blue; so he imagined that he could\nsee \"two tall angels comin' after me\", or \"big tall\", \"long tall\", \"band\nof angels\" or whatever form the song has taken. So the negroes have told\nwonderful stories about the whale and the gourd vine; about the \"cutter\nworm\" as well as Jonah. The old song, modified and adapted with\ncharacteristic phraseology and expression still appeals to the negro. The\n\"Big fish\" and \"Sherk\" represents the terror of the sea to the negro. One\nold darkey explained this fact by saying that it was because the negroes\nwere terrified as they were brought over from Africa, and that they saw\nthe whales and \"fishes\" in \"de sea\" and that \"de race hain't nebber got\nober it yet\". Another ascribes the fear and imagination much to the\nbiblical story of the whale and Jonah. Perhaps neither determines to any\nmarked degree this feeling. However, the song \"Big fish swallow Jonah\",\nwhich has made such a hit in its paraphrases and in the glee clubs, and\nvariously, is still current in this form:\n\n  Lord, the big fish, big fish, big fish, swallow ole Jonah whole,\n  The big fish, the big fish, the big fish swallow ole Jonah;\n  The big fish, big fish, big fish, swallow ole Jonah whole.\n\n    _Ole Jonah cried, \"Lord save my soul\",\n    Ole Jonah, ole Jonah, ole Jonah cried \"save my-save-m-y-y\",\n    Ole Jonah cried \"Lord save my soul\"._\n\nIn the same manner are sung other lines:\n\n  Lord, the gourd vine, gourd vine, gourd vine growed over Jonah.\n  Well, the cutter worm, cutter worm, cutter worm cut that vine down.\n\nIn addition to Jonah--and the last two stanzas are not common in the old\nsongs--\"Peter on the sea\", \"Gabriel, blow your trump\", \"Daniel in the\nlion's den\", are sung. Those who have heard the latest form of this song\nrendered would scarcely imagine that it was a very appropriate church\nsong.\n\nIt has been stated that the negro makes a song his own by the simple act\nof singing it. If he is free and unrestrained at the same time that he is\nthoroughly wrought up, he adds enough to his song or changes its version\nsufficiently to make it almost unique. In the common tunes sung by both\nwhite and black people, the negro's rhythm and graceful passing from one\nline to another, together with the insertions of shouts and \"amens\"\nrenders them distinct. A number of the favorite \"old time\" religious songs\nare thus rendered by the negroes. They are the old \"stand-by\" hymns. The\nnature of some of them was indicated in the first chapter. The following\nsongs will serve to illustrate the common practice of singing among the\n\"spiritualists\".\n\nIn \"The old-time Religion\" there are as many versions as the singer can\nmake combinations. It is \"Gi' me dat ole-time religion\", or it is \"'Tis\nthat ole time religion\", or it is \"Was that ole-time, etc.,\" or \"Will be\nthe old time religion\". In the same way it may be \"good enough\", \"It's\ngood enough\". It is, was, will be good enough for \"mother, my mother, my\nole mother, father, brother, sister,\" and all the list of biblical names,\nchiefest among whom are Paul and Silas, Peter and John. So again, it is\n\"good when _dying_, _living_, _mourning_, _sinking_, _praying_,\n_talking_\". It is good \"when in _trubble_, when de _worl's on fier_, when\nthe _lightening flashes_, when the _thunder rolls_, when the _heavens are\nmelting_, when the _stars are falling_, when the _moon is bleeding_, when\nthe _grave yards are opening_\", and all other times that are conceived as\nbeing a part and factor in destiny. Likewise the chorus or the lines may\nbe sung with additional \"Yes\", \"sure\", \"well\", \"Uh\", and various other\nexpressions that are the product of the moment.\n\nOne who has heard the song \"Bye and bye we'll go and see them\", rendered\nin an effective way must recognize its power and beauty. It is\npre-eminently a song for the emotions, and suggests scenes of the past and\nof the future; it brings back memories that have been forgotten and forms\nemotions and conceptions that have not before existed. To the negro it is\nall this--in so far as he is able to grasp the better emotions--but it is\nmostly a medium through which he can sing his rhythmic feeling off. And\nwith the additional interpretations and additions both in words and in\nexpression, it is scarcely surpassed by any of his spirituals. The\nsimplest form is exactly the same as that of the regular song: \"Bye and\nbye, we'll go and see them\", From this the negroes vary to \"Bye and bye\nI'm a goin' to see _him_, _them_, _her_\". To this chorus they nearly\nalways add in alternate lines \"Well it's\", \"Well\", \"An'\" and such\nexpressions, thus:\n\n  Bye an' bye I'm goin' to see them,\n  Bye an' bye I'm goin' to see them,\n  Well, it's bye an' bye I'm goin' to see them,\n  On de oder shore.