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Don't You Weep Mary/Oh Mary, Don't You Weep
Traditional Spiritual
ARTIST: From Kingston Trio; Close Up, Capitol T 1642, LP (1961), trk# A.04
YouTube:
SHEET MUSIC:
CATEGORY: Traditional and Public Domain Gospel
DATE: 1800s; 1915 (recording, Fisk University Male Quartette)
RECORDING INFO: Don't You Weep Mary/Oh Mary, Don't You Weep [Me III-C 5]
Mf - If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus
Pb - Oh, Sisters Don't You Weep
Sandburg, Carl (ed.) / American Songbag, Harcourt, Sof (1955/1928), p476 (Pharaoh's Army Got Drownded)
Leisy, James / Songs for Pickin' and Singin', Gold Medal Books, sof (1962), p198
Carawan, Guy & Candie / Sing for Freedom, Sing Out, sof (1990), p 58
Lynn, Frank (ed.) / Songs for Swinging Housemothers, Fearon, Sof (1963/1961), p312
Best, Dick & Beth (eds.) / New Song Fest Deluxe, Hansen, Sof (1971/1948), p148
Winds of the People, Sing Out, Sof (1982), p 35
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p 63
Sandburg, Helga (ed.) / Sweet Music, Dial, Bk (1963), p101 (Pharaoh's Army)
Benziger, Barbara; & Eleanor Dickinson (eds.) / That Old-Time Religion, Harper & Row, Sof (1975), p 87
Silverman, Jerry / Folk Guitar - Folk Song, Scarborough Book, Sof (1983/1977), p130
Work, John W. / American Negro Songs and Spirituals, Dover, Bk (1998/1940), p176
Leisy, James F. (ed.) / Folk Song Abecedary, Bonanza, Bk (1966), p245
Abe and Malka. Mandelblatt, Abe & Malka A. / 100 Guitar Accompanyments, Amsco, Sof (1974), p156
Cleland, Becky;, Ben and Wayne Seymour. Down in the Valley to Pray, Kudzu KPP 008, CD (2002), trk# 21
Davis, Bill. Sounds of the Smokies, Old Traditions BWD 51471, LP (1971), trk# A.04
Halifax Three. Halifax Three, Epic BN 26038, LP (1963), trk# B.06
Hurt, Mississippi John. Mississippi John Hurt, Vol. 3. Sacred and Secular, Heritage (England) HT320, LP (1988), trk# 9 [1963/07/15] (Mary Don't You Weep)
Hurt, Mississippi John. Worried Blues, Piedmount PLP-13161, LP (1964), trk# 9
Hurt, Mississippi John. Garwood, Donald / Masters of Instrumental Blues Guitar, Oak, Fol (1967), p43
Kingston Trio. Close Up, Capitol T 1642, LP (1961), trk# A.04 (Don't You Weep Mary)
Kingston Trio. Rediscover the Kingston Trio, Folk Era FE 2001, LP (1985), trk# A.04 [1960ca] (Oh, Mary)
Leadbelly. Leadbelly's Last Sessions, Part 4, Folkways FA 2942, LP (196?), trk# 11 (Mary Don't You Weep)
Leadbelly. Lomax, John & Alan Lomax (eds.) / Leadbelly. A Collection of World Famou, Folkways, sof (1959), p51 (Mary Doncha Weep)
Schilling, Jean. Old Traditions, Traditional JS-5117, LP (1974/1967), trk# A.03 (Mary Don't You Weep)
Seeger, Pete. Seeger, Pete / American Favorite Ballads, Oak, Fol (1961), p78
Sheer, Anita. Anita Sheer, MGM E-4225, LP (196?), trk# B.06
Song Spinners. Johnson, Margaret & Travis (eds) / Early American Songs from ... the Spi, AMP, Fol (1943), #39
Steamboat Entertainers. Galax International, Heritage (Galax) 067, LP (1988), trk# C.01 [1985/06/10]
Taussig, Harry. Taussig, Harry / Folk-Style Guitar, Oak, Sof (1973), p 97
The Swan Silvertones,
The Soul Stirrers,
The Caravans,
Take 6,
Trin-i-tee 5:7,
Mike Farris
Ballad Index: Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep
DESCRIPTION: "If I could I surely would Stand on the rock where Moses stood, Pharaoh's army got drowned, Oh Mary don't you weep." Verses describing the Exodus and how God cares for humanity, with the "Pharaoh's army..." chorus
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1915 (recording, Fisk University Male Quartette)
KEYWORDS: Bible religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (6 citations):
BrownIII 545, "Pharaoh's Army" (4 texts, mostly short)
Sandburg, pp. 476-477, "Pharaoh's Army Got Drowned" (1 short text, 1 tune)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 200, "Pharaoh's Army Got Drownded" (1 short text, with chorus "Pharaoh's army got drowned In the deep blue sea"; it might be a separate song, but is too short to classify on its own.)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 78, "Oh, Mary Don't You Weep" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 354, "Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep" (1 text)
DT, OHMARY
Roud #11823
RECORDINGS:
Biddleville Quintette, "Pharoah's Army Got Drowned" (QRS 7073, 1929)
Birmingham Jubilee Singers, "Pharoah's Army Got Drowned" (Columbia 14203-D, 1927)
Leo Boswell & Merritt Smith, "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" (Supertone 2825, n.d.)
