Sweet Honey in The Rock -"In the Morning When I Rise" (sound file, lyrics, & comments)

Idoitfortheglory, Nov 7, 2008

One of my favorite songs by the dynamic group, Sweet Honey in The Rock!

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube sound file of Sweet Honey In The Rock's performance of the African American gospelized Spiritual* "In the Morning When I Rise". I'm particularly interested in documenting this example of double clapping (African American church claps). 

This post also presents the lyrics for that song as well as selected comments about that song from that YouTube sound file's discussion thread. 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Sweet Honey In The Rock for their cultural legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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*Gospelized Spiritual" is my term for a Spiritual that is performed in a Gospel style, particularly in an African American Gospel style.   

Click the "Sweet Honey In The Rock" tag below for more pancocojams posts about this group.

Click  https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/03/old-school-black-gospel-music-low.html for the pancocojams post "Old School Black Gospel Music: "Low Country Claps" (also known as "Charleston Claps" And "Double Claps")"

Also, click the tags below for other pancocojams posts on those subjects.
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(BASIC) LYRICS - IN THE MORNING WHEN I RISE *

In the morning
(When I rise)
Oh, In the morning
(When I rise)
Oh, in the morning
(When I rise)
I wanna rise holy
(When I rise)

Oh, In the morning
(When I rise)
Oh, In the morning
(When I rise)
Oh, in the morning
(When I rise)
I wanna rise holy
I wanna was sanctified
I wanna rise holy
(When I rise)

Oh, In the morning
(When I rise)
Oh, in the morning
(When I rise)
Oh, in the morning
(When I rise)
I wanna rise standing
I wanna was shouting
I wanna rise holy
(When I rise)

(Repeat these words or similar words).

Additions and corrections are welcome.
-snip-
*This is my transcription of this recording. (The lyrics that are given in genius.com
don't match this recording.)

-snip-
Here's information about this song from https://genius.com/Sweet-honey-in-the-rock-in-the-morning-when-i-rise-lyrics
"There is no known author attributed to “In The Morning When I Rise” because the song was created by African people in the 18th century who were living in captivity after being kidnapped into the United States. Forced into the fields of a foreign land, to do hard labor from morning to night must have been pure torture, yet these remarkable human beings refused to be denied their spiritual voice and human dignity. Their painful sacrifices and undeniable brilliance gave us this intoxicating song, beloved by generations of music lovers for it’s joyful power and triumphant beauty.

This acapella version of “In The Morning When I Rise” sung by Sweet Honey In The Rock delivers the song into the 21st century, accenting it’s famous verses with feverish clapping and a modern composition full of rich harmonies and R&B flavored background singing."

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TESTIFYING AD LIB IN THIS RENDITION OF SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK'S RENDITION OF "IN THE MORNING WHEN I RISE"

as sung by Ms. Barnwell ( ?); transcribed by  @Swgabjr, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAJBZXIzKcY

One of these morning

It won't be long

You'll look for me child

And I'll be gone

 

I'm goin up to heaven

To sing and shout

There'll be nobody there

To turn me out

 

I'm goin' up to heaven

To sing and tell

Angels in heaven

Goin toll the bell

 

Shake hands with Moses, Ruth,

Esther, and John

Tell them but this tedious journey

I done run

 

Gonna go a little further

And meet my father

With Frederick Douglas and Sojourner Truth

Walk down by the river

Meet Harriet Tubman

Her battles done been fought

And her victories  won

All the saints gathered around God's throne

Gon' Shout Hallelujah

And welcome me home

 

I wanna rise Holy

I wanna rise Sanctified!!

(repeat this phrase as the spirit moves...)

When I-------RISE
(extend this closing line, reference Sweet Honey in the Rock recording --In the Morning When I Rise, lead Bernice Johnson Reagon)

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THISYOUTUBE SOUND FILE'S DISCUSSION THREAD

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

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
 

2009

1. @ochoriostube
"At the Kennedy Center for the Arts! Wonderful!!!"