\n\nThese expressions inserted or omitted at pleasure, serve to give an\nadditional rhythm to the song that seems otherwise to be lacking. The\nverses of the song, like many others, are practically unlimited. Each is\nrepeated three or six times as the singers prefer, with the refrain \"On\nthe other shore\" added at the end of each stanza. The negroes sing not\nonly of a _brother_, _sister_, _father_, _mother_, _auntie_, _preacher_\nand _friends_, but they also sing of _Paul_ and _Silas_ and _Daniel_ and\n_Moses_; they are at liberty to use any name that comes to mind. And they\nmanifest as much feeling and emotion about meeting _Moses_ or _Noah_ or\n_Abraham_ as they do about a dear old mother. Not only will they meet\nthese loved ones but there will be scenes \"over yonder.\"\n\n    I'm got a brother over yonder-on the other shore.\n    I'm goin' to meet my brother over yonder.\n    Tryin' time will soon be over, on the other shore.\n  Well, it's mournin' time will soon be over, on the other shore.\n        Cryin' time will soon be over.\n        Prayin' time will soon be over, etc.\n        Shoutin' time will soon be over, etc.\n\nIf necessary they then turn to the sinner and sing: \"_Sinnin' time_,\n_gamblin'_ time, etc., will soon be over.\" The old plantation song,\ninstead of saying, \"Brother Daniel over yonder,\" had it, \"Wonder where is\ngood ole Daniel? Bye an' bye we'll go an' meet him, 'Way over in de\npromise lan'. Wonder where's dem Hebrew children? Wonder where's doubtin'\nThomas? Wonder where is sinkin' Peter?\" This form is apparently not sung\nto-day.\n\nIn the same way the negroes have modified the comparatively new songs that\nhave been successful among the evangelists the country over. One would\nscarcely recognize even the tunes at first hearing, while the verses are\nusually entirely different. The chorus, as a rule, remains the same, save\nfor the variations already mentioned. One or two songs may be taken as\nillustrations. \"When the Roll is Called up yonder\" appealed to the negroes\nfor many reasons. Most of the churches sing it, and sing it \"rousing\"\nwell. Their chorus is beautiful and the parts, though carried informally,\nmake a splendid effect. But the negro does not sing the prescribed\nstanzas. After singing the chorus, with such additions as he feels\ndisposed to make, and after two or three, perhaps one, of the written\nverses, he sings his own song:\n\n  When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.\n  By the grace of God up yonder, I'll be there.\n  Yes, my home is way up yonder, an' I'll be there.\n  I got a mother way up yonder, I'll be there.\n  I got a sister way up yonder, I'll be there.\n\nAnd without limitations he sings this new song into his old and favorite\nthemes, often inserting stanzas and words that belong to the oldest\nexisting negro spirituals in the same verse with the evangelist's best\nefforts. Another may illustrate further: \"Blessed be the Name of the\nLord\", has a great many variations, some of which would never be\nrecognized without considerable study and investigation. At first the\nsearcher is inclined to wonder at the distance the singer has got from his\noriginal, but the evolutionary steps make the process quite clear. The\nnegroes love to sing blessing to the Lord; much of the basic principle of\ntheir theology is based upon gratitude for the final deliverance of\nbondage from work and suffering. It is not surprising, then, that this\nsong should become a favorite. One of the present versions, most commonly\nsung is:\n\n  If you git there before I do,\n      Blessed be the name of the Lord,\n  Tell my God I'm a comin' too,\n      Blessed be the name of the Lord.\n\n  I turn my eyes toward de sky,\n      Blessed be the name of the Lord,\n  I ask the Lord for wings to fly,\n      Blessed be the name of the Lord.\n\nAnd encouraged by the happy putting in to this new song an old verse, the\nsinger proceeds to put in as many as he wishes; then in his desire for\nrhythm and his habit of repetition, together with the cries of \"amen\" or\n\"Lord\" the chorus often becomes: \"My Lord, blessed be the name of the\nLord.\" The outcome of such a chorus may be seen in the song already cited:\n\"Lor' bless the Name.\"\n\nIn the effort to make new songs or to appropriate songs themselves, the\nnegroes are thus constantly introducing various songs into their worship.\nThe most common method, that of having the song printed on a single sheet\nfor distribution, has already been mentioned. And as was there suggested,\nthese songs are often verses taken at random from song books or poems, and\nput into song form. In most cases such songs are varied in such a way that\nthe song may both meet the demand for a song of its kind and at the same\ntime appear original. Some, indeed, are purely original productions, some\nof which have been cited. Just between the \"spirituals\" and the standard\nhymns are these innovation songs. They show well the circumstances which\nthey represent. The effort is often made by members of the younger\ngeneration of negroes to substitute the new songs, together with the\nstandard hymns for the old spirituals. They represent a step forward;\nyoung educated negroes do not like to be heard singing the simple\nspirituals. They claim that they are songs of the past, and, as such\nonly, are they beautiful. The following song, given in the exact form in\nwhich it was distributed, will serve to illustrate.