Some Negro Song Variants from Louisville- K.J. Holzknecht
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 41, No. 162 (Oct. - Dec., 1928), pp. 558-578
SOME NEGRO SONG VARIANTS FROM LOUISVILLE
BY K. J. HOLZKNECHT; New York University
Folk songs, because of the very nature of their growth and transmission, are apt to vary in a noticeable degree with every singer. Lines, words, and even stanzas, slip the memory, and new ones are supplied; refrains are transferred from one song to another, and even major portions of songs are grafted upon strange stems. The following songs and rhymes were obtained from a class of teachers in negro schools of Louisville, Kentucky. Some are songs known from childhood or heard from fathers, mothers, or brothers. Others were learned from pupils or from old friends. Many of the rhymes have a wide currency and will be well-known to students of folk song. Others are less familiar. Where possible I have recorded their similarity to printed versions. Although many of these songs are corruptions and fragments of longer songs, they offer interesting examples of the variation of negro folk song.
RELIGIOUS SONGS
I.
The following is apparently a blending of several old favorites. The refrain, "Old Locke etc.," is obviously a corruption of "The 01' A'k's A-moving," versions of which are to be found in Miss Dorothy Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk Songs, (1925), p. 28; in A. E. Perkins, "Spirituals from the Far South," Journal of American Folk Lore, XXXV, p. 227; and in J. W. Work, Folk Song of the American Negro, p. 73. It is also somewhat similar to "Oh, the Ole Ark's a Movering," in Johnson, Second Book of Negro Spirituals, (1926), p. 25. What appears here as the first stanza is a variant of a song quoted in Odum and Johnson, Negro Workaday Songs, (1927), p. 19o, and is similar in part to "Mos' done lingerin' here," quoted by Miss Scarborough, op. cit., p. 25. The second stanza is less familiar, while the third is an interesting parallel to a version of "Satan's Mad," quoted by E. C. Perrow, "Songs and Rhymes from the South," JAFL, XXVI, 154:
Ole Satan's got an iron shoe
If you don't min' he'll put it on you.
---------------------------------------
Refrain: Old Locke is a moving,
A moving children,
Old Locke is a moving,
Right straight long.
1. If you get there
Before I do,
Watch out for me,
For I'm coming too.
2. Just wait till I get on
My golden shoes,
I'm going to walk about heaven
Going to tell all the news.
3. Old Satan wears
A hypocrite shoe.
If you don't mind
He will catch you.
II.
This song is a variant of one recorded by R. E. Kennedy, Mellows, pp. 93-4, and by Work, op. cit., p. 52, where the first stanza is the same.
Before this time another year
I may be gone.
O Lord, how long?
In some lonesome grave-yard,
O Lord, how long?
The day is coming
And I must go.
O Lord, how long ?
In some lonesome grave-yard,
O Lord, how long?
Sister Martha sang
This good old song.
O Lord, how long?
In some lonesome grave-yard,
O Lord, how long?
III.
Refrain: Way down, way down yonder in the valley,
Way down, down at the tomb.
1. Shout, you children,
Shout and pray,
Down at the tomb.
My soul bears witness
To my Lord,
Down at the tomb.
2. Little did I think
That He was nigh,
Down at the tomb.
He spoke and made me
Laugh and cry,
Down at the tomb.
IV.
The following song is quite probably a version of "Git on board, little chillen," given in Johnson, Book of American Negro Spirituals, (1925), p. 126.
O little children,
Get on the boat;
O little children,
Get on the boat;
For you're many a mile from home.
O little children,
Look to the Lord;
O little children,
Look to the Lord;
For you're many a mile from home.
V.
I've been wandering,
I've been wandering, Lord;
I've been wandering
A long way from home.
I've been waiting,
I've been waiting, Lord;
I've been waiting
A long way from home.
I've been praying,
I've been praying, Lord;
I've been praying
A long way from home.
I'll see heaven,
I'll see heaven, Lord;
I'll see heaven
Though a long way from home.
VI.
For a more elaborate version see Fisher, Seventy Negro Spirituals, p. 178, where neither the "mourners" nor the "sister" is exhorted.