Fisk University Male Quartette, "O Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn" (Columbia A1895, 1915)
Georgia Yellow Hammers, "Mary Don't You Weep" (Victor 20928, 1927)
Morris Family, "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" (Vocalion 5465, 1940)
Richmond Starlight Quartette, "Mary, Don't You Weep" (OKeh, unissued, 1929)
Pete Seeger, "Oh, Mary Don't You Weep" (on PeteSeeger15, 2 versions) (on PeteSeeger17); "Mary Don't You Weep" (on PeteSeeger24); "O Mary Don't You Weep" (on PeteSeeger26)
Southern Four, "Good News, Chariot's Comin'! and O Mary, Doan You Weep" (Edison 50885, 1921)
Ex-Governor Alf Taylor & his Old Limber Quartet, "Pharoah's Army Got Drownded" (Victor 19451, 1924)
Virginia Female Jubilee Singers, "O Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn" (OKeh 4430, 1921)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Can'cha Line 'Em" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Keep Your Hand on the Plow" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Don't You Hear My Hammer Ringing" (lyrics)
cf. "Heaven and Hell" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Lord, I Never Will Come Back Here No Mo'" (floating lyrics)
Notes: Although loosely based on the stories of the Exodus, there is a lot that is non-Biblical here (e.g. there is no reference in the New Testament to Mary ever wearing a chain. The closest reference I can think of is Luke 2:25, where Simeon tells Mary, "A sword will pierce your own soul too").
The reference to the "rock where Moses stood" is, I believe, to Ex. 17:5, where Moses stood on the rock and struck it to bring forth water.
Moses, according to modern interpretations, did not "smite" the Red Sea (or "Sea of Reeds"), but in Ex. 14:15 he may have stretched the staff over the sea (in Ex. 14:21, 26-27 he simply "stretched his hand over the sea"; it's worth noting that most scholars think there are two mixed accounts here, one where a wind blew the water aside and one where the waters miraculously parted).
God gave the sign of the [rain]bow in Gen. 9:13f. - RBW
In every version I've heard of this song, the word in the chorus is "drownded," not "drowned." - PJS
Same here. On the other hand, I've only heard Pop Folk sorts of versions. Of Brown's four versions, two (including the most substantial) have "drowned," two have "drowneded." - RBW
OTHER NAMES: "A Mighty Tide Is Rising"
RELATED TO:
SOURCES: Negro Melodies Plantation Pieces, Camp Meeting Songs and Poems &c
NOTES: "Don't You Weep Mary" or usually "O Mary Don't You Weep" or "Mary Don't You Weep" is a traditional spiritual. "Don't You Weep Mary" is the title given to the song by The Kingston Trio (lyrics below).
It does seem pretty evident that in this particular song the Mary originally referred to is Mary aka Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, rejoicing at the downfall of Pharoah's army:
"To horse! cried Pharao, and swept the chariots and horsemen on into the sea; and the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, while the sons of Israel went through the midst of it dry-shod.
