African American Christmas Song - "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" (information, video, and lyrics)

Spelman College,   Dec 23, 2019

Children, Go Where I Send Thee, arr. Kevin Johnson

Performed by the Spelman College Glee Club during the 93rd Annual Spelman-Morehouse Christmas Carol Concert.

Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams post showcases a video of the Spelman College Glee Club performing the song "Children Go Where I Send Thee". Information about and "standard" lyrics for that African American Christmas song are also included in this post. The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of "Children, Go Where I Send Thee". Thanks also to all those who quoted in this post and all those who are featured in this showcase video.
-snip- Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-probable-connection-between-english.html for Part I and http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-probable-connection-between-english.html for Part II of a 2015 posts about "Children, Go Where I Send Thee". Some of the information that is presented in Part I of that series is also quoted in this 2022 pancocojams post.  However, the 2015 Wikipedia page for this song has been revised and includes information that "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" was first collected from African American singers in 1934 and not in 1936.

Part II of that 2015 pancocojams series showcases several videos of children singing this song and several lyric versions of that song. ****
INFORMATION ABOUT FOR "CHILDREN, GO WHERE I SEND THEE"Excerpt #1 From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children,_Go_Where_I_Send_Thee [retrieved 2015] " "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" is a traditional African-American spiritual song, as well as a cumulative song. This song is also known as "The Holy Baby" or "Born in Bethlehem." There are many versions of this song, each giving a Biblical meaning to the numbers mentioned....
**** Excerpt #2 From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children,_Go_Where_I_Send_Thee [retrieved 2022]

“Children, Go Where I Send Thee” (alternatively “Children, Go Where I Send You” or variations thereof, also known as “The Holy Baby,” “Little Bitty Baby,” or “Born in Bethlehem”) is a traditional African-American spiritual song.[1] Among the many different versions of the song, a defining feature is the cumulative structure, with each number (typically up to 12 or 10) accompanied by a biblical reference. Today, many Americans know it as a Christmas carol.[2]

[...]

Origins

The song’s origins are uncertain; however, its nearest known relative is the English folk song “The Twelve Apostles.”[2] Both songs are listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as #133. Parallel features in the two songs’ cumulative structure and lyrics (cumulating to 12 loosely biblical references) make this connection apparent. While “The Twelve Apostles” began appearing in English folk song collections in the mid-eighteen hundreds, the song’s origins likely span back much further. Possible earlier points of origin include the traditional Yiddish Passover song “Echad Mi Yodea,” which was first documented in the 16th century.[2]

In 1908 in Gloucestershire, composer Percy Grainger used a phonogram to capture the earliest known sound recordings of “The Twelve Apostles.”[5] From 1908 to 1917, folklorist Cecil Sharp transcribed multiple versions of “The Twelve Apostles” in Appalachia, providing evidence of the song’s propagation into the American South.[6]

In 1934, folklorists John Avery Lomax and Alan Lomax travelled to Bellwood Labor Camp in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of a field recording trip. This trip produced the earliest known version of the tune to be recorded in North America. Sung by an unidentified group of African-American convicts, the recording presents a number of notable elements that begin to distinguish the song from its English ancestor.... The lyrics also show a trend toward those more commonly associated with “Children, Go Where I Send Thee.” For instance, the line “Two, two, the lily-white boys clothed all in green” in Grainger’s recording [of "The Twelve Apostles"] has become “One was the little white babe all dressed in blue” in the Bellwood Prison Camp recording.[7][2]

“Children, Go Where I Send Thee” became further distanced from its English ancestor with The Golden Gate Quartet’s 1937 commercial recording of the song for RCA Victor's Bluebird label.[8] This recording features further lyrical and stylistic developments worth noting. The lines for the numbers three and two are: “Three was the Hebrew children; two was Paul and Silas.” As with many spirituals, these references to imprisoned biblical figures are analogues for the enslavement of African Americans. Coupled with the recording’s rhythmically driven jubilee quartet style, these features make the song a distinctly American folk tune.[2]

While the Golden Gate Quartet were largely responsible for popularizing the song, theirs was only one of many contemporary versions. The Golden Gate Quartet themselves learned the song from another jubilee quartet, the Heavenly Gospel Singers.[2]"... -snip- Although most online sources categorize "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" as a "Spiritual", I categorize it as an early African American Gospel song since I adhere to the position that African American Spirituals are those religious songs from Black American which were composed up to and including 1865 (the end of the United States Civil War). Furthermore, according to this comment by a blogger who went by the name of Q in the internet folk music forum Mudcat: ["Children Go Where I Send Thee" is ]  "Not found in the collections of old slave and plantation songs nor later collections of spirituals. Not listed as a spiritual in the Cleveland Index."... http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=5139 (03 Dec 05-9:13 PM) 

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"STANDARD" LYRICS FOR "CHILDREN, GO WHERE I SEND THEE" [composers unknown; traditional African American song]

Children go where I send thee, 
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
One by one
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.*

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Two by two
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Three by three
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Four by four
Four for the four that stood at the door.
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Five by five
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Six by six
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Seven by seven
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Eight by eight
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Nine by nine
Nine for the nine that dressed so fine
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Ten by ten
Ten for the ten that never got in
Nine for the nine that dressed so fine
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Eleven by eleven
Eleven for the eleven deriders
Ten for the ten that never got in
Nine for the nine that dressed so fine
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee
Twelve by twelve
Twelve for the Twelve Apostles
Eleven for the eleven deriders
Ten for the ten that never got in
Nine for the nine that dressed so fine
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the Gospel preacher
Four the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the little, bitty baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Online source: https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=5018
-snip-
* I sung these words as "who was born, born, born in Bethlehem"
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SOME EXPLANATIONS FOR "STANDARD" LYRICS AND OTHER LYRICS FOR THIS SONG
[I gleaned these explanations from offline and online sources.]

One for the little bitty baby (meaning Jesus).
Two for Paul and Silas. (or "two for Mary and Joseph")
Three for the three men riding (meaning the three Kings/Magi); or "three for the Hebrew children")
Four for the four knocking on the door (meaning the Four Evangelists).
Five for the Five that came back alive (or "five for the Gospel preachers")
Six for the six that never got fixed. 
Seven for the seven that all went to Heaven
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate.
Nine for the nine that stood in the line.
Ten for the Ten Commandments.
Eleven for the eleven deriders.
Twelve for the Twelve Apostles (or the twelve Disciples)

In the line "eleven deriders", "deriders" means people who deride (ridicule) the Bible. Because of folk processing (accidental mishearing, misremembering etc.) that line is also given as "eleven is the (or for the) Gospel riders (or Gospel writers).

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