Mourners to-day you had better repent,
Mourners to-day you had better repent,
Mourners to-day you had better repent,
For to-morrow you may die.
Sinners to-day you had better repent,
Sinners to-day you had better repent,
Sinners to-day you had better repent,
For to-morrow you may die.
Sister to-day you had better repent,
Sister to-day you had better repent,
Sister to-day you had better repent,
For to-morrow you may die.
VII.
This song is a composite. The first stanza, without the refrain, is very well known. Professor Perrow quotes several variants which mention the elephant, the ocean, the whale, and the bee, in the JAFL, XXVI, p. 16o; and Professor Talley, Negro Folk Rhymes, p. 93, quotes a second stanza. The refrain is borrowed from another song. G. D. Pike, The Jubilee Singers, (1873), p. 170; and Miss Scarborough, op. cit., p. 225, both quote it, and Professor Perrow, JAFL, XXVIII, p. 135, gives it as the refrain to "Some folks say that a negro won't steal." Cf. N. I. White, American Negro Folk-Songs, (I928), pp. I34ff.
God made a man,
Man made money,
God made a bee,
And the bee made honey,
God made Satan,
And Satan made sin,
God made a hole
And put Satan in.
O mourners, you shall be free,
O mourners, you shall be free,
When the Lord calls the roll.
Look over yonder,
What do I see?
Angels playing that traumerei.
God Almighty
Is coming along,
To take his children
By the arm.
O mourners, you shall be free,
O mourners, you shall be free,
When the Lord calls the roll.
VIII.
For more elaborate versions of this song, yet without either of these stanzas, see Johnson, Book of American Negro Spirituals, p. 6o-61; Seward and White, Jubilee Songs, (1884), p. 64; and J. B. T. Marsh, Story of the Jubilee Singers, (1880), p. 179.
Refrain: Didn't Old Pharoah get lost,
Get lost, get lost;
Didn't Old Pharaoh get lost,
In the deep Red Sea.
1. Moses smote the waters,
And the sea gave way.
Moses smote the waters,
And the sea gave way.
2. God commanded Moses
To take his sword and shield,
To separate the waters
And then take Israel through.
IX.
Nicodemus once desired to know
How can a man be borned
When he is old?
God called Moses
On the mountain top,
And stamped his name
In Moses' heart.
My Lord is going to move
This wicked race,
Going to raise up the nation
That shall obey.
Marvel not, man said,
He wanted to be wise.
Lord, Lord, my Lord
Is going to move
This wicked race,
Going to raise up the nation
That shall obey.
X.
Rock my soul
In the bosom of Abraham,
Rock my soul
In the bosom of Abraham,
O Lord, rock my soul.
Way over yonder,
Where liars can't go,
Lord, rock my soul,
Lord, rock my soul.
Way over yonder,
Where sinners can't go,
Lord, rock my soul,
Lord, rock my soul.
Way over yonder,
Where angels sing,
Lord, rock my soul,
Lord, rock my soul.
XI
O Lord, remember me,
O Lord, remember me,
Do Lord, remember me.
When I'm on my sick bed,
O Lord, remember me,
Do Lord, remember me.
When I'm crossing Jordan's stream,
O Lord, remember me,
Do Lord, remember me.
XII.
Be ready when he comes again,
Be ready when he comes again,
He is coming again so soon.
He got my mother in a dancing house.
He is coming again so soon.
Be ready when he comes again.
He got my father in a gambling house.
He is coming again so soon.
Be ready when he comes again.
Let him take you in the Lord's house.
He is coming again so soon.
Be ready when he comes again.
XIII.
Where are you going
To run to, sinner man,
Way in that day?
Way in that day?
Run to the rock,
And the rock cries out,
"The fault is not in me,"
Way in that day.
Run to the moon,
And the moon will bleed,
Way in that day,
Way in that day.
Run to the sea,
And the sea cries out,
"See me boil!"
Way in that day.
Run to the stars
And the stars will fall.
Way in that day,
Way in that day.
You better be ready,
You better be ready,
Way in that day.
