Translate

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Four YouTube Examples Of The Gospel Song "We Are On Our Way" (with information, lyrics, & comments)

Gospelz, Mar 14, 2022
Another awesome group based out of Philadelphia, PA. As written on the back of the album: With enthusiastic inspiration, The Gospel Emeralds display their sincerety and divine talents in this their initial album. The Gospel Emeralds are proud products of Philadelphia, Pa, and are recognized as one of the great new talents of the country due to their inspired performances wherever they have appeared. Their unusual style has captured the hearts of many congregations as they interpret the word of "God" as they sing the Gospel. This group also has sincere harmony in life, as they do in song, working as a closely knit family unit. All eight members have stayed together, as they have prayed together."... -snip- 1963 is the earliest date that I've found for a YouTube example of the Gospel song "We Are On Our Way". However, a commenter in the Lyrics section below wrote that that song was recorded in the 1940s and the 1950. We can thank Rev. James Cleveland for popularizing "We Are On Our Way". Since the early 1970s the Los Angeles chapter of his Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) choirs have chosen it as their processional theme song and other Gospel choirs have also sung it during church processions and otherwise. ****
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases four YouTube examples of the Gospel song "We Are On Our Way" (also given as "On Our Way".) 

This post includes information and lyrics about "We Are On Our Way" as well as comments from the discussion thread of the fourth showcased video.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composer* of this song and thanks to Rev. James Cleveland whose Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) Los Angeles based choirs for popularizing this song by adopting it as their processional anthem. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these YouTube examples, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publishers of these posts on YouTube.
-snip-
This song is listed as "traditional". However, the summary for the YouTube example of "On Our Way" that is given at the top of this pancocojams post lists Stanley McNish as "Director, Pianist, and Composer" . 

waterfallkeys215, a commenter in the discussion thread for the sound file that is given in this post as Showcase Example #2 in this pancocojams post, wrote in 2023 that "The writer of the song is the late Eugene Dukes from Philadelphia, PA".
Eugene Dukes' name isn't listed in the summary of personnel for the Emeralds.

A commenter whose name and discussion thread link I didn't retrieved wrote something like "We can thank Philadelphia for the song "We Are On Our Way". Given these hints, it's seems likely that that song originated in Philadelphia.

I'm interested in finding out more information about its actual composer/s. Please share any information about the history of "We Are On Our Way" that you know. Thanks. 

****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #2 - On Our Way (Live at New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, Los Angeles, January 14, 1972) 



Aretha Franklin, August 26, 2014
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #3 - St. James Mass Choir - We Are On Our Way/Praise The Lord

Marcel West, Feb. 10, 2009
-snip-
This is St. James Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan
****SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #4 - SUGC’s Throwback Concert Choir Processional - The Lord Is In His Holy Temple & We Are On Our Way

Southern University Gospel Choir,  May 31, 2022  #HBCU #SU #SUGC

Here’s #SUGC’s Processional at our Spring 22’ Good Ole Days - Throwback Concert back in April, Singing “The Lord Is In His Holy Temple” & The James Cleveland Classic “We Are On Our away” ðŸ’›ðŸ’™
-snip-
Southern University is a historically Black college & university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

****

LYRICS - "WE AE ON OUR WAY" (also known as "ON OUR WAY")
From  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCKMwnU8Oms  GMWA LA Chapter - We Are On Our Way, published by aresmall, August 25, 2010

@aresmall, 2012
" We are on our way; to a land of fadeless days. We are on our way; we're on our journey home. (V2) When we get to glory; we will shout and tell the story. How we made it over; we're on our journey home. (V3) 0-0-0-0-00000000000000000; we're on our journey home. (This is slightly different than the original version sang in the 40's/50's by the Emeralds, and by a couple other groups that have sang it, but it is currently the LA Chapter/Southern Cal version).

