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Blind Man Lay Beside the Way/De Blin' Man/Bible's Right, The/Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried
Tradtional Old-Time, Spiritual;
ARTIST: from Mississippi John Hurt; Library of Congress Recordings- Volume 2; 1963
Josh White: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hnuJZt7Mvk&feature=related
White Spiritual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma5nbBvUCXc
Spiritual arr. H. T. Burleigh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGySzjrMCJc
Contemporary version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3xPA6Vj6cA
CATEGORY: Traditional and Public Domain Bluegrass Gospel;
DATE: 1800s; 1909 Howard W. Odum, "Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes" (American Journal of Psychology and Education, vol. iii, p. 356).
RECORDING INFO: Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried
Lomax, J. A. & A. Lomax / American Ballads and Folk Songs, MacMillan, Bk (1934), p596 [1920s]
Sandburg, Carl (ed.) / American Songbag, Harcourt, Sof (1955/1928), p452 (Blind Man Lay Beside the Way)
Lomax, Alan / Folksongs of North America, Doubleday Dolphin, Sof (1975/1960), p473/#245 [1930s] (Blind Man)
Hurt, Mississippi John. D.C. Blues, Vol 2. Library of Congress Rec...,, Fuel 302 061 495 2, CD (2003), trk# 1.15 [1963/07] (Blind Man Sit in the Way and Cried)
OTHER NAMES: “The Blind Man,” "Blind Man Lay Beside the Way," "Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried"
SOURCES: from Journal of American folklore, Volume 27 By American Folklore Society 1914.
NOTES: "Blind Man Sit In the Way and Cried" is taken from fingerstyle blueman Mississippi John Hurt's Library of Congress Recordings- Volume 2 in 1963. Curiously, Hurt doesn't sing the title "Blind Man Sit In the Way and Cried" at all- instead he sings, "Blind man sit on the road and cried." This recording, done at towards the end of his career, is more important as a guitar arrangement than a vocal or textual arrangement. Hurt only gives one verse and tries to come up with another but can't seem to remember any more. Still his guitar does the talking for him and it's an interesting version.
Better known by the titles, “The Blind Man,” or "Blind Man Stood on the Way and Cried" the gospel song is a well known African-American spiritual. Below is a version from the Journal of American folklore, Volume 27 By American Folklore Society in 1914.
The song has more recently become a campfire song and is used as a praise song in contemporary services with a slightly different form. Most contemporary versions use the repeated chord progression: Em D C B7 or Am G F E7.
Blind Man
Am G F E7
Blindman stood by the road and he cried
Am G F E7
Blindman stood by the road and he cried
Am G F E7
Blindman stood by the road and he cried
E7
He cried, whoa!
E7 Am G F
Show me the way,
E7 Am G F
Show me the way,
E7 Am G F
Show me the way,
E7
The way to go home.
THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION p. 356; Volume 3 JULY, 1909. No. 8; Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes by Howard Odum; Fellow in Psychology, Clark University.
BLIND MAN- Again in "The Blind Man" the picture is one of confusing the scriptural scenes with those of the present, and of placing himself in the stead of the central character of the story.
Well the blind man stood by the grave and cried,
Well the blind man stood by the grave and cried,
Yes, the blind man stood by the wave and cried.
He cried, "O Lord, don't you hear po' me?"
Hark, the blind man stood by the wave and cried,
He cried, "O Lord, don't you hear po' me?
"Brother don't you hear the blind cries, blind cries?
Brother don't you hear the blind cries, blind cries?
O brother, don't you hear the blind cries?
Jesus he give de blind man sight, blind man sight,
Jesus he give de blind man sight, blind man sight,
Yes, Jesus he give de blind man sight.
He also sings "sister, don't you hear," etc., brother, father, preacher.
Blind Man Sit on the Way and Cried- Mississippi John Hurt 1963
Instrumental
Blind man sit on the road and cried,
Blind man sit on the road and cried,
Cried, "Oh Lord, save my soul,
I want to go to heaven when I die."
Instrumental
Blind man sit on the road and cried,
Blind man sit on the road and cried,
Cried, "Oh Lord, save my soul,
Blind man sit on the road and cried."
Instrumental
Lord, Lord save my soul,
Lord, Lord save my soul,
[Instrumental rest of this verse]
Blind man sit on the road and cried,
[sings oh] [plays instrumental]
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