Way in that day.
XIV
I'm going to build
Right on that shore.
I'm going to build
For my Jesus evermore.
I'm going to stand
Right on that shore.
I'm going to stand
For my Jesus evermore.
I'm going to shout
Right on that shore.
I'm going to shout
For my Jesus evermore.
I'm going to pray
Right on that shore.
I'm going to pray
For my Jesus evermore.
XV.
Did you hear, did you hear
'What my Lord has said?
'Come unto me, and be saved."
"If you are a sinner,
Come unto me and be saved."
Did you hear, did you hear
What my Lord has said ?
"Come unto me and be saved."
"If you are a backslider,
Come unto me and be saved."
Did you hear, did you hear
What my Lord has said ?
"Come unto me and be saved."
"If you are a hypocrite,
Come unto me and be saved."
Did you hear, did you hear
What my Lord has said ?
"Come unto me and be saved."
If you are a mourner,
Come unto me and be saved."
XVI.
What's the matter
With the ship ?
She won't go.
Too many hypocrites
Getting on board.
Throw me overboard!
I got a hiding place,
I got a hiding place!
If you want to go to heaven,
Do not lie,
But treat your neighbors right.
Too much sin,
And the ship won't go.
Throw me overboard!
I got a hiding place,
I got a hiding place!
XVII.
Standing by the walls of Zion,
See those ships come sailing by.
Standing by the walls of Zion,
When the trumpet
Sounds the call.
Standing by the shore of Jordan,
See those ships come sailing by.
Standing by the walls of Zion,
When the trumpet
Sounds the call.
XVIII.
Do you ever think about dying ?
O Lord, O Lord;
Do you think it's a mighty hard trial ?
O Lord, O Lord!
Do you ever talk about Jesus ?
O Lord, O Lord;
Don't you think he is a wonderful power ?
O Lord, O Lord!
Do you ever think about heaven ?
O Lord, O Lord;
Would you like to be sitting in His kingdom ?
O Lord, O Lord!
XIX.
I got to go to heaven
To see my mother.
I got to go to heaven
To see my mother.
I can't stay away,
I cant' stay away.
I got to go to heaven
To see my father.
I got to go to heaven
To see my father.
I can't stay away,
I can't stay away.
I got to go to heaven
To see my sister.
I got to go to heaven
To see my sister.
I can't stay away,
I can't stay away.
I got to go to heaven
To see my brother.
I got to go to heaven
To see my brother.
I can't stay away,
I can't stay away.
XX.
I love the Lord
I love the Lord,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart.
He's a mighty God,
He's a mighty God,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart.
He shed his blood,
He shed his blood,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart.
He won't turn you away,
He won't turn you away,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart.
XXI.
For a version of this popular song see Odum and Johnson, Negro Workaday Songs, p. 195; Cf. White, op. cit., p. 89.
O loving Brother,
When the world's on fire,
Don't you want God's bosom
To be your pillar ?
CHORUS: O hide me, O thy Rock of Ages!
Rock of Ages, cleft for me.
O loving Sister,
When the world's on fire,
Don't you want God's bosom
To be your pillar ?
CHORUS: O hide me, O thy Rock of Ages!
Rock of Ages, cleft for me.
XXII.
If you've got to walk
That lonesome valley,
You've got to walk it
For yourself.
If you cannot sing like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the loving Jesus,
You can say he died for all.
XXIII.
I shall not be moved, I shall not be moved,
Be like a tree that is planted by the waters.
I shall not be moved.
Keep on praying in this holy way,
Be like a tree that is planted by the waters.
I shall not be moved.
XXIV.
Better versions of this theme are to be found in Odum and Johnson, Negro Workaday Songs, p. 190; F. J. Work, Folk Songs of the American Negro, p. 66; Perrow, JAFL, XXVI, p. 156-7; and Fisher, Seventy Negro Spirituals, p. 127, where the version is given "as noted in Kentucky by Miss Maria MacDonald." Cf. White, op cit., pp. 58-59.
Oh Mary, don't you weep,
Don't you moan,
Pharaoh's army got drowned,
O Mary, don't you weep.
