Saturday, August 14, 2004

Bible Songs 2004

Standing on God's Unchanging Promises

The idea of God's unchanging promise is a main theme in Gospel music. God Don't Ever Change refers to God's continuous promise, from the Creation to Adam's Fall, then to the Noachide Covenant ("God in the middle of the ocean"), etc. Once again, God takes control of the water, a powerful god for other cultures surrounding Israel at the time. Gospel writers are well-versed (studied) in the Bible. References in this Gospel song to God's power include Psalms 114:4: "The mountains skipped like lambs, the hills like lambs."

Cissy Houston recorded this song in traditional Gospel style. She later sang Gospel songs, including one psalm, in her daughter's movie, The Preacher's Wife. 

He's God. God don't ever change! He's God. Always will be God. God in the middle of the ocean, God in the middle of the sea. I've the help of the great Creator, He's sure been a God to me! God in all creation, God when Adam fell, God way up in Heaven, God way down in Hell. Oh, he's God. God don't ever change. He's God. Always will be God. You see he's God to the mountains. He said, "How great I am." I want you to get up my children, shift [run] around like lambs. He's God in a time of sickness. God is a doctor too. Anytime of trouble, he's truly a God to you. He's God! God don't ever change! He's God! Always will be God! He's God in the office. He's God way down on the floor. God in the Amen corner, God all over the floor. He's God! God don't ever change. God all by himself, he don't need nobody else.

Standing on Promises
God's control of the water, a powerful god in ancient Israel's surrounding cultures, insures there is one God, not many doing battle with God. The ordered sea is a motif in the Bible from the Creation to the story, in the New Testament, of Jesus walking on water and calming the sea. This is a new Gospel song, written by The Winans in contemporary Gospel style:

I will stand, yeah! (4x) You've given me love and peace of mind. You've been with me all the time. I took it for granted. You have supplied my every need. Now I know that I can be everything you've wanted of me. I find pleasure in the life You've given me. Now I feel quite secure. Your promises are so sure. Chorus: Standing on the promises and I will not fall. Even through stormy winds, I'll sail. I won't sink beneath the waves, no matter how high, holding Your hand. On a promise You made, I'll stand (I will stand). Your word won't come back void [empty]. Achieving all we need, Your promise spoken unto me, You always stand by what You say. Your word's the only way that leads to everlasting life. I remember the promise that You made. There's no doubt in my mind you'll come through every time, yeah! Chorus. Oh, I'm leaning on Your every word. I can't begin my day without You. And with all anticipation I present my situation. All You ask of me is to never doubt: Your promises will work it on out. I will stand, yeah, standing on the promises.

Call on the Lord
This song could serve as illustration of our assigned texts from the Jacob story. The narrative of Jacob is one of the great psychological studies in the Bible, far ahead of its time.
Like Tom Cruise, in Rain Man, Jacob begins as a selfish, self-centered man, stealing the birthright of his own brother, deceiving his father to steal his brother's blessing, and even bargaining with God:

"If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth" (Genesis 28:20).

Jacob here sounds like a modern shopper at a garage sale. In the same way he tries to bargain with his angry brother, sending gifts to bribe him from revenge (Genesis 32:13ff.).
But by Genesis 32:10, Jacob has begun to realize his human faults, praying to God:

"I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant."

But it's not until he struggles alone with his own conscience that he becomes a man, able to stand on God's promise:

