Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes Part 8

And so the sinner will then "run to the mountain," and "De mountain fly open" or "De mountain cry mercy." The sinner must needs be hopeless at his death and there is neither mercy nor pity for him. It is the idea of the negro that at the great day "we won't be bothered with them any mo'". A sad picture he makes of the poor, and forsaken man who dies "with achin'

heart", with "weary min'", and with his "head hung down". Consequently it is not surprising to find appeals of all sorts made to the sinner man; now he is told of his doom, now of possible salvation, now of the joys of being saved, now of immediate satisfaction. Sung like the above song is "Come, sinner, come".

Won't you come, won't you come?

_Come, sinner, come_; Great day of wrath is comin', _Come, sinner, come_.

Look over yonder what I see; _Come, sinner, come_; Two tall angels comin' after me, _Come, sinner, come_.

In the same manner he sings, "Won't you come an' see yo' Lord?" and "Ole Satan like a snake in de gra.s.s, Always in some sister's path," "Ole Satan weahs mighty loose ole shoe, Ef you don't min' gwine slip it on you". "Up on hill side King Jesus spoke, Out of his mouth come fier an' smoke", "Down in de valley, down on my knees, Ask de Lord to save me if He please", and others. The plantation song asked,

O whar you runnin', sinner?

_I do love de Lord_; De Judgment day is comin', _I do love de Lord_;

You'll see de worl' on fire, _I do love de Lord_; You'll see de element a meltin', _I do love de Lord_.

Besides these stanzas there were sung the various other warnings such as have been given in the idea of Judgment and Resurrection already noted. In the old slave song the sinner asks:

My Lord, My Lord, what shall I do?

_An' heaven bell ring an' praise G.o.d._

What shall I do for hiding place?

I run to de sea but de sea run dry.

I run to de gate but de gate shut fast.

No hiding place for sinner dere.

For I am gone an' sent to h.e.l.l.

Instead of the regular refrain which is sung by the chorus of voices in response to a line by the leader, the negroes often respond with "um-m'"

in a general mingling of chant, humming, and "amens". For the most part they do this with closed lips; the volume is surprisingly strong, however, and makes a stirring effect. The meaning of the expression is something like "Yes?" or "Of course, we know it is true" or "Sure, you talkin'

brother". The singer says: "I look for Jesus all my days", and the chorus answers, "_um-u'_" and he then continues,

An' when I found him this is what he said, _um-u'_ Yo' sin forgiven an' you soul set free, _um-u'_

_I pray all night, an' I pray all day, um-u' um-u', Then my Lord taken my sins away, um-u', um-u'._

Nex' day, nex' day while walkin' along, um-u', um-u', I heard a voice an' saw no one, um-u', um-u', It said, sinner man, you better come home, um-u', um-u'.

One day I was walkin' long dat lonesome road, um-u', um-u', King Jesus spoke unto me an' lifted off dat load, um-u'.

Again, "Brother, you'd Better be a Prayin'", while mostly repet.i.tion makes a long song when sung to its limit. "_Sister_", "_Sinner_", "_Backslider_", "_Mourner_", "_Children_", each serves to make a complete stanza of eight lines:

Brother you'd better be a prayin', Brother, you'd better be a prayin', My brother, you'd better be a prayin', An' I'll be carried above, An' I'll be carried above, An' I'll be carried above, I'll see king Jesus in his reign, An' I'll be carried above.

The chorus song, "Wheel in middle of Wheel" is most likely a variation of the old song "Wheel in a wheel" which was "run by _love_, by _faith_," and was sometimes conceived as a chariot wheel upon which "gwine take a ride, On de chariot wheel", for "de chariot's comin', O my Lord". Sometimes the wheel was conceived as being a "Little wheel a-turnin' in my heart", in which case it signified some sort of feeling. The phrase means nothing more than a chorus in the present-day song.

O sinner man, how can it be?

_Wheel in de middle of wheel_, If you don't serve G.o.d, you can't serve me, _Wheel in de middle of wheel_.

_In the wheel, in the wheel, Wheel in de middle of wheel, In the wheel, in the wheel, Wheel in the middle of wheel._

Well don't you know it's prayin' time?

_Wheel in middle of wheel_; Lay down yo' way an' go to G.o.d, _Wheel in middle of wheel_.

Well don't you know it's mournin' time?