\n\n  _BLESSED HOPE._\n  _By Rev. W. E. Bailey._\n\n  Blessed hope that in Jesus is given,\n    All our sorrow to cheer and sustain,\n  That soon in the mansions of heaven\n    We shall meet with our loved ones again.\n\n  _Blessed hope, blessed hope,\n    We shall meet with our loved ones again,\n  Blessed hope, blessed hope,\n    We shall meet with our loved ones again._\n\n  Blessed hope in the word God has spoken,\n    All our peace by that word we obtain,\n  And as sure as God's word was never broken,\n    We shall meet with our loved ones again.\n\n  Blessed hope how it shines in our sorrows,\n    Like the star over Bethlehem's plain,\n  We will see our Lord ere the morrow,\n    We shall meet with our loved ones again.\n\n  Blessed hope the bright star of the morning,\n    That shall herald his coming to reign,\n  He will come and reward all the faithful,\n    We shall meet with our loved ones again.\n                      (Sung by Rev. J. T. Johnson.)\n\nSuch a song is neither sung to an old melody nor a new tune; it is not a\nspiritual; it is scarcely native nor yet borrowed. It represents the\ngeneral result that comes from a free intermingling of all. To such a song\nthere may be any number of tunes; likewise there are a great many such\nsongs introduced and may be sung alike to simple tunes. A tune is as\neasily selected and rendered as are the words; words are as easily\nimprovised, or written with some care, as the melodies are natural. But\nthey appeal less strongly to the negroes as a rule for the simple reason\nthat \"they don't put a feelin' in you like the old songs.\"\n\nThus the negro's religion is dependent upon feeling; song facilitates and\nintensifies the feelings, and song is the essential joy of much of the\nnegro's life. Whenever and wherever occasion demands religious\nmanifestation, the song is the prerequisite. Not only at the church, but\nat lodge celebrations, funerals and memorial services, the song begins the\nprocess of \"putting a feelin'\" in the congregation. Again, the stress of\nthe negro's religion is placed upon the supernatural and the life that\nlies beyond his present sphere. A religious attitude is scarcely conceived\nby the negro without the fundamental conception of the next world. Thus is\nlife contrasted with heaven and hell; the sinner and the righteous are but\ntemporary; so will the souls of all one day sing with Jehovah the songs\nthat the angels love; and there will be feeling there, too. It is thus\nthat the central themes of the negro's religious songs reveal both his\nreligious nature and his mental attitude, together with the emotional\ncharacteristics that predominate. And it is easily seen that the negro's\nimagery and imagination are scarcely surpassed. His religious fervor\ndepends upon the reality of such imagery; the folk-song reflects this\nimagery as nothing else does. Again, the negro's sense of sin is ever\npresent in a feeling of guilt in the struggle between himself and the real\nor the imaginary; consequently he insures himself against a final sense of\nguilt by strong declarations of his righteousness as opposed to the\nsinner's state. His sense of sin thus becomes less practical; it is rather\nan imaginative expression of a religious feeling. As the clearest exponent\nof the negro's real self, the folk song reveals the heart of his psychic\nnature; it is indeed a witness to the fact that \"'Ligion's so sweet\". Does\nhe not sing well and truthfully?\n\n  I jus' got home f'um Jordan,\n  I jus' got home f'um Jordan,\n  I jus' got home f'um Jordan,\n    'Ligion's so-o-o sweet.\n\n  My work is done an' I mus' go,\n  My work is done an' I mus' go,\n  My work is done an' I mus' go,\n    'Ligion's so-o-o sweet.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] This paper presents in substance the contents of Chapters I and II of\na study on \"Negro Folk-Song and Character,\" with other chapters as\nfollows: Chapter III, The Negro's Social and Secular Songs; Chapter IV,\nTypes of Social Songs among the Negroes; Chapter V, Work Songs and\nPhrases; Chapter VI, The Negro's Mental Imagery; Chapter VII, Negro\nCharacter as Revealed in Folk-Songs and Poetry.\n\n[2] See _Atlantic Monthly_, Vol. XIX, pp. 685 _seq._, _Scribners_, Vol.\nXX, pp. 425 _seq._, _Lippincott's_, Vol. II, 617 _seq._\n\n[3] For verses not found in the present-day negro spirituals, see _Slave\nSongs in the United States_, W. F. Allen, New York, 1867, _The Jubilee\nSingers_, New York, 1873, _Plantation and Cabin Songs_, New York, 1892.","title":"Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":37087}