"That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his posessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak" (32:22).
That man, of course, was God in angel form. It is only when Jacob struggles, alone, face to face with God, asking for blessing, that he receives it, and a new name, too: Israel. This means that Jacob, after much inner conflict, has become a new man, worthy of God, because he has struggled with God.
He receives his blessing not by fraud or deceit (as in the past), but by honest effort and struggle: "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome" (32:28).
The reconciliation of the two brothers, following Jacob's "conversion," is more moving in view of the sibling rivalry that ended in Abel's death.
Jacob's rebirth, as "Israel," is shown in his humbling himself before his brother:
"He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he aproached his brother" (33:3).
Such humility ends the rivalry that began in their mother's womb:
"The babies fought each other within her, and she said, 'Why is this happening to me?' So she went to ask the LORD. The LORD said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger" (25:22).
But Jacob's humility stops the cycle of sibling hostility and bloodshed that started with Cain and Abel:
"Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept" (33:4).
Kirk Franklin wrote the song, Call on the Lord. Franklin is, along with Yolanda Williams, one of the modern "superstars" of Gospel music, changing its form as they continue its tradition:

When you're weary and discouraged and you're feeling down and low. When your friends forsake [leave] you and you have no place to go. When the burdens seem too hard for you to try and bear. Just call on the Lord and He will be right there. Just call on the Lord and he will be right there. There have been times I've felt so all alone. Feeling like all hope ws gone. I'd lay awake in my bed at night wondering if everything would turn out all right. Then the Master of the sea came down from Heaven and He rescued me. Just call on the Lord and He will be right there. Repeat. Call on Him, call on the Lord.

Bible Songs: 9 November 2004

Although often used to defend the social order ("the powers that be"), in fact, the Bible is probably the most dangerous book ever written from the point of view of that social order. One has only to read the Hebrew prophets to know this, with their bold call for justice. In the words of Amos, "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-ending stream!" (AMOS 5:24).
The Book of Exodus has been a main text in calls for social justice, as the famous Afro-American spiritual, Go Down, Moses shows. We see how Old and New Testament events and persons are exchanged ("Let us all in Christ be free"), since, for Christians, Jesus is "from the beginning"; he is, in fact, God, whose promise must, therefore, include Jesus from the beginning.

Go Down, Moses

When Israel was in Egypt land, "Let my people go!"
Oppressed so hard, they could not stand, "Let my people go!"
"Thus, said the Lord," old Moses said, "Let my people go!
"If not I'll smite* your first-born dead. Let my people go!" *hit
Go down Moses, way down in Egypt land,
Tell old Pharaoh to let my people go!

No more shall they in bondage* toil* *slavery *labor, work, slave
Let my people go!
Let them come out with Egypt's spoil*, *wealth
Let my people go!
As Is stood at the water's side,
Let my people go!
At the command of God it did divide
Let 'em go!
You better go down, go down, Moses
Go way down in Egypt land
Tell old Pharaoh, to let my people

Old Moses, the cloud shall clear away
A fire by night and shade by day
Oh, let 'em go!
Oh let us all from bondage flee* *escape
Let my people go
And let us all in Christ be free, Oh let 'em go
You better go down, go down Moses
Go way down in Egypt land
Tell old, tell old Pharaoh
I say, Go down Moses way down in Egypt Land
Tell old Pharaoh to let my people go!
Let 'em go! Let 'em go! Let my people go!
Tell Pharaoh, let my people, let 'em go.
Let 'em go, let 'em go, let my people go!
Go down, go down Moses, Let my people go!

Wade in the Water
This is another example of mixing events and persons from Old and New Testaments. It also shows that Faith comes before God's help, not after--a basic idea in the Bible's "Promise," from Abraham on.

The song refers to the parting of the Red (Reed) Sea, from the Book of Exodus, and to a miracle in the Gospel of John:
"Now there is in Jerusalem a pool. . . . Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed*. One who was there had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned he had been like this for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?' 'Sir,' he replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked" (John 5:2-7).

Some Bibles (such as the King James Version), include text after the 2d sentence above, but considered a later addition by most scholars: "and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an Angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had" (JOHN 3b-4).
But this later addition, like the gospel song, shows that miracles follow faith, not the other way:

{Refrain}
Wade in the water, wade in the water children, wade in the water,
My God's going to trouble the water.
Wade in the water, wade in the water children, wade in the water,
My God's going to trouble the water.

See that host dressed in white
God's going to trouble the water.
It looks like the children of the Israelite
God's going to trouble the water.

