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Death, What a Solemn Call/Death Is a Melancholy Call/Awful, Awful, Awful/The Dying Youth/It's Awful, Awful Awful
See Also: A Poor Sinner/Awful, Awful, Awful/Death Is a Melancholy Call/Wicked Girl/Wicked Polly
Traditional Old-Time, Bluegrass Gospel
ARTIST: From American Mountain Songs, 1927, pp. 63, 113
CATEGORY: Traditional Bluegrass Gospel;
DATE: Early 1900s
RECORDING INFO: Death, What a Solemn Call
Richardson, Ethel Park / American Mountain Songs, Greenberg, Bk (1927/1955), p 63
RECORDING INFO: Death Is a Melancholy Call [Laws H 5]
Rt - Lost Youth; Awful Awful Awful; Wicked Polly; Solemn Call to All [Laws H 5]
Laws, G. Malcolm / Native American Balladry, Amer. Folklore Society, Bk (1964/1950), p232
Bailey, Susan. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume IV, Religous Songs and Others, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p 15/#595 [1929/02/17] (Dying Youth)
RECORDING INFO: Awful, Awful, Awful
Ballads and Folksongs from West Virginia p. 60
Belden JOAFL 1912
Journal of American folklore, Volume 70, Page 349 American Folklore Society- 1957
Randolph- Religious songs
RELATED TO: "Young People Who Delight in Sin (Ratliff)" "Advice to Sinners" "Wicked Polly"
OTHER NAMES: "The Dying Youth" Awful Awful Awful;
SOURCES: Randolph- Religious songs; Mudcat;
NOTES: "Death, What a Solemn Call," collected by Richardson and published in American Mountain Songs, 1927, pp. 63, is part of a song family that includes these related songs: Death Is a Melancholy Call; Lost Youth; Wicked Polly; Solemn Call to All; The Dying Youth; and Awful Awful Awful.
According to Richardson, "It was frequently sung on such occasions in the mountains. I copied it from memory in the summer of 1933 after I had heard it at several funeral meetings."
A version of "Awful Awful Awful" is found in Randolph- Religious songs page 15, number 595 titled "The Dying Youth." It's usually in a minor key (JOAFL 1922).
Here's three verses from 1957 JOAFL:
It's Awful, Awful Awful
I saw a youth the other day,
All in his prime did look so gay;
He'd wasted all his time away,
And dropped into eternity,
And it's awful, awful, awful.
At every shore there's quite enough
Without the ladies a-using snuff;
They care not what the people say,
They take a box and rub away,
And it's awful, awful, awful.
And when they're in the house of prayer,
The old snuff box, it's always there;
And when upon their knees they're found,
It's then they pass the snuff round,
And it's awful, awful, awful.
There's a report in the 1922 JOAFL about "Awful Awful Awful" Belden no. 42
W.J. Button; Long Beach California (learned circa 1862)
I saw a youth the other day,
All in his prime, he looked so gay;
But he trifled all his time away,
And now he's brought to eternity,
Oh, it's awful, awful, awful.
C.A. Scott from Everton, Dade Co., Missouri 1906
1. Death is a meloncholy call,
A certain judgement for us all;
Death take teh youth as well as old
And lays them in his arms so cold
'Tis awful, awful, awful.
2. I saw a youth the other day,
All in his prime, he looked so gay;
But he trifled all his time away,
And now he's brought to eternity,
'Tis awful, awful, awful.
3. As he lay on his dying bed,
Eternity begins to dread,
He cries, "Oh Lord I see my state!"
But now I fear I've come too late.
'Tis awful, awful, awful.
4. His Loving parents satnding 'round,
With tears of sorrow dropping down,
He says, "Oh father pray for me,
I am going to eternity."
'Tis awful, awful, awful.
5. His tender sister standing by,
Says, "Dearest brother, you must die,
Your days on earth will soon be past,
Down to the grave you must go at last."
'Tis awful, awful, awful.
6. A few more breaths may be perceived,
Before this young man takes his leave.
"Oh father fare thee well,
I'm drawn by devils down to hell."
'Tis awful, awful, awful.
7. The corpse was laid beneath the ground,
His loving sister standing round.
With aching heart and troubled mind,
To think her brother in hell confined
'Tis awful, awful, awful.
"A Poor Sinner" found in the Brown Collection of NC Foklore, resembles this song in theme, tone, and style as does 'The Wicked Girl' (Wicked Polly) also in Brown. Dorothy Scarborough, SCSM "She says that a Mrs. J. G. Stikeleather of Asheville "sang a fragment of song with a Kentucky scene" and prints a text with stanzas corresponding to the first and last of the following.
'A Poor Sinner.' From Miss Monnie McDonald, Lillington, Harnett county. Not dated. "From her grandmother, as sung at a camp meeting at Cool Springs Methodist Church, near Lillington, NC, during the Civil War." A line seems to have been lost from the third stanza.
1. Hark, sinner, hark, while I relate
What happened in Kentucky State.
A poor young woman lately died;
She dropped from all her wealth and pride.
64 Advice to Sinners
With music. From Miss Fannie Grogan, Silverstone, Watauga county. Words and air by Miss Grogan as "written April 16, 1916, for Lawton Grogan."
1. Oh, Sinner, you'd better take heed to the Saviour's word today.
You will follow the Christian round and still you will not pray.
God in his angry frown, some day will cut you down.
For your body has to lie in the ground.
Chorus: Your body has to lie in the ground.
You will follow the Christian round.
And you'll try to pull him down;
But your body has to lie in the ground.
THE DYING YOUTH- Randolph 1922
1. I saw a youth the other day,
All in his bloom, looking so gay;
He trifled all his time away,
And dropped into eternity,
An' it's awful, awful, awful.
2.As he lay on his dyin' bed,
Eternity he seemed to dread,
He says, "Oh Lord I see my state!"
I am afraid I have come too late.
An' it's awful, awful, awful.
3. His tender sister standing by,
Dear brother she says, "You're goin' to die,
Your joys are over, your days are past,
*And now you're goin' to the grave at last."
An' it's awful, awful, awful.
* filled in from 1922 version above
DEATH IS A MELANCHOLY CALL- Belden, Ballads and Songs (Missouri) 1911
Death is a melancholy call,
A certain judgment for us all.
It takes the young as well as the old
And takes them in his arms so cold.
And it's awful, awful, awful.
I saw a youth the other day,
And in his bloom he looked so gay,
Who trifled all his time away
And sank into eternity.
When he was lying on his deathbed
Eternity he seemed to dread;
He says, "Dear Lord, I see my state,
And I am afraid I've come too late."
With dear parents and friends a-weeping round,
With tears a-flowing to the ground,
He says, "Dear parents, pray for me,
For I am bound for eternity."
A tender sister came weeping by.
Says she, "Dear brother, you are going to die
Your joys are o'er, your days are past
And you are a-going to your grave at last"
A few more breaths he seemed to breathe
Before he took his final leave:
"So, father and mother, fare you well;
I'm dragged by demons down to hell."
His corpse was laid beneath the ground
With brothers and sisters weeping round
With aching hearts and troubled minds
To think their brother's in hell confined.
"Oh, my heart aches, and my heart mourns
To see you all so unconcerned.
Repent, believe, while you have time
Before you are in hell confined."
DEATH IS A SOLEMN CALL- Richardson
Death! What a solemn call to all,
A sudden judgment to us ...
[lyrics currently unavailable]
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