McIntosh County Shouters - "Believer, I Know" (ring shout sound file, video, information, & lyrics)

McIntosh County Shouters, Nov. 18, 2017

Believer, I Know · McIntosh County Shouters

Spirituals and Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast

℗ 2017 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Released on: 2017-01-20

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the ring shout song "Believer I Know" by the McIntosh County Shouters. 

Information about the McIntosh County Shouters is provided in this post along with a sound file of the song "Believer, I know". A documentary video of the McIntosh County Shouters is also included in this post. That video includes the song "Believer I Know" and three other shout songs

My transcription of the lyrics for "Believer, I Know" is also  included in this post. Additions and corrections are welcome.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the McIntosh County Shouters for their cultural and religious legacy. Thanks to Smithsonian Folkways for publishing this video and a record of the McIntosh County Shouters. Thanks also to all those who are  who are quoted in this post.

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SHOWCASE YOUTUBE VIDEO 

McIntosh County Shouters - 'Spirituals and Shout Songs' [Behind The Scenes Documentary]

Smithsonian Folkways, Feb. 1, 2017

In this video, members of the McIntosh County Shouters share the origins of the ring shout, including both its religious and secular traditions, as well as the community it brings. For the folks that practice it, it can be a way to honor and connect with their ancestors. Songs Featured (In Order): "This Might Be Our Last Time" "Drive Ol' Joe" "Believer, I Know" 'Spirituals and Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast' is available on CD and Digital.

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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MCINTOSH COUNTY SHOUTERS (with information about the ring shout)
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxPU5517u8c&t=8s&ab_channel=LibraryofCongress McIntosh County Shouters: Gullah-Geechee Ring Shout from Georgia

Library of Congress, Apr 12, 2011

The McIntosh County Shouters perform Gullah-Geechee Ring Shout at a concert at the Library.

Speaker Biography: The McIntosh County Shouters is a ten-member Gullah-Geechee group that began performing professionally in 1980. They have educated and entertained audiences around the United States with the "ring shout," a compelling fusion of counterclockwise dance-like movement, call-and-response singing, and percussion consisting of hand claps and a stick beating the rhythm on a wooden floor. African in its origins, the ring shout affirms oneness with the Spirit and ancestors as well as community cohesiveness. The ring shout was first described in detail during the Civil War by outside observers in coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia. Its practice continued well into the 20th Century, even as its influence was resounding in later forms like spiritual, jubilee, gospel and jazz. By the late 20th century, the ring shout itself was presumed to have died out until its rediscovery in McIntosh County in 1980; thus, the beginning of the McIntosh County Shouters. The group was awarded the NEA National Heritage Fellowship in 1993, and were selected as Producers of Distinction and Founding Members of the "Georgia Made Georgia Grown Program," in 2009. Their performances include the National Black Arts Festival, of Smithsonian Folklife Festival, World Music Institute, and Sound Legacies at Emory University. The group has been featured in magazines and documentaries, including HBO's Unchained Memories.
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This video includes the McIntosh County Shouters performing some examples of ring shouts.

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LYRICS - BELIEVER, I KNOW
(McIntosh County Shouters)

Believer believer
(Believer I know)
Lord, believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, believer, believer [Start shout movement with stick pounding on floor and hand claps, continue singing with the same tempo throughout.]
(Believer I know)
Lord, believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, believer, believer
(Believer I know)
Lord, believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, believer, believer
(Believer I know)
Lord, believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, it’s sure nuff rough and rugged
(Believer, I know)
Lord, it’s sure nuff rough and rugged
(Believer I know)
My God, believer, believer
(Believer oh, I know)
Believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, everybody’s got fever
(Believer I know)
My God, everybody’s got fever
(Believer, oh I know)
My God believer, believer
(Believer, I know)
Lord, believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
Lord, now’s it’s time for prayin
(Believer, I know)
Lord, now it’s time for prayin
(Believer, oh I know)
My God believer, believer
(Believer, I know)
Lord, believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, I stretch my hand to glory
(Believer, I know)
Oh, I stretch my hand to glory
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, believer, believer
(Believer, I know)
My God, believer, believer
(Believer, oh I know)
Lord, it’s sure nuff rough and rugged
(Believer, I know)
Lord, it’s sure nuff rough and rugged
(Believer, oh I know)
Lord, everybody dyin of fever
(Believer, I know)
Lord, everybody dyin of fever
(Believer, oh I know)
Lord, now’s it’s time for prayin
(Believer, I know)
Lord, now it’s time for prayin
(Believer, oh I know)
My God, I stretch my hand to glory
(Believer, I know)
Oh, I stretch my hand to glory
(Believer, oh I know)

[...] 

[Continue repeating these words in this same pattern.]
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This is my unofficial transcription of this song.  I'm unsure of the lyrics given in parenthesis. 

Additions and corrections are welcome for this entire song. 

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