See that host all dressed in red
God's going to trouble the water
It looks like the children that Moses led!
God's going to trouble the water

Look over yonder and what do I see?
God's going to trouble the water
It's the Holy Ghost parting the sea!
God's going to trouble the water!
Oh, Freedom!
Joan Baez, the most famous folksinger of the early 1960s, sang this gospel song at the Newport Folk Festival, in 1963, where Bob Dylan also sang Blowin' in the Wind, another song inspired by the Bible (we'll hear that song when we discuss the Hebrew prophets). It's yet another example of how the Bible continues to inspire the cause of social justice.

Oh, Freedom, oh, Freedom, oh, Freedom over me
And before I'll be a slave I'll be buried in my grave,
Come home to my Lord and be free

There's no more kneeling, no, no more kneeling , no more kneeling over me
And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave
Come home to my Lord and be free!

No more moaning, no more moaning, no more moaning over me
And before I'll be a slave I'll buried in my grave
Come home to my Lord and be free!
Come home to my Lord and be free!

We Shall Overcome

Based on the words of a gospel song "I'll Overcome Some Day" (1900), and a melody from the 19th-century spiritual, "No More Auction Block for Me," this song became the anthem of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s:

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Oh deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day!

We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand some day
Deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day!

We are not alone, we are not alone
We are not alone today
Deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day!

We shall overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day!

Mary Don't You Weep

Mary Don't You Weep is another example of how Black gospel mixes Old and Testament persons and events, started by St. Paul in the early Christian era.
Moses and Pharaoh (an Egyptian ruler) are from the Hebrew Bible, while Mary and Martha refer to two women in the Gospel of John who weep over their dead brother, whom Jesus revives (JOHN 11:3ff.).

Paul Simon has said that one line from the song, "I'll be a bridge over deep water" inspired him to write, Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Oh, I'm singing, Mary! Martha don't have to mourn*! *weep
Listen to me, Mary! Martha don't have to mourn! Pharaoh's army, they got drowned in the sea one day. But Jesus said "Mary, your little old sister don't have to mourn no more."
Now can I get a witness? He said, "Mary, Martha don't have to
mourn." It may be somebody's sick today, or somebody here ain't got a
home.

Listen, Pharaoh's army they got drowned in the sea one day. But I
believe a man* said, "Mary, your little old sister *Jesus
don't have to mourn no more."
Now listen if I could, right now! I want to tell you that I should now put my foot on the rock*! Stand on the rock *Jesus, God
where Moses stood one day. Because Pharaoh's army, that's what the
Bible said, got drowned in the sea one day. But I believe the man said,
"Mary!" He said, "Mary." He said, "Mary."
There's trouble in the land! You won't have to worry. You won't have to give up right for wrong no more. It may have been a little hard to hear and I believe Jesus said (I better call a little bit loud), "Mary!" Wish I had somebody to help me call, "Mary. Yeah, Mary! Yeah Mary!
"I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name! I'll be a rock in the wilderness! Ah, Mary!" You better call her again! Yes, Lord! Tell Martha you don't have to mourn no more!

When You Believe

This is a pop song, from the Disney animated feature, Prince of Egypt, based on the Book of Exodus:

