Two Interpretations Of The African American Spiritual "You Gotta Move When The Spirit Says Move"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a four part pancocojams series that showcases renditions of the African American Spiritual "Move When The Spirit Says Move" or are based, at least in part, on that Spiritual.

This pancocojams post showcases two examples of the African American Spiritual "Move When The Spirit Says Move".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/three-examples-of-african-american.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases three renditions of the African American Spiritual "I'm Gonna Sing When The Spirit Says Sing". I believe that an earlier title for that Spiritual is "Move When The Spirit Says Move".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/two-examples-of-african-american.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases two examples of Moses Hogan's arrangement of this Spiritual which he re-titled "I'm Gonna Sing Till The Spirit Moves In My Heart". I believe that an earlier title for this Spiritual is "You Gotta Move When The Spirit Says Move".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/mississippi-fred-mcdowell-you-gotta.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV showcases Mississippi Fred McDowell's Blues song "You Gotta Move".

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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EARLY VERSIONS OF THIS SONG
[added 2:39 PM 4/23/2017]

Subject: YOU GOTS TO MOVE
From: Dicho
Date: 11 Nov 01 - 10:22 PM

YOU GOTS TO MOVE

Cho.
You gots to move, you gots to move,
You gots to move, you gots to move,
When de Lord gits ready, you gots to move.

You may be high, you may be low,
You may be rich, you may be po',
For when de Lord gits ready, you gots to move.

Father move (4 times)
For when de Lord gits ready, you gots to move.

Other verses obvious.

Annie Holmes, Murrells Inlet, SC. John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip.
Benjamin H. Broadie (1948) has a version re-issued on Document Records, DOCD 5585. (England)
@religion @gospel
-snip-
"Obvious" additional verses are those that begin with a noun or pronoun that replaces the word "you" or "father" (probably "mother" move; "sister move", "brother move", preacher move" etc.

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From From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=41044

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: YOU GOTS TO MOVE
From: masato sakurai
Date: 12 Nov 01 - 07:53 PM

... Post-war versions are by Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Zion Travelers, Charlie Jackson, Clarence Fountain, Marion Williams (the title is "The New You've Got to Move"), the Fairfield Four, Pearly Brown (on video It's a Mean Old World), the Moving Star Hall Singers (on Tribute to the Robert Johnson Era; and Been in the Storm So Long), and Rev. Gary Davies. Guitar Slim's "Come On My Kitchen" uses the same tune (on Living Country Blues, disc 2). Another version ("You Got ter Move") was collected by Ruby Pickens Tartt in Alabama in 1930s (in Olivia and Jack Solomon, Honey in the Rock, p. 16).
~Masato

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: "When The Spirit Moves, You've Got To Move" The Gabriel Hardeman Delegation

Johnzoe777, Uploaded on Aug 16, 2011

The Gabriel Hardeman Delegation Title of Album "Lift Him Up" "When The Spirit Moves, You Got To Move" Soloist: Gabriel Hardeman "1978"
-snip-
This is an arrangement of this African American Spiritual (with added lyrics).

This song reinforces the interpretation that the Spiritual "You Gotta Move When The Spirit Says Move"
is about "Gettin' Happy", "doing the holy dance", "goin' in" because you feel the Holy Spirit.

Here are two comments from this sound file's discussion thread:
mrhammondb3, 2011
"The whole album is hot :-), gabriel is an awesome writer"
**
Reply
newcreature2011, 2011
"This song is SMOKIN!!!"

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Example #2: Tema Youth Choir - When The Spirit Says Move



Nana Ankomah, Published on Feb 17, 2016
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tema
"Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District."
-snip-
I learned this song as "You Gotta Move When The Spirit Says Move" when I was a child in the 1950s (in Union Baptist Temple Church, Atlantic City, New Jersey). That song has a slightly different tune and a slightly different. We sang:
"You gotta move when the Spirit says move [3x]
When the Spirit says move, you gotta move, Lord
You gotta move when the Spirit says move."

2nd verse: You gotta shout...

3rd verse: You gotta pray...
-snip-
While this song may have originally referred to how people had to "get happy", "do the Holy dance" when they felt the Holy Spirit, I sometimes find myself singing this song to myself when I need to do something important that is difficult to do.

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