If I could, if I could,
I'd stand on rocks
Where Moses stood,
Pharaoh's army got drowned.
O Mary, don't you weep,
O Mary, don't you weep,
Don't you moan,
Pharaoh's army got drowned.
XXV.
How do you know,
How do you know,
The blood has signed my name?
The blood has signed my name?
Jesus told me,
Jesus told me,
The blood has signed my name.
The blood has signed my name.
How do you know,
How do you know,
The blood has made me free?
The blood has made me free?
Jesus told me,
Jesus told me,
The blood has made me free.
The blood has made me free.
XXVI.
O Lord, have I done,
O Lord, have I done,
Lord, have I done what you told me to do?
What you told me to do?
You told me to moan.
I've done that too.
Lord, have I done what you told me to do?
You told me to pray.
I've done that too.
Lord, have I done what you told me to do?
XXVII.
He led my mother all the way,
He led my mother all the way,
He led my mother all the way
From lonesome valley.
He's a mighty good leader all the way.
He led my father all the way,
He led my father all the way,
He led my father all the way
From lonesome valley.
He's a mighty good leader all the way.
He led my sister all the way,
He led my sister all the way,
He led my sister all the way
From lonesome valley.
He's a mighty good leader all the way.
He led my brother all the way,
He led my brother all the way,
He led my brother all the way
From lonesome valley.
He's a mighty good leader all the way.
XXVIII.
You belong to that funeral train,
You belong to that funeral train.
Yes, my Lord I know I was borned to die.
You belong to that funeral train.
O sinner, let me say,
You had better obey.
Death will come some day,
And take you away.
You belong to that funeral train.
XXIX.
Refrain: Hush, hush, the angels calling me.
Hush, hush, the angels calling me.
O my Lord, 0 my Lord, what shall I do?
1. I'm so glad trouble don't last always,
I'm so glad trouble don't last always,
I'm so glad trouble don't last always,
0 my Lord, 0 my Lord, what shall I do?
2. I'm so glad I got my religion on time,
I'm so glad I got my religion on time,
I'm so glad I got my religion on time,
O my Lord, O my Lord, what shall I do?
3. Make room in my heart, Lord, for you,
Make room in my heart, Lord, for you,
Make room in my heart, Lord, for you,
O my Lord, O my Lord, what shall I do?
4. Early one morning death came creeping in my room,
Early one morning death came creeping in my room,
Early one morning death came creeping in my room,
O my Lord, O my Lord, what shall I do?
6. O Death, you can't do me no harm,
O Death, you can't do me no harm,
O Death, you can't do me no harm,
O my Lord, O my Lord, what shall I do' ?
XXX.
The same song may be found in Odum and Johnson, Negro and his Songs, p. 93.
Refrain: Stand still, walk sturdy, keep the faith,
There's no one like Jesus.
1. I think I heard a rumbling in the sky,
There's no one like Jesus,
It must be my Lord Jesus passing by,
There's no one like Jesus.
2. Sister Mary went upon the mountain top,
There's no one like Jesus,
She sung a little song and she never did stop,
There's no one like Jesus.
3. She argued with the father and she chattered with the son,
There's no one like Jesus,
She talked about the old world she come from,
There's no one like Jesus.
SECULAR SONGS
I.
For variants see Talley, Negro Folk Rhymes, pp. 116, 203; Miss Scarborough, op. cit., pp. I74-5; and Perrow, JAFL, XXVI, p. 132.
Old Brother Rabbit
Had a mighty bad habit,
He jumped in the pot,
And ate my cabbage.
Old Brother Rabbit,
He dare not holloa,
When I took him by the chin
And made him wallow.
II.
Down through the brier patch,
Rip, rah, ree,
Hey! Brother Fox,
You can't catch me.
Down in the hole
Near the big hollow tree.
Hey! Brother Fox,
You're lost by three.
III.
Two little imps,
Side by side;
Fell by the river,
And didn't want to die.
Sent for the fisherman,
Fisherman said,
"Put 'em in a skiff,
And ride 'emrtao town."