Many nights I prayed with no proof anyone could hear, in our hearts a hope for a song we barely understood.
Now we are not afraid although we know there’s much to fear. We were moving mountains long before we knew we could, yes!
There can be miracles when you believe. Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve. When you believe somehow you will, you will when you believe.
In this time of fear when prayer so often proves in vain, hope seems like the summer birds too swiftly flown away. Yet now I’m standing here, my heart’s so full, I can’t explain: seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I’d say.
There can be miracles when you believe (when you believe). Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve (you can achieve) when you believe, somehow you will. You will when you believe.
They don’t always happen when you ask. And it’s easy to give in to your fear. But when you’re blinded by your pain, can’t see your way, get through the rain: A small, but still resilient voice says love is the relief.
There can be miracles (miracles) when you believe (Boy, when you believe) [Though hope is frail] Though hope is frail [It’s hard]It’s hard to kill (Hard to kill, oh, yeah)Who knows what miracles, you can achieve (you can achieve) when you believe, somehow you will. You will when you believe.
Exodus
The influence of the Book of Exodus on later history has been huge. Crossing the river into freedom became a type for Christians, later Black slaves, and, most recently, liberation movements in South America and Jamaica. Reggae was also a religious movement (Rastafarianism), based on a Jamaican reading of the Bible, preaching freedom. Bob Marley became the most famous artist from this music and named an entire album after Exodus. "Jah" in the song is "Jehovah," and the name "Jah" actually appears in a few texts of the Bible, although commonly changed to Jehovah in translations. Note also, how Babylon, from a later period, is interchanged with Egypt, the way that Mary and Martha can be mixed with "Pharaoh" in Mary Don't You Weep. The title song from Bob Marley's Exodus follows:
Movement of Jah people!
Everything is all right.
So we gonna walk through the roads of creation:
Exodus, all right! Movement of Jah [Jehovah] people!
Open your eyes and look within:
We know where we're going, uh!
We know where we're from.
We're leaving Babylon,
We're going to our Father land.
Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move!
Open your eyes and look within:
Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
We know where we're going;
We know where we're from.
We're leaving Babylon, y'all!
We're going to our Father's land.
Exodus: movement of Jah people!
Jah come to break downpression,
Rule equality,
Wipe away transgression,
Set the captives free.
Exodus, all right, all right!
Movement of Jah people! Oh, yeah!
Move! Movement of Jah people!

Theme from Exodus (This Land Is Mine)
The music from the movie Exodus won the Academy Award for Best Score (1960) and was one of the most famous tunes of the time. Later, lyrics were written by pop singer, Pat Boone and many recordings were made of this version. The move has nothing to do with the Bible, but with the founding of the state of Israel, which, of course, is promised in the Bible.
This land is mine, God gave this land to me
This brave and ancient land to me
And when the morning sun reveals her hills and plain
Then I see a land where children can run free

So take my hand and walk this land with me
And walk this lovely land with me
Though I am just a man, when you are by my side
With the help of God, I know I can be strong

Though I am just a man, when you are by my side
With the help of God, I know I can be strong

To make this land our home
If I must fight, I'll fight to make this land our own
Until I die, this land is mine

Bible Songs: 9 November 2004

This week we will continue with songs missed due to the midterm. Our first song illustrates the importance of the number 12, from Genesis to Revelation. The song is called I, John and, like many gospel songs, uses words from a bible text, in this case the Book of Revelation. Much of it is based on Chapter 21, except lines in the middle, based on Chapter 1, but for some reason changing 7 stars to 12, either from error or on purpose. The number "7" is an equally important number in Revelation (7 vials, 7 angels, 7 trumpets, 7 seals, etc.), but the change is unusual, especially in view of the curse at the end: "If anyone adds [to this book] God will add to him the plagues described in this book" (22:18).

Oh well, I, John, he saw a mighty number way up in the middle of the air! I, John he saw a mighty number way in the middle of the air. God Almighty! Well, I, John, you saw a mighty number way up in the middle of the air (2)
Well there were three gates in the east and there were three gates in the west. Three gates in the north Hallelujah! Three gates in the south. And that makes twelve gates to the city all square wide Hallelujah, God Almighty! I, John, he saw a mighty number way up in the middle of the air!
Well I, John declared that he saw a man. He held twelve bright stars in his right hand. Well his eyes flashed fire like the burning sun. [Revelation 1:16; but 7, not 12 stars.] Old John got scared and he wanted to run. Well he wanted to run but his feet wouldn't go, 'cause he felt the Gospel cutting like a two-edged sword. And he heard a voice that said, "John, you take a look and read what you see and go down and write it in a book!"
And he saw twelve angels in the east and there were twelve angels in the west. Hallelujah, brother! Twelve angels in the north, twelve angels in the south. That's a total of forty-eight angels to the city, four square wide. Hallelujah, God Almighty! Well, I John he saw a mighty number way in the middle of the air! Well, I John he saw a mighty number way in the middle of the air!
Mary Don't You Weep

