This post is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the early African American Gospel* song "Sit At The Welcome Table".
This post showcases seven religious versions and one Civil Rights version of African Americans singing "Sit At The Welcome Table".
Some of these religious versions of that song have other titles than "Sit At The Welcome Table" but include those words as a verse in those songs.
This post also includes a YouTube sound file of a Civil Rights version of "Sit At The Welcome Table".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/11/sit-at-welcome-table-information.html of this pancocojams series. This post consist of selected comments about the origin and meaning of "Sit At The Welcome Table" from several discussion threads on the online Mudcat folk music forum.
The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, socio-cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composers of "Sit At The Welcome Table" and the earlier African American Spirituals that inspired the composition of the "Sit At The Welcome Table" verses and songs. Thanks also to all those whose renditions of "Sit At The Welcome Table" is showcased in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos and sound files on YouTube..
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*I prefer to categorize "Sit At The Welcome Table" as an early Gospel song. However, I have no problem with other people categorizing it as a Spiritual. Part of the confusion in determining if "Sit At The Welcome Table" is an African American Spiritual or is an early African American Gospel song is that the line "I'm gonna sit at the welcome table" appears to have been sung as part of some Spirituals. However, renditions of this song that focus on sitting at the Welcome Table" may not have been documented until the early 20th century.
The song "Sit At The Welcome Table" has many similar characteristics as African American Spirituals. For instance, Spirituals were composed in the 19th century and have no known composers. In contrast, most African American Gospel songs have known composers. However, it doesn't appear that "Sit At The Welcome Table" has a known composer. Also, ass is the case with African American Spirituals and with most African American Gospel songs, there are no fixed lyrics for renditions of "Sit At The Welcome Table".
Some adaptations of "Sit At The Welcome Table" were also composed and sung as Civil Rights songs in the 1960s. Those adaptations usually included a verse about "sit ins" at Woolworth lunch counters where African Americans at that time were routinely refused service. The protest strategies was that African Americans (usually students at universities in the South) would sit at the counter therefore taking a seat that couldn't then be occupied by a White person. Those sit in demonstrators were usually arrested for these actions.
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SELECTED YOUTUBE VIDEOS AND SOUND FILES OF "SIT AT THE WELCOME TABLE"
With the exception of Showcase Example #1, these examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest dates given first.
Some of these songs have other titles than "Sit At The Welcome Table" instead "sit at the welcome table" is one of the verses of those songs.
YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #1
This example is given at the top of this post.
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #2 - Kenique - Sit at the Welcome Table
D3ALUH Jul 21, 2009
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Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread:
1.@louisestaats234, 2020
"LOVE the concept of the song leader moving around,
interacting with God's people."
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While a group of singers sung this song in the front of the church sanctuary, the song leader went down the center aisle of the sanctuary and encouraged congregants seated in specific rows of the church to sing along. The people in those rows stood up when it was their turn to sing into the mic and/or sing along with the song leader.
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #3 - FEAST ON MILK AND HONEY
CHARLES MAGBY, May 19, 2010
ADULT PRAISE TEAM LEADING WORSHIP SERVICE
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A commenter in this video's discussion thread wrote that the actual name of this song is "Somewhere Around The Throne."
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I think that the choir is singing "Oh how beautiful it would be" in the beginning of the lines for this song.
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #4 -Macedonia M.B.Church Choir Feat: Sister Carolyn Huntley
"Somewhere Around God's Throne"
deaconreeves, Feb 14, 2012
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #5 - Welcome Table -by the Wings Over Jordan Choir
Gail Vaughn, Jan 2, 2014
"I'm going down to the river of Jordan .... going to
sit at the welcome table.... going to feast on milk and honey... some of these days"
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #6- I'm Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table (Civil Rights version)
Hollis Watkins - Topic,
Provided to YouTube by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
I'm Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table · Hollis Watkins
Sing For Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs
℗ 1990 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #7 - The Bingham Sisters, "I'm Going to Sit at the Welcome
Table"
mtsuhistory, Feb 21, 2016
The Bingham Sisters since "I'm Going to Sit at the
Welcome Table" at the Black History Month Celebration at Stones River
National Battlefield: "Hallowed Grounds: Site of African American
Memory." Co-sponsored by African American Heritage Society of Rutherford
County, 13th US Colored Troops Re-enactors, Friends of Stones River National
Battlefield, and MTSU History
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This rendition begins with the verse "I'm gonna down to the river of Jordan".
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YOUTUBE EXAMPLE #8 - R.E.I.G.N. - Sit At The Welcome Table One Of These Days
(Quartet)
ryannrjohnson, Oct 4, 2022 #301Church
R.E.I.G.N. Singing at #301Church Wilson Memorial 69th Church
Anniversary Banquet
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This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.
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