Hereupon Mary the prophetess, Aaron's sister, went out with a tambour in her hand, and all the women-folk followed her, with tambour and with dances, and took up her refrain, A psalm for the Lord, so great and so glorious; horse and rider hurled into the sea." (Exodus 15, 19-21)
Mary Don't You Weep: From Wikipedia
"Mary Don't You Weep" (alternately titled "O Mary Don't You Weep", "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn", or variations thereof) is a Negro spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War[1] – thus it is what scholars call a "slave song," "a label that describes their origins among the enslaved," and it contains "coded messages of hope and resistance."[2] It is one of the most important of Negro spirituals.[1]
The song tells the Biblical story of Mary of Bethany and her distraught pleas to Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead.[1] Other narratives relate to The Exodus and the Passage of the Red Sea, with the chorus proclaiming Pharaoh's army got drown-ded!, and to God's rainbow covenant to Noah after the Great Flood.[1] With liberation thus one of its themes, the song again become popular during the 1950s and 1960s American Civil Rights Movement.[1]
The first recording of the song was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1915.[1] The best known recordings were made by the vocal gospel group The Caravans in 1958, with Inez Andrews as the lead singer, and The Swan Silvertones in 1959.[3][1] "Mary Don't You Weep" became The Swan Silvertones' greatest hit,[4] and lead singer Claude Jeter's interpolation "I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name" served as Paul Simon's inspiration to write his 1970 song "Bridge over Troubled Water".[5][4] The spiritual's lyric God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water the fire next time inspired the title for The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin's 1963 account of race relations in America.[1]
Many other recordings have been made, by artists ranging from The Soul Stirrers to Burl Ives. Pete Seeger gave it additional folk music visibility by performing it at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, and played it many times throughout his career, adapting the lyrics and stating the song's relevance as an American song, not just a spiritual.[6] Aretha Franklin recorded the song for her 1972 album Amazing Grace. An a cappella version by Take 6, simply called "Mary", received wide airplay after appearing on the group's eponymous debut album in 1988. The song is sung briefly at the beginning of the music video for Bone Thugs N Harmony's 1996 "Tha Crossroads". In a pounding big group folk arrangement, it was one of the highlights of the 2006 Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour.[7][8] The song also appears on Mike Farris' 2007 album Salvation in Lights; his performance of it at the 7th Annual Americana Music Honors & Awards show the following year, backed by The McCrary Sisters, reinforced his winning of New Emerging Artist of the Year.
A song that chronicles the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, "If you miss me from the back of the bus", written by Charles Neblett of The Freedom Singers, was sung to this tune.
[edit] References
^ a b c d e f g h Marsh, Dave. "Dave Marsh's Notes for Bruce Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions"". Brucespringsteen.net. http://www.brucespringsteen.net/Seeger_Marsh_notes.pdf. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
^ Wren, Brian A. (2000). Praying twice: the music and words of congregational song. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 194–95. ISBN 9780664256708. http://books.google.com/books?id=YGLd5t-CT70C&pg=PA194.
^ Boyer, Horace Clarence (2000). The golden age of gospel. U of Illinois P. pp. 176–78. ISBN 9780252068775. http://books.google.com/books?id=EzZ7GjkQixkC&pg=PA177.
^ a b Erlewine, Michael. "The Swan Silvertones: Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifqxqq5ld0e~T1. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
^ Sisario, Ben. "Claude Jeter, Gospel Singer With Wide Influence, Dies at 94 ", The New York Times, January 10, 2009. Accessed January 11, 2009.
^ Winkler, Allan M. (2009). To Everything There Is a Season: Pete Seeger and the Power of Song. Oxford UP. p. 101–102. ISBN 9780195324815. http://books.google.com/books?id=1o-tCImWhQEC&pg=PA101.
^ J. Freedom du Lac (2006-05-30). "Detour From E Street". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/29/AR2006052901110.html. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
^ Melissa Block (2006-04-26). "Springsteen Speaks: The Music of Pete Seeger". All Things Considered (NPR). http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5362968. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
[edit] External links
Lyrics at Gospelsonglyrics.org
Matt Orel's recordings history
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Don%27t_You_Weep"
DON'T YOU WEEP, MARY- Kingston Trio
Note sounded like a pitch pipe--"Thank you, Sister."
Chorus: Oh, Mary, don't you weep, don't you mourn. (Repeat)
Didn't Pharaoh's army get drownded? Oh, Mary, don't you weep. (Repeat first time)
Well, Satan got mad and he knows I'm glad. Missed that soul that he thought he had.
Now, didn't Pharaoh's army get drownded? Oh, Mary, don't you weep.
(Chorus)
Well, one of these nights around twelve o'clock, this old town's gonna really rock.
Didn't Pharaoh's army get drownded? Oh, Mary, don't you weep.
(Chorus)
Cheer up, sisters and don't you cry. There'll be good times bye and bye.
Didn't Pharaoh's army get drownded? Oh, Mary, don't you weep.
(Chorus twice)
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