Mary Don't You Weep is another example of how Black gospel mixes Old and New Testament persons and events, started by St. Paul in the early Christian era.
Moses and Pharaoh (an Egyptian ruler) are from the Hebrew Bible, while Mary and Martha refer to two women in the Gospel of John who weep over their dead brother, whom Jesus revives (JOHN 11:3ff.).
The Swan Silvertones recorded this song. Paul Simon said that one line from the record, "I'll be a bridge over deep water" inspired him to write, Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Oh, I'm singing, Mary! Martha don't have to mourn*! *weep
Listen to me, Mary! Martha don't have to mourn! Pharaoh's army, they got drowned in the sea one day. But Jesus said "Mary, your little old sister don't have to mourn no more."
Now can I get a witness? He said, "Mary, Martha don't have to
mourn." It may be somebody's sick today, or somebody here ain't got a
home.
Listen, Pharaoh's army they got drowned in the sea one day. But I
believe a man* said, "Mary, your little old sister *Jesus
don't have to mourn no more."
Now listen if I could, right now! I want to tell you that I should now put my foot on the rock*! Stand on the rock *Jesus, God
where Moses stood one day. Because Pharaoh's army, that's what the
Bible said, got drowned in the sea one day. But I believe the man said,
"Mary!" He said, "Mary." He said, "Mary."
There's trouble in the land! You won't have to worry. You won't have to give up right for wrong no more. It may have been a little hard to hear and I believe Jesus said (I better call a little bit loud), "Mary!" Wish I had somebody to help me call, "Mary. Yeah, Mary! Yeah Mary!
"I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name! I'll be a rock in the wilderness!* Ah, Mary!" You better call her again! Yes, Lord! Tell Martha you don't have to mourn no more!
*Numbers EXODUS 17, NUMBERS 20.

When You Believe

This is a pop song, from the Disney animated feature, Prince of Egypt, based on the Book of Exodus. The basic idea, that miracles follow faith and do not come before faith is found throughout the Bible, especially in the New Testament miracles, where cure follows belief:

Many nights I prayed with no proof anyone could hear, in our hearts a hope for a song we barely understood.
Now we are not afraid although we know there’s much to fear. We were moving mountains long before we knew we could, yes!
There can be miracles when you believe. Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve. When you believe somehow you will, you will when you believe.
In this time of fear when prayer so often proves in vain, hope seems like the summer birds too swiftly flown away. Yet now I’m standing here, my heart’s so full, I can’t explain: seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I’d say.
There can be miracles when you believe (when you believe). Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve (you can achieve) when you believe, somehow you will. You will when you believe.
They don’t always happen when you ask. And it’s easy to give in to your fear. But when you’re blinded by your pain, can’t see your way, get through the rain: A small, but still resilient voice says love is the relief.
There can be miracles (miracles) when you believe (Boy, when you believe) [Though hope is frail] Though hope is frail [It’s hard]It’s hard to kill (Hard to kill, oh, yeah)Who knows what miracles, you can achieve (you can achieve) when you believe, somehow you will. You will when you believe.
Exodus
The influence of the Book of Exodus on later freedom history has been huge. Crossing the river became a type for Christians, later Black slaves, and, most recently, freedom movements in South America and Jamaica. Reggae used Rastafarianism, based on a reading of the Bible, preaching freedom.
Bob Marley became the most famous artist from this music and named an album, Exodus. "Jah" in the song is "Jehovah" ("the LORD") and that spelling appears in the Bible (Psalm 68:4, KJV), though commonly changed in translation.
The song nicely fuses physical movement (escape) and moral movement (change), as in the Book of Numbers (the Book of the Wilderness), where the wilderness as a physical place is only the scene for the larger internal drama of moral laziness (tied to past comfort, etc.).
So the singer shouts, "MOVE!" He says "we know where we're going" because the Bible is based on faith in something better: God's Promise, the "promised land."
The people are not worthless people, but "Jah people" (the Lord's people), which, as in the priestly Sabbath or day of rest, insures a sense of dignity.
The song fuses the books of Exodus (escape) and Genesis (creation); because creation is continuous in the Bible, down to St. Paul's "new creation" and Revelation's new Heaven and Earth.
Other Bible references include Moses, the Red Sea, and Babylon. Here Babylon, to which the Jews were exiled (587 B.C.E.), replaces Egypt as a place name for slavery. Babylon is the image of Evil in the Book of Revelation.
Exodus, movement of Jah people, Oh yeah
And one more time, so let me tell you this

