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Be Ready When He Comes
Tradtional Old-Time, Gospel;
ARTIST: Traditional spiritual from "Shreveport Sounds in Black & White" By Kip Lornell, Tracey E. W. Laird. The first verse is similar to a Skip James verse.
CATEGORY: Traditional and Public Domain Bluegrass Gospel;
DATE: probably 1800s; Recorded by Skip James in 1931.
RECORDING INFO: Be Ready When He Comes
James, Skip/ Brunswick 1931
Riley, Fannie. Solomon, Jack & Olivia (eds.) / Sweet Bunch of Daisies, Colonial Press, Bk (1991), p179
OTHER NAMES: "Be Ready" "He's Coming Again So Soon"
SOURCES: Meade; Folk Index
NOTES: "Be Ready When He Comes" or "He's Coming Again So Soon" is a traditional spiritual, blues song (Skip James) and is a bluegrass gospel song (Linda and Robin Willians 1995). A revival hymn "Be Ready [When He Comes] found in Mead [Me III-F136] by Daniel O. Teasley in 1896 is a different but similar song, it begins:
Would you flee from sin and serve the Lord?
Be ready when He comes;
He will soon appear with His reward,
Be ready when He comes.
CHORUS: Be ready (when He comes),
Be ready,(when He comes)
Be ready when the bridegroom comes;
Be ready (when He comes),
Be ready,(when He comes),
Be ready when He comes.
The connection is made by Meade to Skip James and other African-American versions. The Teasley version uses a call and response type setting similar to many African-American spirituals. It seems that Meade has connected the two versions because of the title but that they are differnt but similar songs.
The spiritual was in the repertoire of African-American Joe Carter who was a teacher, performer, and traveling humanitarian. He died at the age of 57 of leukemia on June 26th, 2006. Here's part of an On-line interview:
Mr. Carter: And that's — yeah, yeah, yeah. And by the way, this woman that I told you about, Jessie Anthony, she was the most dignified soul I'd ever met. The last time I saw her, she was, I think, 88 years old. Her parents were born slaves. And she began to sing the spirituals. She began — she sang at Boston Public Library, she sang at Harvard, demonstrating the music.
And she said, "Joe?" I said, "Yes, Ms. Anthony." She said, "I want you to go into my bedroom and look under my bed and tell me what you see there." And so I went into her bed. I said, "You got a suitcase." She said, "Yes, I do, child." I said, "What's in the suitcase?" And she smiled. She beamed at me.
She said, "In that suitcase, I've got my going-home clothes. Ooh, I've got a beautiful dress in there. Jesus is coming for me any day, don't you know, child?" And she just started laughing. I'll never forget that image. Here was someone who'd gone through all of the changes in culture and society, and now was living in an elder apartment complex in Boston, all of her children in Washington, D.C., and everything. And she was still singing her songs. And she was holding her head up high every place she went.
You know, she was the kind of person who just commanded your respect. And when the young people — whenever we go to her house, she would us the stories, all these songs and everything. And then, she would always end singing one little song.
Give me a C, Tom. And she'd sing, "Children, if you don't remember anything I've told you, if you don't remember any songs that I've sung for you, I want you to remember this one."
(singing)
Be ready when he comes.
Be ready when he comes.
Be ready when he comes.
Oh, Lord, he's coming again so soon.
Be ready when he comes.
Be ready when he comes.
Be ready when he comes.
Oh, Lord, he's coming again so soon. (Jessie Anthony)
"Now, Joe, you be ready." You know, "You be ready, child."
BE READY WHEN SHE COMES- from "Shreveport Sounds in Black & White" By Kip Lornell, Tracey E. W. Laird
VERSE: Oh don't let Him find you lak He did before,
Fiddlin' and dancin' on de ballroon flo'.
Raisin' confusion every where you go,
He's comin', yes, so soon.
CHORUS: Be ready when he comes,
Be ready when he comes, oh Lord
Be ready when he comes,
He's comin', yes, so soon.
Oh be lak Nora in de days of ole,
Build yo' a house for to shelter fo' yo' soul
Don't let it be neither silver nor gold
He's comin', yes, so soon.
CHORUS:
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