545. Pharaoh's Army
Like Jacob's dream of the ladder ascending into heaven, the drowning of Pharaoh's army is a motif or leitmotif of several old
spirituals. In ANFS 58. White notes tliat "Pharaoh's Army' "occurs in variant versions in most of the printed collections, beginning with Higginson (Atlantic, 1867, xix, 685)," cites traditional reports of it from South Carolina. Tennessee, and Mississippi, and prints two versions, one from Alabama, the other from Tennessee. For a Kentucky version, see W. A. Fisher. Seventy Negro Spirituals (Boston, 1926), pp. 127-9.
'Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep.' From Miss Gertude Allen, Taylorsville,
Alexander county (later Mrs. Vaught) ; undated, but c. 1922-23.
1 Mary's son fell in a well.
Mary's son fell in a well ;
But Pharaoh's army got drowned.
O Mary, don't you weep.
2 O Mary, don't you weep, don't you mourn ;
Your son's ill Heaven with a harp and horn.
But Pharaoh's army got drowned.
O Mary, don't you weep.
3 Pharaoh's army got drowned in the sea;
Thank to (iod. it was not me.
But Pharaoh's army got drowned.
O Mary, don't you weep.
4 Jt'Mis I'hrist died on a tree
"I'or all good people like you and me.
lUit I'haraoh's army got drowned.
( ) Marv. don'l you weep.
B. 'Pharaoh's Army Cot Drowned.' From Mrs. J. W. Barlice, Durham : undated.
1 If 1 could 1 really would
Stand on the rock where Moses stood.
Pharaoh's army got drownded.
O Alary, don't you weep.
2 Pharaoh's army got drownded in the sea;
Thank the Lord, it was not me.
I'haraoh's army got drownded.
O Mary, don't you weep.
3 Some of these nights 'bout twelve o'clock,
Dis old world's goin' to reel and rock.
Pharaoh's army got drownded.
() Mary, don't you weep.
c
'Pharaoh's Army.' From Cozette Coble, Stanly county (?); undated.
If I could I surely would
Stand on the rock where Moses stood.
Pharaoh's army got drowned
In the middle of the sea.
Chorus:
O Mary, don't you weep for me,
O Mary, don't you weep for me ;
Pharaoh's army got drowned
In the middle of the sea.
'Piiaraoh's Army.' From "Hodgin, Soutlieastern N. C." ; undated.
Three stanzas and chorus, stanzas i and 2 correspondnig to B i and 2.
the chorus more elaborately wrouglit.
3 Way up yonder above the moon.
Where they eat with silver spoons.
Pharaoh's army got drownded.
O Mary, don't you weep,
O Mary, don't you weep,
Don't you mourn.
O Mary, don't you weep.
Don't you mourn.
Pharaoh's army got drownded.
O Mary, don't you weep.
--------
545
Pharaoh's Army
'Pharaoh's Army.' Sung by Mrs. E. Wilson, Pensacola, Yancey county,
September 1929. This is a fragment of the song of which the initial measures
(the first two lines of the text given in III 603-4) ^re missing. The recording
was very poor. There is no chorus marked in the printed text of version
D. Although one cannot definitely say what the melody for the first two
lines actually is, nevertheless it might be assumed that, since the last four
measures are like the first four of the fragment, the actual beginning of the
song might be like or similar to measures 5-8.
F-481
Pha - ra - oh's ar - my got drownd - ed.
Ma - ry, don't you weep.
Ma - ry, don't you weep, don't you mourn,
Ma - ry, don't you weep, don't you mourn.
Pha - ra - oh's ar - my got drownd ed.
Mary, don't you weep.
For melodic relationship cf. ***ANS 176; RAS 62; **JAFL xxvi 156,
compare our first and last four measures with its last four; *ASb 476-7, our
measures 9-10 with 13-15 there; FSoA 143, compare our measures 9-10 with
5-6 there; ANFS 406; and PSB 20.
Scale : Hexachordal, plagal. Tonal Center : a. Structure : aba (4,4,4) with
the first part missing. Basing the analysis on the above mentioned assump-
tion, however, we would have a compound structure : mm^nmm^n (2,2,4,2,2,4)
= bar plus bar.