Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes Part 15

I er's walkin' 'long de oder day, De udder worl' is not lak' dis, I met ole satan on de way, De udder worl' is not lak' dis, He said, "Young man, you're too young to pray", De udder worl' is not lak' dis.

_Tell all dis worl', Tell all dis worl', Tell all dis worl', De odder worl' is not lak' dis._

As I went down in de valley to pray, De udder worl' is not lak' dis, I met a little looker on de way, De udder worl' is not lak' dis, He said: "Look out fer de Judgment day", De udder worl' is not lak' dis.

Another marching song that is a rousing one is "Goin' down to Jord'n". It represents, like the one just given, the attributes of satan and his relation to the Christian. The scene as pictured, the army marching on down to Jordan, the imaginary foe, and the rhythm of the song make it a favorite.

Halleluyer to the Lam', Goin' on down to Jordan, Lord G.o.d's on that givin' han', Goin' on down to Jordan.

_Goin' down to Jordan, Goin' down to Jordan, I got my breas'plate, sword an' s.h.i.+eld, Goin' down to Jordan, Boldly mar chin' thru' the field, Goin' on down to Jordan._

I plucked one block out'n satan's wall, Goin' on down to Jordan, I heard him stumble an' saw him fall, Goin' on down to Jordan.

Ole satan's a liar an' a conjurer, too, Goin' on down to Jordan, If you don't mind he'll conjure you, Goin' down to Jordan.

Ole satan mad an' I am glad, He missed a soul he thought he had.

Ole satan thought he had me fast, Broke his chain an' I'm free at last.

I've landed my feet on Jordan's sho', Now I'm free forever mo', _Goin' on down to Jordan_.

Something has been observed about the negro's att.i.tude toward the crucifixion. The old songs asked: "Wus you dere when dey crucified my Lord? When dey put the crown of thorns on?" and other scenes. In some of the songs the negroes sang "_I wus_ dere when", etc., while still others only affirm the facts. The songs of the present generation of negroes are less vivid and less full of feeling for the suffering of the Master. Some of the verses are similar to those of the plantation songs.

He carried his cross, he carried his cross, Up Zion hill, up Zion hill, He carried his cross, he carried his cross, Up Zion hill, up Zion hill, He carried his cross up Zion hill, Zion hill, Zion hill.

They put on him the th.o.r.n.y crown (3), Then they nail my Jesus down, They nail him down, nail him down, nail him down, They lif' the cross high in the air (3), To show the worl' how they nail him there, How they nail him there, nail him there, nail him there.

A peculiar corruption of this song represents the prodigal son as being in the place of Christ; now it is the prodigal, now it is the Lord. It indicates the manner of the development of many of these songs, and shows something of the insignificance of the words on the minds of the singers.

He sings with his holy laugh:

Yes, the prodigal son come home, ha, ha, Yes, the prodigal son come home, ha, ha, The prodigal son come home by hisself.

An' they nail him to the cross, ha, ha, An' they nail him to the cross, ha, ha, An' they nail him to the cross on that day.

An' the blood come runnin' down, ha, ha, The blood come runnin' down, ha, ha, An' the blood come runnin' down, on that day.

An' they kill the fat'nin' calf, ha, ha, An' they kill the fat'nin' calf, ha, ha, They kill the fat'nin' calf on that day.

An' they carried my Lord away, ha, ha, An' they carried my Lord away, ha, ha, They carried my Lord away, by hisself.

Paul and Silas, Peter and John are models for proper contemplation. One of the old songs represented Peter and Paul as bound in jail. "Togedda dey sung, togedda dey prayed, De Lawd he heard how dey sung an' prayed. Den humble yo'selves, de bell done rung." "Paul an' Silas bound in jail, The Christians pray both night and day," represented another song, one version of which has survived and is current to-day. Most of the song consists in repet.i.tions.

Paul and Silas bound in jail, Paul and Silas bound in jail, Paul and Silas bound in jail, Paul and Silas bound in jail.

Paul did pray one mournful prayer (4).

Don't you wish you could pray like Paul?(4)

He prayed an' the good Lord set him free (4).

Another version prays for the _angels_ to come down and _unlock_ the door of the jail. It has a striking parallel among the secular songs and might have been composed with the idea of the negro in jail as being rescued.

Come down angel with the key, Come down angel with the key, My Lord, angel, come down with the key.