2010

2. @nodlew1943
"Love it!  This is down home gospel music. That makes you shout!   :-) 

What album was this on?"
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From genius.com's page on this song:
"This is track #7 from the 1993 CD "Still On The Journey". Journey (1993)

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2011

3. @KRxN11
"This tradition is what sustains us and rejuvenates us. Through the years, through the lonely nights and burdensome days in this Babylon called Amerikkka! God bless these Sisters!krxn11"

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Reply
4. @nodlew1943
"@KRxN11  Indeed!  Its the down home gospel that stir the souls that truly sustains us!  I have an old soul.  Today's gospel is too secular.  Must have that old school element."

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2012

5. @indiefilms111
"i feel like shouting when i hear this song"

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2013

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2014

6. @aaronrevealed
"Sweet Honey is CHURCH!  Amen!"

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Reply
7. @dwi5114, 2015
"You ain't never lied!"

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8. @nodlew1943
"Love it!  This is down home gospel music. That makes you shout!   :-)"

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9. @QuakerBoy100
"The real thing!"

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10. @missizpresident
"Honoring All my ancestors today."

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11. @eringobraugh1916
"Magnificent .. powerful .. courageous and strong .."

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2015

12. @playhe57
"I have loved them since I saw and heard them at the Mariposa folk festival in the 70s."

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13. @renaycunningham5656
"WOW AWESOME it gave me chills"

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2016

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2017

14. @angela-d4477
"Yess!! They performed at the 1 Year Annniversary of the National African American History and Culture Museum yesterday! My family and I caught them near the end of their performance. They were good! I’d love to see them live again one day!"

 

2018

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2019

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2020

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2021

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2022

15. @rosemaryswan3782
"Women's History salute to Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon of Dougherty County, Albany, Georgia on lead with "Sweet Honey in the Rock", an accapella group she founded in Washington, D.C. Additionally, along with fellow Albanian Ruth Harris, Cordell Reagon and Charles Neblett she is a founding member of the Original SNCC Freedom Singers and while in Atlanta was involved with the Harambee Singers. So proud of Dr. BJR, Civil rights activist, scholar, historian, author, musician, professor, editor,  producer, writer, human rights activist, soldier, freedom singer and songwriter.

A shining star!"

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16. @ericablige9449
"Ase💜"
-snip-
Ase (also written "ashe") is a Yoruba (Nigeria) word that means "power, command, life, energy). Ase can be translated to mean something like "Hallelujah!" and/or "God Almighty!"  In the United States (and elsewhere?) ase is pronounced "ah-shay".

This single word "Ase" was written in this discussion thread by several other commenters after this commenter.

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2023

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2024

17. @phdreed
"Rest in sweet peace Bernice Johnson Reagon 😢"
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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_Johnson_Reagon
"Bernice Johnson Reagon (October 4, 1942 – July 16, 2024) was an American song leader, composer, professor of American history, curator at the Smithsonian, and social activist. In the early 1960s, she was a founding member of the Freedom Singers, organized by the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the Albany Movement for civil rights in Georgia.[1][2] In 1973, she founded the all-black female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, based in Washington, D.C.[3] Reagon, along with other members of the SNCC Freedom Singers, realized the power of collective singing to unify the disparate groups who began to work together in the 1964 Freedom Summer protests in the South.[4]"...

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Fisk Jubilee Singers' 1909 Sound File Of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (with three other renditions of this Spiritual)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series about The Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Part II presents information about "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and provides the standard lyrics for this Spiritual.

This post also showcases a 1909 sound file of The Fisk Jubilee Singers' rendition of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot". Additional examples of this song are also showcased in this post for comparison purposes.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/online-excerpts-about-early-history-of.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents several online excerpts about the early history of The Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Part III showcases a 1909 sound file of The Fisk Jubilee Singers' rendition of "O Lord, I've Done What You Told Me To Do" riot". Additional examples of this song are also showcased in this post for comparison purposes. Two versions of lyrics for this song are also included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the original Fisk Jubilee Singers for their musical legacy, and thanks to all those who are featured in YouTube examples that are embedded in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these YouTube examples.
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Visit YouTube to view contemporary videos of this choral group that is part of Fisk University, a private historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee.