_Wheel in middle of wheel_; He'll hear yo' prayers an' sanctify, _Wheel in middle of wheel_.

Jesus and G.o.d are represented as "Listenin' all the day long", and the sinner is directed to pray. The plantation songs called to him: "Where you goin' sinner? O come back, don't go dat way." And one of the singers affirmed that "about the break o' day" his sins were forgiven and "his soul set free." The song "Jesus is a listenin'" seems at some time to have been considerably corrupted. The negroes have sung it: "_I've_ been a listenin' all day long, and all night long, to hear some sinner pray."

However, the correct version now seems to be:

Jesus is a listenin' all the day long, He keep listenin' all the day long, He keep listenin' all the day long, For to hear some sinner pray.

If I was a sinner I would please him, I would pray an' pray a day, An' when I got to heaven, So he could say he heard me pray.

But in "Bear yo' Burden, sinner", another version is given of the same idea. This song is a popular one, while the figures used give a definite conviction.

The Lord is a listenin' all the day long, _Bear yo' burden sinner_, If you will only pray, he will bear you on, _Bear yo' burden in the heat o' the day_.

_Bear yo' burden, sinner, Bear yo' burden, sinner, Bear yo' burden in the heat o' the day._

I'm goin' home fer to see my Lord, _Bear yo' burden, sinner_, An' don't you wish you could go 'long, _Bear yo' burden, let in the heat_.

The way to bear yo' burden is to get down on yo' knees, _Bear yo' burden, sinner, let in the heat_, Ask G.o.d to forgive you if you please, _Bear yo' burden in the heat of the day_.

This last stanza is an improvisation made by a young negro of some twenty-five years, although he claimed that it belonged to the song that was regularly sung, maintaining that they only forgot to sing it in the church on that special occasion. "True Religion" gives one view of the requisites of him who will be saved. The song is based in form on a current secular song, and belongs to the cla.s.s of colloquies.

Well you must have that true religion, You must have true religion an' yo' soul converted, You must have that true religion.

_Or you can't cross there._

Where are you goin', sinner, Where are you goin', I say?

I goin' down to de river of Jorden, _An' you can't cross dere_.

He continues, "Where are you goin' _gambler, backslider, drunkard, liar, hypocrite?_" and answers each with, "An' you can't cross there," while the entire chorus, "You must have that true religion," is often repeated after each. The sinner is asked still other questions, one of which is given in the song "Waitin'".

Why does you tarry, sinner, Why does you wait so long?

For my Lord is a waitin', Why don't you come to His call?

_He is waitin', Lord, He is waitin', Lord, He is a-waitin' fer the good Lord, To come, My Lord._

But when my Lord get here, You want have time to pray at all, For he is goin' to judge you, An' h.e.l.l you be bound.

The negro preacher often rebukes his flock for talking about each other in uncomplimentary terms. Sometimes the "sisters" who do not like the preacher retort variously, "I heard you talkin 'bout So and So, you know I did" or "We gwine talk 'bout you," or "Yes, you knows it." Slander and gossip are fast runners and the average negro a.s.sumes that somebody is talking about him or something which he has done. Out of this has grown the song "Talk about me" and others.

_Yes, I know you goin' talk 'bout me, Yes, I know you goin' talk 'bout me,_

_For you talk 'bout my father when he's on his knees a prayin', An' I know you goin' talk 'bout me._

So likewise he sings "I know you're goin talk about me" because "you talk about my mother when she's on her bed a-dyin'"; he actually sings _father_, _brother_, _mother_, _sister_, _mourner_, _preacher_, to both "on his knees a prayin'", and "on bed a dyin'." A very popular stanza which is regularly sung in a number of songs goes: "You may talk about me just as you please, I'm goin' to talk about you when I git on my knees."

The old slave and plantation song asked: "Who'll jine de Union?" saying, "Say, ef you belong to de union ban', den here's my heart an' here's my hand." There have been societies known as "The Union" or "Union Band" both in the church and outside. The name "Union" itself is a favorite one among the negro societies and organizations. It was thought in the old days that a union band would march to heaven and that these only would be enabled to reach the destination. It is almost certain that a number of references in their songs referred to the Union army in and after the war. However, the exact origin of the song as it is now sung has not been found, but appears to be a general corruption of several old songs.

_Get in the Union, Jesus is a listenin', Get in the Union, Jesus die.