IV.
For other pony songs see Scarborough, op. cit., p. 184; and Perrow, JAFL, XXVI, p. 125.
I had a little pony,
His name was Dap;
He just wouldn't go
Through the big hollow gap.
I had a little pony,
He had a sore chin.
I gave him some water
And made him grin.
I had a little pony,
He would not trot;
I gave him a drop
And there he stopped.
V.
For variants of the refrain "Sing, song, Polly, won't you ki-me-oh?" see Scarborough, op. cit., pp. 156-7 and 285; and Kittredge, JAFL, XXXV, pp. 397 ff. Cf. White, op. cit., p. 175; and Odum and Johnson, Negro Workaday Songs, p. 187.
Way down South
Where I was borned,
Sing-song, Kitty
On to Ki-me-yoo.
The weasel squeaks,
While the rabbit squeals,
Sing-song, Kitty,
On to Ki-me-yoo.
Kee-mo, Ki-mo,
Dear old land!
Come away from behind that hole.
In comes Sally singing;
Sing song winking, blinking,
Sing-song Kitty,
On to Ki-me-yoo.
VI.
As I walk this levee 'round,
As I walk this levee 'round,
I'm looking for the bully,
The bully of the town.
As I walk this levee 'round,
As I walk this levee 'round,
I'm looking for the bully,
That can't be found.
VII.
Who stole the lock?
I don't know.
Who stole the lock
From the hen-house door?
Who heard the rooster?
I don't know.
Call to the hens
Down stairs below.
Who saw them fly?
I don't know.
Up to the top.
As the lock went by?
VIII.
For a variant see Perrow, JAFL, XXVIII, p. 183, where the girl is named Sally Ann. Cf. White, op. cit., pp. 173, 174 and 333.
I went to see Miss Liza Jane,
Standing in the door,
Shoes and stockings in her hand
And her feet all over the floor.
So long, Liza, poor girl,
So long, Liza, Jane.
So long, Liza, poor girl,
She died on the train.
IX.
For a very different variant see Odum and Johnson, Negro Workaday Songs, p. 163.
When I was single,
My pockets went jingle,
And I wish I was single again.
I got me a wife,
And she was the plague of my life,
I wish I was single again.
She beat me and banged me, and then,
She swore she would hang me, and then,
I wished I was single again.
She went after the rope, and then,
My neck she did choke, and then,
I wished I was single again.
She went after the rope, and then,
She got her neck broke, and then,
And I was so glad I was single again.
I went to the grave, and then,
I danced all the way, and then,
So glad I was single again.
I got me another, and then,
She was worse than the other one, then,
I wished I was single again.
Young men, take warning from this, O this,
Be good to the first,
For the next is much worse,
Then you'll wish you were single again.
The following are game songs:
X.
Easy, greasy,
Take it easy;
Salt, pepper,
Vinegar, hot.
Easy, greasy,
Jump like a weasel;
Salt, pepper,
Vinegar, hot.
XI.
"We'll walk this lady,"
So they say,
"A smooth foot lady,"
So they say,
Coming rolling under,
Just a little bit faster;
Coming rolling under,
Just a little bit faster.
XII.
Hey, you bold, bold rambler!
Hey, you cabbage head commander!
You lost all your sweethearts
You had last year.
So rise from your knees,
And take them as you meet,
For they all surround you here.
XIII.
I'm a true love a-hunting
On a long summer's day,
I'm a true love a-hunting
On a long summer's day.
Can you tell me where to find her
On a long summer's day?
Can you tell me where to find her
On a long summer's day?
You'll find her in the valley
On a long summer's day.
You'll find her in the valley
On a long summer's day.
I've found my true love,
On a long summer's day,
I've found my true love,
On a long summer's day.
The following are dance songs:
XIV.
Swing corners all,
Swing corners all,
Now don't forget
To promenade
Right back to place again.
Swing corners all
Swing corners all.
XV.
Heel, toe,
One,two, three;
Heel, toe,
Back we go;
Heel, toe,
Round and round;
Heel, toe,
And one, two, three.