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Be Ready When He Comes Again/Be Ready When He Comes
Tradtional Old-Time, Gospel and bluegrass gospel;
ARTIST: Ruby Pickens Tartt Collection of Religious Folk Songs
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
"Levi Branham, 1852- My Life and Travels" Dalton, Ga.: A.J. Showalter Co. Printers and Publishers, 1929
Southern Echoes. Be Ready When He Comes Nashboro 1956
Ruby Pickens Tartt Collection of Religious Folk Songs
OTHER NAMES: "Be Ready" "He's Coming Again So Soon" "Coming Again So Soon"
SOURCES: Meade; Folk Index
NOTES: "Be Ready When He Comes (Again)" 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."
Here's the earliest version I've found from a 1929 book by a former slave:
"Levi Branham, 1852- My Life and Travels" Dalton, Ga.: A.J. Showalter Co. Printers and Publishers, 1929:
Reverend J. C. Murray, of Dalton, Georgia, came to us in 1922. He seems to be a very faithful church worker. I think he is holding his own very well. He seems to be at his best when he sings, "Be Ready When He comes Again."
BE READY WHEN HE COMES AGAIN- circa 1922 from "Levi Branham, 1852- My Life and Travels" published 1929
Be ready when He comes again,
Be ready when He comes again;
Be ready when He comes again--
He is coming again so soon.
Don't let Him catch you with your work undone,
Don't let Him catch you with your work undone,
Don't let Him catch you with your work undone,
He is coming again so soon.
Be praying when He comes again,
Be praying when He comes again,
Be praying when He comes again,
He is coming again so soon.
Be watching when He comes again,
Be watching when He comes again,
Be watching when He comes again,
He is coming again so soon.
Oh Lord, when He comes again,
Oh Lord, when He comes again,
Oh Lord, when He comes again,
He is coming again so soon.
Don't let Him catch you on the ballroom floor,
Don't let Him catch you on the ballroom floor,
Don't let Him catch you on the ballroom floor,
He is coming again so soon.
Don't let Him catch you with a lying tongue,
Don't let Him catch you with a lying tongue,
Don't let Him catch you with a lying tongue,
He is coming again so soon."
Oh Lord when He comes again,
Oh Lord when He comes again,
Oh Lord when He comes again,
He is coming again so soon.
HE'S COMING AGAIN SOON- Ruby Pickens Tartt Collection of Religious Folk Songs
You got ter pray ter be ready when He come,
You got ter pray ter be ready when He come,
You got ter pray ter be ready when He come,
He is coming again so soon.
You got ter moan ter be ready when He come,
You got ter moan ter be ready when He come,
You got ter moan ter be ready when He come,
He is coming again so soon.
You got ter live ter be ready when He come,
You got ter live ter be ready when He come,
You got ter live ter be ready when He come,
Yes, He is coming again so soon.
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