Religious Folk-Songs of the Southern Negroes

by Howard Washington Odum

He gib de bone a mighty shake,
Fin’ de ole sinners too dry to quake,

Death for the Christian is shouting: death for the sinner is doom. “When I git to heaven, goin’ shout on my knees” gives an accurate picture of what the negro conceives to be happiness. But he not only expects to shout while on earth and when he gets home, but even when he dies. For says he,

My mother dies a shoutin’, an’ I goin’ die shoutin’, too,
Yes, my mother died a shoutin’ an’ I goin’ die shoutin’, too.

My mother died a shoutin’, my mother died a shoutin’,
Yes, my mother died a shoutin’ an’ I goin’ die shoutin’, too.

Still his mother is not the only one who has died shouting; he sings in the same way of father, preacher, brother, sister and others; the slave song included “Missus” and “Marster” or “Massa”. But shouting must not be all. The negro and his brothers, sisters, mother are all to die “mournin’”, and “prayin’”. In “Join de Heaven wid de Angels” the rich voice of one or two leaders and the swelling chorus produce an effect scarcely surpassed.

O join on, join my Lord,
Join de heaven wid de angels;
O join on, join my Lord,
Join de heaven wid de angels.
What kin’ er shoes is dem you wear?
Join de heaven wid de angels;
Dat you kin’ walk upon de air,
Join de heaven wid de angels.
Oh, God don’t talk like a nat’al man,
Join de heaven wid de angels;
He talk to de sinner, he understan’,
Join de heaven wid de angels.
I’m Baptis’ bred an’ I’m Baptis’ bo’n,
Join de heaven wid de angels;
An’ when I die dey’s a Baptis’ gone,
Join de heaven wid de angels.
Jes’ so de tree fall jes’ so it lie,
Join de heaven wid de angels;
Jes so de sinner lib’ jes’ so he die,
Join de heaven wid de angels.

The song has been found in several forms among which one has it that John is to be in de heavens with the angels. In fact the probable origin of “join on” seems to have been “John saw de heaven wid de angels”. In one of the old songs the singer answers,

Dem shoes I wears is gospel shoes,
View de lan’, view de lan’;
An’ you can wear dem if you choose,
View de lan’, view de lan’.

There are other references, too, besides the above, to the denominations of the negro churchmen. It has already been seen that the negro likes “bes’” the “shoutin’ Mefodes’”. So he says “There’s fire in de eas’ an’ fire in de wes; An’ fire among de Methodes’”. He is loyal and proclaims: “Methodist, Methodist is my name, Methodist till I die, I’ll be baptize in the Methodist name, An’ I’ll lib’ on the Methodist side”. In the same way he is Baptist and Presbyterian; the Baptist is the favorite church of the negro, however, and there are more Baptists than all other denominations combined.

The “Angel Band”, while a very simple song in which the chorus constitutes the greater part, is one of the most beautiful that the negroes sing. The tune is a variation of a well-known hymn used by the whites. The power of the song seems to lie in the tender interest which centres about the vivid portrayal of the little angels in the heavenly band. The chorus is repeated after each stanza, while each stanza itself is the repetition of a single line. From one to ten; from ten to twenty and so on to one hundred is ordinarily sung, thus making a lengthy song. The children love to sing the chorus; two forms are ordinarily found, varying the monotony enough to please the negro.

Dere’s one little, two little, three little angels,
Dere’s four little, five little, six little angels.
Dere’s seven little, eight little, nine little angels,
Dere’s ten little angels in de band.
Dere’s leben, dere’s twelve, dere’s thir’een little angels,
Dere’s fourteen, dere’s fifteen, dere’s sixteen little angels.
Dere’s seventeen, dere’s eighteen, dere’s nineteen little angels,
Dere’s twenty little angels in de band.