****
From https://allaretha.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/on-our-way-lyrics/

Posted by allaretha on July 7, 2015

Title-  On Our Way

Composer-  Traditional

Composition’s Year/First Recording Artist - Aretha Franklin

Aretha’s First Recording ;Year  1972

We are on our way  (we are on our way)

To a land  (to a land of fadeless day)*

We are  (we are on our way)

(We’re on our journey home)

 

When we get to glory  (when we get to glory)

We will shout  (we will shout and tell the story)

How we made it over  (how we made it over)

We’re on our journey home  (we’re on our journey home)

 

We are on our way, oh yeah  (we are on our way)

To a land  (to a land of fadeless day)

(We are on our way)

(We’re on our journey home)
-snip-
*From YouTube examples and discussion thread comments it appears that instead of "fadeless days", some choirs sing "endless days". 

The words "fadeless days" means the same thing as "endless days" and the word "fadeless" is no longer used in American English. "Fadeless days" means "days that don't fade away into darkness".

My guess is that the words "fadeless days" in the Gospel song "We Are On Our Way" came from the 1899 song "No Night There (In the Land of Fadeless Day)" by John R. Clements. Clements was a White American who had emigrated to the United States from Ireland as a child. Neither the rest of that song's lyrics nor it's tune are the same as the Gospel song "On Our Way". 

****

SELECTED COMMENTS FROM VIDEO #1 DISCUSSION THREAD

These comments are given in relative chronological order with numbers added for referencing puposes only.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m20nCfr4lLQ

**
Reply
2. @kishagreen4578, 2023
"Yes!! So many Gospel greats you mentioned. We need to bring back the choir and the March. We're on our way should be the anthem of every choir."

**
Reply
3. @dantejones5289, 2023
"@kishagreen4578  We are on our way has been our theme since the 70's. The choirs mentioned in my previous comment are organized and founded by Rev. James Cleveland, the King Of Gospel Music "

**
Reply
4.@kishagreen4578, 2023
"@Dante Jones  I know. I'm very familiar with the history of GMWA. My mom and grandma said Cornerstone was rocking in the 70s and 80s. It was the place to be. "

**
Reply
5. @dantejones5289, 2023
"@kishagreen4578  your grandmother is absolutely correct Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church was the spot!"

**
6. @steven2312, 2022
"Sing churrin! Sopranos I hear you!" -snip- "Churrin" is a way of approximating the spelling of the African American Vernacular English way of pronouncing "children".

**
7. @jazzlife1, 2023
"This was awesome SU GOSPEL CHOIR got it going on.  Man this took back some 40/50 + years when choirs used to march in.   Man they brought out that we are on our way.  They sang that better than James Cleveland group when they recorded it with Aretha Franklin

** 8. @marryIsfake964, 2023
"Remind me of memories at Reverend Cleveland’s cornerstone institutional Baptist Church. Besides singing, the Lord is in his holy temple, we would start our service by singing the Lords prayer. And the choir would do their processional if* we are on our way"
-snip-
*This is a correction of the word "if" that is given in that comment.
**
9. @judyjones1000, 2023
"This is absolutely wonderful and takes me back over 50 years when the Congregation would stand when we (the Choir) marched in.   I'm so proud to see Young Black College Students continuing the traditions of their parents and grandparents of singing in the Choir.   Please Let's not forget our past."

**
10. @americanindian5259, 2023
"Sadly this is no longer in many churches. I LOVE THIS"

** 
11. @dmp7252, 2023
"Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss come through, choir. Ya'll gave me life with the march in AND the robes. The march in needs to be brought back. It's a lack of respect people just show up in the choir stand. You want to minister? Come right! I love it. I would love to see ya'll march in to "We have come this far by faith." That's the one!"

**
12. @kishagreen4578,2023
"Alright now. It's good to see a choir March in to "on our way" the Gmwa classic. Bring back the March in. Ya'll did that. "

**
13. @theamanda1661, 2023
"Now, that's how you usher in the presence of the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

**

Vernacular English meaning "sing very good, particularly to sing soulfully very good"

**
16. @americanindian5259, 2023
"Sadly this is no longer in many churches. I LOVE THIS"

**

They looked great marching down the aisle with the tenors leading the way.

**
19. @rodneywilliams5288, 2024
"Now that's how you march in !!  Everyone in that entire choir can saaaaaang !!!

**
20. browngoldthread1239, 2024
EXCELLENT !!!-Lil slower than we do it on the West Coast."

**

"Alright SISTER SOPRANO for hitting the Old School high note 'mind me of momma's nim back in the day "

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)