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Bright and Morning Star/The Sons of Levi
Traditional Gospel;
ARTIST: Walter and Lola Caldwell, vocals with guitar. Recorded 1934 in Ashland, Kentucky, by Jean Thomas. Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song 294 B.
CATEGORY: Traditional And Shape-Note Gospel;
DATE: 1900s; 1934 Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song 294 B.
RECORDING INFO: Bright and Morning Star
New World Records
OTHER NAMES: "The Sons of Levi"
SOURCES: New World Records Liner notes; Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song 294 B.
NOTES: "Bright and Morning Star" is a traditional Walter and Lola Caldwell from Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song 294 B released by New World Records.
Liner notes: Duet singing was considerably facilitated by the introduction into Southern folk culture of the guitar immediately after World War I. It has remained the most popular form of secular ensemble singing, and during the thirties duet styles totally dominated commercial country music. Aside from unison, the most basic form of duet singing is in octaves, much as Walter and Lola Caldwell do here. In spite of the regulating influence of the guitar, the Caldwells manage to stress certain syllables at
unorthodox places. Their style is tense, and they often slide into pitches. The two voices are not quite synchronized: Lola Caldwell especially ornaments her singing, using some degree of feathering. This particular style of octave singing could be cited as further evidence of a relation between singing style and sex role.
"Bright and Morning Star" is a rare sacred song that has been infrequently collected or studied. Harvey Fuson in his Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands (London, 1930) prints a variant under the title "The Sons of Levi"; like the Caldwells' song, it was found in eastern Kentucky. Much of the song's imagery and biblical background are from the Book of Joshua.
Bright and Morning Star- Walter and Lola Caldwell, vocals with guitar.
Recorded 1934 in Ashland, Kentucky, by Jean Thomas. Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song 294 B.
Chorus: We are the trueborn sons of Levi,
We are the trueborn sons of God,
We are the roots and the branch of David,
The bright and glorious morning star.
When Joshua and I crossed the Jordan,
Two leaves of corn we lifted high,
To the high priest and the grand master,
We bore the ark of God and son.
(Chorus)
Come all ye knights, ye knights of Molite,
And learn to do as I have done,
You might have been a guard much brighter,
When in the new Jerusalem.
In the tent [unintelligible] the ark was resting,
And there we did receive the word,
One day would come and ram horn sounded,
They found it out before the ark.
(Chorus)
When Moses planted the rod of Aaron,
And in one night that rod did bud,
When Moses smote the Egyptian water,
That very night it turned to blood.
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