607. Lily White Robe
From Mrs. Maude M. Sutton, Forest City, July 30, 1928, as sung by Mrs. Becky Gordon, Sainda Mountain, June-July 1928; with tiie following notes :
"She sings every song I have been able to collect heretofore, and then some ! . . .
"I never heard a negro spiritnal with as rich, tuneful, and moving air. It is a typical mountain spiritual and is beautiful. Miss Rlackstock is at work on harmonizing the air now. The first verse is repeated and the second goes on and on with no changes except 'mothers,' 'brothers,' 'sisters,' 'Christians,' etc.. are substituted for 'fathers.' Mrs. Gordon thought her mother had learned it from a book, and at a cabin on 'Big Mungry' near Sugar Mountain. They told us there was a book with the words and tune. It isn't in The Southern Haniiony. This song is used for all funerals in that section. They start singing it when the
grave is lieing filled and sing it till it is finished. Mrs. Gordon said, 'Hit's a song to sing over a corpse.' "
1 There's a lily white rohc' in Hea\eii fur me;
I'm a-goin' where my trouhles will he over;
Glory, glory, glory, hallelujah ;
I'm a-goin' wliere my trouhles will he over.
2 Oh. come, my lovin' fathers, and go along with me ;
I'm a-goin' where my trouljles will he over;
Glory, glory, glory, hallelujah;
I'm a-goin' where my trouhles will be over.
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607
Lily White Robe
'Lily White Robe.' Sung by Aunt Becky Gordon, Saluda Mountain, June-
July 1928. See III 647 for special note. Unfortunately the dubbing of the
original wax record was so bad that not more than a short fragment could
be salvaged. So far no harmonized version by Miss Blackstock has been
found.
F-521
Glo - ry, glo - ry, glo - ry, hal - le - lu - jab; I'm
go in' where
my
trou - bles will be o'er.
Scale: Mode III, plagal (?). Tonal Center: possibly g. Structure: Nothing
can be said except that this fragment, judging from the printed text, rep-
resents the second half of an ab structure. If that be so, then we have
a circular tune (V).