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INFORMATION ABOUT "SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_Low,_Sweet_Chariot
""Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an African American* Spiritual. The earliest known recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University.

In 2002, the Library of Congress honored the song as one of 50 recordings chosen that year to be added to the National Recording Registry. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

History
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" may have been written by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory in what is now Choctaw County, near the County seat of Hugo, Oklahoma sometime after 1865. He may have been[weasel words] inspired[citation needed] by the Red River, which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah's being taken to heaven by a chariot (2 Kings 2:11). Some sources[1][2] claim that this song and "Steal Away"[3] (also sung by Willis) had lyrics that referred to the Underground Railroad, the freedom movement that helped black people escape from Southern slavery to the North and Canada.

Alexander Reid, a minister at the Old Spencer Academy, a Choctaw boarding school, heard Willis singing these two songs and transcribed the words and melodies. He sent the music to the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Jubilee Singers popularized the songs during a tour of the United States and Europe.

The song enjoyed a resurgence during the 1960s Civil Rights struggle and the folk revival; it was performed by a number of artists. Perhaps the most famous performance during this period was that by Joan Baez during the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival.

Oklahoma State Senator Judy Eason McIntyre from Tulsa proposed a bill nominating "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" as the Oklahoma State official gospel song in 2011. The bill was co-sponsored by the Oklahoma State Black Congressional Caucus. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed the bill into law on May 5, 2011, at a ceremony at the Oklahoma Cowboy Hall of Fame; making the song the official Oklahoma State Gospel Song.[citation needed]

Traditional lyrics
Chorus:
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?
(Coming for to carry me home)
A band of angels coming after me
(Coming for to carry me home)

Chorus:
If you get there before I do
(Coming for to carry me home)
Tell all of my friends, that I'm coming there too
(Coming for to carry me home)

Chorus (3×)"...
-snip-
*The Wikipedia page for this song [on November 6, 2018] refer to this song as an "American negro spiritual". I've changed that referent to "African American spiritual" because African American is the formal referent that has been most often used (since at least the early 1970s)most often for the population that was referred to as "American Negroes". Also, spelling "Negro" with a small "n" is generally considered (by African Americans and many others) to be highly offensive.

Also note that this is the only African American Spiritual that I know of which has an identified probable composer. To my knowledge, composers for all the other African American Spirituals are given as "unknown".
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Swing_Low,_Sweet_Chariot for a discussion of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".

A commenter posting to that page notes that 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' "refers to 2 Kings 2:1. (Prophet Elijah being taken up to heaven by a chariot)."

Also, commenters on that page discuss the custom of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" being sung by attendees of United Kingdom rugby games.

A pancocojams post about this custom will be published ASAP and its link will be added here.

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EXCERPT ABOUT THE FISK JUBILEE SINGERS' RECORDING OF "SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT"
From https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Swing%20Low%20article.pdf "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”—The Fisk University
Jubilee Quartet (1909)"
Added to the National Registry: 2002
Essay by Toni P. Anderson (guest post)
"In December 1909, the Fisk University Jubilee Quartet, a male foursome carrying on the legacy of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers of the 1870s, entered the Victor Studios in Camden, New Jersey, to record 12 songs chosen from their concert repertory. Ten of the songs would
eventually be released on five different discs. Among the titles was “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” one of the best-known and beloved Negro spirituals now firmly established in the canon of American folksong. In just one or two takes per title, the Victor recording captured the
quartet’s rich blend and sophisticated performance style. These were the first recordings of the artistic, concert versions of spirituals associated with Fisk University and its accomplished musicians.