Men and people will fight you down, tell me why?
(When you see Jah light) Ha-ha-ha-ha
Let me tell you, if you're not wrong, then why?
(Well, everything is alright), So we gonna walk, alright, uh
Through the roads of creation,
We're the generation, tell me why?
(Trod through great tribulation)
Trod through great tribulations

Exodus, alright, movement of Jah people,
Oh yeah, oh yeah, Alright
Exodus, movement of Jah people,
Oh yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, well

Yeah, yeah, yeah, well, open your eyes (And look within)
Are you satisfied (With the life you're livin'?) Huh
We know where we're goin', uh
We know where we're from.
We're leavin' Babylon
We're goin' to our Fatherland, two, three, four

Exodus, movement of Jah people, Oh yeah
(Movement of Jah people) Send us another Brother Moses
(") Gonna cross the Red Sea
(") Send us another Brother Moses
(") Gonna cross the Red Sea

Exodus, alright. Ooh, ooh,
Movement of Jah people, Oh yeah
Exodus, Exodus, alright, Exodus, now, now, now, now
Exodus, Exodus, oh yeah, Exodus, Exodus, alright, but
Exodus, come, two, three, four
Move... Move... Move... Move... Move... Move... Move..

Open your eyes and look within
Are you satisfied with the life you're livin'? Huh
We know where we're goin'. We know where we're from
We're leavin' Babylon, y'all, We're goin' to our Father's land

Exodus, alright, Movement of Jah people
Exodus, Movement of Jah people

Movement of Jah people, movement of Jah people
Movement of Jah people, movement of Jah people
Move... Move... Move... Move... Move... Move... Move..

Jah come to break downpression, Rule equality,
Wipe away transgression. Set the captives free
Exodus, alright, alright, Movement of Jah people
Oh yeah, Exodus, Movement of Jah people

Now, now, now, now
Movement of Jah people, Movement of Jah people
Movement of Jah people, Movement of Jah people
Movement of Jah people, Movement of Jah people
Move, Move, Move, Move, Move, Move, uh, uh, uh
Movement of Jah people! Movement of Jah people
Movement of Jah people, Move ...

Theme from Exodus (This Land Is Mine)
The music from the movie Exodus won the Academy Award for Best Score (1960) and was one of the most famous tunes of the time. Later, lyrics were written by pop singer, Pat Boone and many recordings were made of this version. The movie has nothing to do with the Bible, but with the founding of the state of Israel, promised in the Bible.

This land is mine, God gave this land to me
This brave and ancient land to me
And when the morning sun reveals her hills and plain
Then I see a land where children can run free

So take my hand and walk this land with me
And walk this lovely land with me
Though I am just a man, when you are by my side
With the help of God, I know I can be strong

Though I am just a man, when you are by my side
With the help of God, I know I can be strong

To make this land our home
If I must fight, I'll fight to make this land our own
Until I die, this land is mine.

