|
Can't Cross Jordan
Traditional Spiritual and Gospel Hymn;
ARTIST: From Miss Pearle Webb, Pineola, Avery county, August 1922. Brown Collection of NC Folk Lore
CATEGORY: Traditional and Shape-Note Gospel;
DATE: probably 1800s; 1922
RECORDING INFO: Can't Cross Jordan
Brown Collection of NC Folk Lore
OTHER NAMES: "They've Taken my Lord Away, Away"
RELATED TO: "You Got to Cross It for Yohself (Lonesome Valley)"
SOURCES: Brown Collection of NC Folk Lore;
NOTES: "Can't Cross Jordan" is an old traditional African-American collected from Miss Pearle Webb, Pineola, Avery County, NC in August, 1922 and is No. 558 in the Brown Collection of NC Folk Lore.
Some biblical facts about "crossing Jordan":
1. Israelites could not cross Jordan by themselves. If they had tried they would all
have been drowned and washed into the Dead Sea.
2. When we come to the River of death we can't cross alone. If we try we shall be
swept into the bottomless pit.
3. Israelites could cross because God was in their midst
4. We will be able to cross that river only if God and Christ are with us when we
cross.
The Jordan River P. 5
5. David said Ps. 23:4 "yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
558 Can't Cross Jordan- Brown Collection of NC Folk Lore
The song is related, in part, to "You Got to Cross It for Yohself," Jackson WNS 183, and it is composed largely of spiritual commonplaces.
'Can't Cross Jordan.' From Miss Pearle Webb, Pineola, Avery county, August 1922. Recording, Pineola, N. C, 1922. With stanza 4 compare 'As I Went Down in the Valley to Pray,' No. 553.
1. Can't cross Jordan and you can't go around,
Can't cross Jordan and you can't go around,
Can't cross Jordan and you can't go around,
If you've got no Jesus you'll be sure to drown.
Chorus: They've taken my Lord away, away, away,
They've taken my Lord away, away.
Oh, tell me where you've laid him.
2. What kind of shoes does a Christian wear?
What kind of shoes does a Christian wear?
What kind of shoes does a Christian wear?
Slippin' and a-slidin' through the air.
3. I'll tell you how them hypocrites do, (tres)
They serve the Lord and the devil too.
4. As I went down in the valley to pray, (tres)
I met old Satan upon my way.
5. I've done been down and I've done been tried, (tres)
I've been to the river and I've been baptized.
6. Oh, don't you hear them horses' feet, (tres)
A-rambling down the golden street?
7. Ezekiel was a man and free from sin, (tres)
Heaven's door was open and Ezekiel walked in.
B. No title. From Miss Jennie Belvin, Durham, July 1922. Recording, Durham, 1922. Contributor notes: "Negro." One stanza (with no textual indications of repetition) and chorus.
Can't cross Jordan, and can't go around;
If you ain't got grace you sholy will drown.
Chorus: Uh — they done taken my Lord away — ay,
Uh, they done taken my Lord away.
Show me where to find Him.
|