The unaccompanied recording of the quartet showcased the talent of four Fiskites: John Wesley Work II (1st tenor), James Andrew Myers (2nd tenor), Alfred Garfield King (1st bass), and Noah Ryder (2nd bass). By the time of the 1909 recording session, Fisk University had earned a
reputation as being the “music conservatory” for aspiring black artists, primarily due to the immense fame of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, who toured in the interest of the university from 1871-1878. Known for their precise, tight harmony, emotional pathos, and refined stage deportment, the Jubilee Singers, under the direction of George L. White and Ella Sheppard, presented a cultivated version of the spiritual to audiences throughout America and Europe."

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: Swing Low Sweet Chariot - Fisk Jubilee Singers (1909)



Nathaniel Jordon, Published on Dec 22, 2012

Swing Low Sweet Chariots earliest known recording is of the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1909. The song is at least 103 years old, but it is still known by most people. Note- the huge church-like building you see as the third picture is the home of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

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Example #2: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (1958)- The Caravans



JayEm86, Published on May 21, 2008

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", originally from the "Mary Don't You Weep" LP, with Albertina Walker and Shirley Caesar providing lead vocals. This is Shirley Caesar's first recording session with the Caravans, beginning a career that would launch her, as well as fellow Caravans Inez Andrews, Albertina Walker, and Delores Washington into some of the most successful and influential solo gospel artists of the past 50 years (1958-2008).

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Example #3: Dixie Hummingbirds ---Swing Low Sweet Chariot



nipsipone, Published on Jun 19, 2009

From A New York City Concert ---1991 ----Acapella--

Ira Tucker (lead vocals), William Bright (vocals), Carlton Lewis, III (vocals), Cornell Mcknight (bass vocals), Torrey Nettles (drums/vocals), Willie Coleman (bass guitar & vocals) and Lyndon Baines Jones (guitar & vocals).
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Notice that the Dixie Hummingbirds include part of the Gospel song "Swing Down, Chariot" (And Let Me Ride") in their rendition of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/five-examples-of-swing-down-sweet.html for a pancocojams post on the song "Swing Down, Chariot".

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Example #4: PAUL ROBESON SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT



sarastrone, Published on Oct 28, 2010

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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"Just A Little Talk With Jesus" (lyrics and videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents lyrics for and seven examples of the Gospel song "Just A Little Talk With Jesus" (also known as "Have A Little Talk With Jesus"). Information about Cleavant Derricks,the composer of this song is also included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Cleavant Derricks, those featured in these sound files and videos, and the publishers of these examples on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPOSER OF "JUST A LIITLE TALK WITH JESUS"
"TITLE: "Just a Little Talk with Jesus"
AUTHOR: Cleavant Derricks, born Chattanooga, Tennessee, May 13, 1910; died Chattanooga, Tennessee, April 14, 1977

Cleavant Derricks, African American and father of twin actor sons (Cleavant Derricks and Clinton Derricks-Carroll), studied at the Cadek Conservatory of Music, Knoxville, Tennessee, Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College (now Tennessee State University), and the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. By age twenty-one, he was at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., where he directed a gospel choir with over 100 voices and associated with numerous well-known musicians of the day, including his friend, Mahalia Jackson. As a Baptist pastor, he later served churches in Dayton, Knoxville, and Jackson, Tennessee; Beloit, Wisconsin; and Washington, D.C. He founded and grew the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., during the 1940s.

Derricks established a solid reputation and career as pastor, choir director, poet, musician, and composer -- with over 300 songs to his credit and several song collections. "Just a Little Talk with Jesus" is his best-known and most-performed song, but others include "When God Dipped His Love in My Heart," "We'll Soon Be Done with Troubles and Trials," "When He Blessed My Soul" and "I Want the Light from the Lighthouse to Shine on Me." In 1984, Derricks was inducted posthumously into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Although African American, Derricks' music had great appeal to southern white singers and the singing conventions, even at a time in United States history when white singers would not normally perform music by African Americans. Many of Derricks' songs were published by white publishers, including the shaped note songbooks and the publications of Stamps-Baxter. There has been frequent exchange of music between black and white churches since the days of slavery, and Derricks' songs are no exception. His songs continue to enjoy great popularity among black and white churches, publishers' catalogues, and recording artists today."...