Unlock the door for me-e-e, Unlock the door for me-e-e, My Lord, unlock the door for me.

Paul and Silas is in jail, Paul and Silas is in jail, My Lord, Paul and Silas is in jail.

Unlock the jail-house door, Unlock the jail-house door-oor, My Lord, unlock the jail house door.

Among those of the Bible who have been the special subject of song, Noah has a prominent place. References to him have been made already. He is always the hero of the flood. In most of the songs wherein a special character has an important part, it is in the chorus or refrain. So in "Fohty days an' nights", a general mixture of songs and ideas, Noah and the flood make the chorus.

Dey calls bro' Noah a foolish man, _Fohty days an' nights_, He built de ark upon de lan', _Fohty days an' nights_.

_En, ho, ho, didn't it rain?

O yes, you know it did.

Ho, ho, didn't it rain?

O yes, you know it did._

Ole Satan wears a iron shoe, Hit's fohty days an' nights, Ef you don't mind gwine slip it on you, Fohty days an' nights.

Some go to meetin' to put on pretense, _Fohty days an' nights_, Until de day ob grace is spent, _Fohty days an' nights_.

Some go to meetin' to sing an' shout, _Fohty days an' nights_, Fo' six months dey'll be turned out, _Fohty days an' nights_.

I tell you brother an' I tell you twice, _It's fohty days an' nights_, My soul done anch.o.r.ed in Jesus Christ, _Fohty days an' nights_.

If you git dar befo' I do, _Forty days an' nights_, Look out fer me I'se comin' too, _Fohty days an' nights_.

You baptize Peter an' you baptize Paul, _It's fohty days an' nights_, But de Lord-G.o.d-er-mighty gwine baptize all, _It's fohty days an' nights_.

Another version in one of the old songs says: "Some go to church to laugh and talk, but dey knows nuthin' 'bout de Christian's walk". "De Ole Ark a-moverin'" was the t.i.tle of a plantation song which gave the story of Noah and the flood. Noah and his sons "went to work upon dry lan'", and everything went according to the original "plan".

Jes' wait a little while, I'm gwine tell you 'bout de ole ark, De Lord told Noah for to build him an ole ark, Den Noah and his sons went to work upon dry lan', Dey built dat ark jes' accordin' to comman', Noah an' his sons went to work upon de timber, De proud begin to laugh the silly to point de finger, When de ark was finished jes' accordin' to plan, Ma.s.sa Noah took his family both animal an' man, When de rain begin to fall and de ark begin to rise, De wicked hung round wid der groans and der cries, Fohty days and fohty nights de rain it kep' a fallin', De wicked clumb de trees an' for help dey kep' callin', Dat awful rain she stopped at las', de waters dey subsided, An' dat ole ark wid all aboard on Ararat rided.

This is the picture which the plantation and slave negro has made for his satisfaction. The present-day song that apparently originated in the above song is less elaborate, having only portions of the old song, and not being much in demand. It, too, is called "Didn't it rain?"

G.o.d told Noah 'bout de rainbow sign-- _Lawd, didn't it rain?_ No more water but fier nex' time-- _O didn't it rain? Halleluyer._

_O didn't it rain, O didn't it rain?

Halleluyer, didn't it rain?

Some fohty days an' nights._

Well it rain fohty days an' nights widout stoppin', _Lawd, didn't it rain?_ The sinner got mad 'cause the rain kept a droppin', _O didn't it rain? Halleluyer._

Among the most interesting of all the negro spirituals are those which have been composed in recent years. These are significant in their bearing upon the temperament and religion of the present-day negro. These songs are efforts at poetry, while at the same time they unite biblical story with song. How they are often begun and for what purposes they are composed was mentioned in the previous discussion concerning the origin of negro songs. Further a.n.a.lysis of the form may be made in the study of the negro's mental imagery. The following song, which gets its name from the chorus, is ent.i.tled "My Trouble is Hard", and was composed by "Sister Bowers". It was printed on a single sheet for distribution; each person who contributed to the collection was ent.i.tled to a copy, or a copy could be had for a nickel. She sung her new song to the crowds wherever she went, and then was given a _pro-rata_ of the collections. With the chorus repeated after each stanza, as the negroes always do, it becomes a song of unusual length:

I know a man that was here before Christ, His name was Adam and Eve was his wife, I'll tell you how this man lived a rugged life, Just by taking this woman's advice.