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Am I A Soldier of the Cross?/Ortonville/Christian Soldier
Public Domain Old-Time, Bluegrass Gospel by Isaac Watts 1709;
ARTIST: Isaac Watts
CATEGORY: Traditional and Public Domain Gospel
DATE: 1709; First Recorded
RECORDING INFO: Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?
Richard Allen Singers "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?"
Zion Travelers 1947 a Atlas label, "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?"
The Indian's Hymn Related to - Am I a Soldier of the Cross
Allison, J. L.. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Bk (1950), p168/# 90 [1934-39]
OTHER NAMES: "Soldier Of The Cross," "Christian Soldier,"
SOURCES: Folk Index;
NOTES: The hymn “Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?” was written by English-born Isaac Watts. The music score was written by Thomas A. Arne in 1762. Ralph Harrison did the arrangement of the music score. “ Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?” was written in 1709 by Dr. Watts, following a sermon he preached on 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”
As a young child, Isaac had to battle like a soldier. His father was a known Nonconformist of the Church of England. Twice, the man was imprisoned for his religious opinions. As a baby, he and his mother would visit his father in prison. Still as a youth, a local doctor offered to help him with a college education. However, Isaac turned down the offer and entered a Nonconformist Academy. At age 20, Watts left the Academy and began composing hymns. The music scores were added later. “Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?’ asks each of us are we willing to stand up for our faith.
The hymn is a shape-note ("Ortonville" in Sothern Harmony "Christian Soldier" in Sacred Harp) hymn and has been adapted by the black church as an African-American hymn. "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" by the Richard Allen Singers appears on the CD: Wade In The Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions.
Here's a review excerpt of "Where the Sun Will Never Go Down" Spirituals and Traditional Gospel Music Arranged by Joseph Jennings, Hall Johnson, Roy Ringwald, and W. Appling on Chanticleer-Teldec 4509-90878-2:
"Perhaps the most startling comes in "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" when the group goes into the classic "meter" singing of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, to a text partly written by Methodist hymn-writer Isaac Watts."
"Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" was arranged by African-American Judge Jackson and appeared in the color sacred harp in 1934.
Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?- Watts
(1) Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause
or blush to speak His name?
(2) Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed thru bloody seas?
(3) Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
(4) Sure I must fight if I would reign:
Increase my courage, Lord;
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy word.
Watts earned his Doctor of Divinity and moved to London, where he became a minister. He grew tired of the Psalms other churches used as hymns and decided to write of his own. This was met with opposition, but soon his hymns became commonly used in nearly all churches. “ Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?” remains a popular hymn today.
Ortonville- (Shape Note) Southern Harmony no. 10b
First Line: Am I a soldier of the cross
Meter: C.M.
1. Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own his cause,
Or blush to speak his name?
2. Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
3. Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
4. Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord;
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by thy word.
5. Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die:
They see the triumph from afar,
And seize it with their eye.
6. When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be thine.
From "The Southern Workman, Volumes 23-24 - Page 46 Hampton Institute - African Americans - 1894" come this account of how the old hymn was sung in African American churches in 1894:
"It is an experience in life to watch the taking of such a contribution, when alter the fervent appeal of the minister, the "tables of the money-chafers" are set in order in front of the pulpit, each under charge of two deacons who count and sort the money as it comes in. Some one strikes up a hymn In which the congregation join in fervently, and at once the aisles are filled with people of all sorts and conditions, pressing lorward toward the tables to deposit their offerings. Bowed backs and toil- hardened hands among the older people prove that life has not been to them an experience of light work and high wages. Here and there a well-dressed, well-to-do man or woman comes forward and places a halfdollar or even a dollar bill upon the table, but the great majority have to feel a long time to find anything larger than a five cent piece in their pockets. It is interesting to see how many children come forward with their pennies, bright-faced bright-eyed, comfortably dressed children,many of them; for the parents' years of toil have given to them a childhood so happy and bright that, they do not even know what the past has baen, and they can enjoy the luxury of giving to other persons than themselves with hearts free from actual experience of the suffering they are trying to relieve. They are singing the old hymn:
"Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease
While others fought to win the prize
And sa'lei through bloody seas."
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