The idea of the "land" as a sacred promise is central to the Bible, which then becomes the "foundation text" for later land settlements, such as the American pilgrimage to the promised New World. This theme is in Pat Boone's lyrics for Exodus and also in the following song, written for a 1950s television show, The Lord Don't Play Favorites.
The song seems unwilling to commit itself to its theme, probably afraid of limited airplay! So it begins as an "inspirational song" and ends as a love song! (Of course, "the one I love" can also be viewed in terms of Jacob's blessings.)
But the arrangement favors inspiration over romance. The great Italian-American tenor, Mario Lanza recorded this song in 1957:
This land is much more than just earth to me
All my destiny is in this land.
This land is the place where my fathers trod* *walked
It was touched by God with his hand.
The trees I have grown
And the dreams I've sowned
Rest in the breast of this land.
This land where I live
Is the land I will give
To the one that I love
As much as I love this land.
This land where I live
Is the land I will give
To the one that I love
As much as I love this land.

Gospel Song Commentary

You've Got the River of Jordan to Cross
The Israelites crossed the river Jordan into the promised land, Canaan (Joshua 3:1ff.) and Jesus was also baptized in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13ff.). But the Jordan became more than a place name. It became a type of every spiritual crossing. Especially in gospel songs it became a type of crossing into Heaven.
You've got the river of Jordan to cross (2)
Take Jesus for your guide, he'll ferry you across.
Oh, you've got the river of Jordan to cross.

Sometimes I stop and wonder about this race
I've got to run
Or the trials and the tribulations [pain] I'll overcome
I'll take Jesus, Jesus for my guide
He'll ferry [deliver] me across
I've got the river of Jordan to cross!
You've got the river of Jordan to cross! (2)
Take Jesus for your guide, He will ferry you across
Oh, you've got the river of Jordan to cross.
You've got the river of Jordan to cross (2)
Take Jesus for your guide, He will ferry you across
You've got the river of Jordan to cross.

Twelve Gates to the City
The number 12 has symbolic value in the Bible. A previous handout and study picture showed the value of the this number. Even the Hebrew tribes and Jesus' apostles are less important by name than by number, since there are always 12, though the names change.
The Book of Revelation especially relies on this number, as this gospel song also shows. It's important to realize that Revelation was almost excluded from the canon (the official Bible textbook). Many saw it as too strange a book.
Yet the importance of the book is beyond doubt, and church authorities must have understood its importance. For Revelation clearly links redemption history to Hebrew history.
By doubling the number "12" to "24" (the "elders" in Heaven, representing both 12 Hebrew tribes and 12 Apostles), Revelation makes clear that fulfillment in Jesus is also fulfillment within Hebrew history. Otherwise, Christianity would have become a strictly "spiritual" religion, outside of History and with no meaning in History.

Moreover, God's promise to Abraham would have been null and void, since there would have been no fulfillment for the 12 Hebrew tribes. Rightly or wrongly, the Book of Revelation insures a continuous history from Abraham to Jesus; and, beyond, from the Creation to the End of the world, the New Creation.
This traditional spiritual is similar to the more recent composed song, I, John, which Elvis Presley recorded for a gospel album:
Have you heard of a city, streets are paved with gold? (3)
And there's 12 gates to the city, Hallelujah!
Oh, I'm crying, Oh, what a beautiful city (3)
12 gates to the city, Hallelujah!
3 gates in the east, 3 gates in the west,
3 gates in the north, 3 gates in the south
And there are 12 gates to the city
And there are 24 elders in the city
And there are 48 angels in the city
And they'll be waiting for me in the city.

Come on, meet me in the city
12 gates to the city
24 elders in the city
Oh, meet me in the city
48 angels waiting for me.
Shout, Hallelujah!
O great big beautiful city. Hallelujah!

CANAAN

Here Canann is once again identified with Heaven ("that happy golden strand"). Again, the believer hopes to "receive a blessing" (part of God's promise). History is continuous from Creation to Salvation.
I am bound for Canaan Land
To that happy golden strand
There I shall receive a blessing
For the work I've done below.