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LYRICS: "JUST A LIITLE TALK WITH JESUS"
(Cleavant Derricks)

Verse 1:
I once was lost in sin but Jesus took me in
And then a little light from heaven filled my soul
It bathed my heart in love and wrote my name above
And just a little talk with Jesus made me whole

Chorus:
Now let us have a little talk with Jesus
Let us tell Him all about our troubles
He will hear our faintest cry
He will answer by and by
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning
And you know a little fire is burning
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right

Verse 2:
Sometimes my path seems dreary without a ray of cheer
And then the cloud about me hides the light of day
The mists of sin may rise and hide the stormy skies
But just a little talk with Jesus clears the way

Verse 3:
I may have doubts and fears, my eyes be filled with tears
But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night
I go to Him in prayer, He knows my every care
And just a little talk with Jesus makes it right

Chorus

http://www.elyrics.net/read/h/hymn-lyrics/just-a-little-talk-with-jesus-lyrics.html

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
With the exception of the sound file given as Example #1, these videos are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates with the oldest videos given first.

Example #1: Rev Cleavant Derrick sings his composition, Just A Little Talk With Jesus.wmv



gospellin, Published on Jul 25, 2012
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE RIGHTS TO THIS SELECTION. JUST A FAN OF REV DERRICK AND FOR HISTORY.

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Example #2: Heavenly Gospel Singers - Have A Little Talk With Jesus 1940



fableable57, Uploaded on Dec 3, 2008

acapella

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Example #3: Pastor Jackson Sings "Have A Little Talk With Jesus"



ldyjcj2, Uploaded on Dec 5, 2008

song before sermon

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Example #4: Have A Little Talk With Jesus-James Cleveland



tinascaravans, Uploaded on Nov 26, 2011

Gospel legends James Cleveland and Billy Preston From a 1962 album titled The Soul of James Cleveland. James on piano, the sensational Billy Preston on organ.

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Example #5: "Just A Little Talk With Jesus"- Rev. Joseph Linton & the GEMCA Mass Choir



Rowoches, Published on Apr 12, 2012

The Gospel Evangelists, Musicians & Choral Association, presented by Rev. Joseph D. Linton. Here, the choir sings "Just A Little Talk With Jesus." My friend and brother, Jeffrey LaValley sings the lead.

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Example #6: Lisa Knowles & the Brown Singers- Have A Little Talk with Jesus

.

Terrance Rolling Published on Jul 15, 2012

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Example #7: Just A Little Talk With Jesus-The Harold Smith Majestics Choir



tinascaravans, Published on Aug 31, 2013

The Golden Age of Gospel Choirs The 1960's. The Harold Smith Majestics choir was founded in 1963 by Harold Eugene Smith (1934 - 1993) born in Detroit, a nationally known eminent director and composer. They were a gospel choir of fifty voices, some of the finest singers in the Detroit area, Charles Nicks was the organist, and George Jordan and Gordon Strong were the pianist. They made their debut in 1964 at the Edsel Ford Auditorium in Detroit. That concert was their first and became an annual event. The Majestic's soon became the pride of Detroit, and one of the foremost choirs in the country. They began a recording career in mid 60's, their first release was "More Love To Thee," followed by "Just A Little Talk With Jesus" on the SIMCO (VeeJay) label. After the demise of their previous recording company, they began recording for Checker records in 1966. Their recording of James Cleveland's "Lord Help Me To Hold Out" in 1973 is largely responsible for the song becoming a gospel "standard."

"Just A Little Talk With Jesus" is from the 1965 album titled "Just A Little Talk With Jesus," by The Harold Smith Majestics.

Disclaimer: Photographs and music copyright are owned by their originators. No infringement intended.

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