There I'll meet my Lord, what's gone
To receive that just reward
Lord, what a meeting that will be
When we gather around the throne.
O I'll be so glad to meet the prophets* *social reformers
And all the others who've gone on before
But I long to see my Saviour
You know, he died to save us all!
Didn't It Rain?
This is a variant of other gospel songs with the same title. Because gospel singers sing from the "spirit," new songs are made from old. This is a song about the Flood:
Forty days forty nights didn't the rain kept a-falling
The wicked climbed the tree and for help kept a-calling
For they heard the waters raining
Didn't it rain, rain, didn't it rain?
Tell me, Noah, didn't it rain?

Some climbed the mountains, some climbed the hill
Some tried swimming and a-rowing with a wheel
Some tried swimming and I guess they're swimming still
For they heard the waters roaring
Didn't it rain, rain, didn't it rain?
Tell me, Noah, didn't it rain?
Didn't it rain?
O Wasn't That a Wide River?
The "Jordan" songs speak for themselves. Always "Jordan" is used as a type of crossing, from suffering to peace, from earth to Heaven, from mortal death to eternal Life.

O wasn't that a wide river, river over Jordan,
Lord, wide river,
There's one more river to cross (2)

O the river of Jordan is so wide
I don't know how to get on the other side
I have some friends before me gone
By the grace of God I'll follow on
One more river to cross.
O wasn't that a wide river, river over Jordan,
Lord, wide river,
There's one more river to cross.

Shout, shout, Satan is about
Shut your door keep him out
Old Satan is like snake in the grass
If you don't mind he'll get you at last!
O wasn't that a wide river, river over Jordan,
Lord, wide river,
There's one more river to cross.
Wide river!
I Stood on the River of Jordan

I stood on the river of Jordan, to see the ship sailing over
I stood on the river of Jordan t o see that ship sail by.
Oh Father don't you weep when you see that ship coming sailing over.
Oh, Mother, don't you weep when you see that ship sail by.
Oh sister you better be ready to see that ship come sailing over.
Oh, brother you better be ready to see that ship sail by.
Oh Mother don't you weep when you see that ship coming sailing over.
Shout Glory Hallelujah, when you see that ship sail by.
I stood on the river of Jordan.

Roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan,
I want to go to Heaven but I've got to hear old Jordan roll.
My brother you should have been there, sitting up in the Kingdom
To hear old Jordan roll.
Roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan,
I want to go to Heaven but I've got to hear old Jordan roll. (2)
My sister. . .
My elders. . .
JOSHUA FIT THE BATTLE OF JERICO
This is one of the great Black spirituals.
The song refers to Joshua's battle for Jericho in the Book of Joshua (6:1-20). Different singers like to use different styles to sing the final phrase, "tumbling down," usually in imitation of the event.

"Fit" is an older dialect form of "fought. Many Black spirituals keep the older forms, such as "ribber" for "river," "Jerdon" for "Jordan," etc. I generally use standard English when printing the texts, especially for second-language students:

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho Jericho Jericho
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
And the walls come tumbling down

God knows that
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
Jericho Jericho
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
And the walls come tumbling down

Good morning sister Mary
Good morning brother John
Well I wanna stop and talk with you
Wanna tell you how I come along

I know you've heard about Joshua
He was the son of Nun
He never stopped his work until
Until the work was done

God knows that
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
Jericho Jericho
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
And the walls come tumbling down

You may talk about your men of Gideon
You may brag about your men of Saul
There's none like good old Joshua
At the battle of Jericho

Up to the walls of Jericho
He marched with spear in hand
Go blow them ram horns, Joshua cried
'Cause the battle is in my hands

God knows that
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
Jericho Jericho
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
And the walls come tumbling down

You may talk about your men of Gideon
You may brag about your king of Saul
There none like Joshua
At the battle of Jericho

They tell me, great God that Joshua’s spear
Was well nigh twelve feet long
And upon his hip was a double edged sword
And his mouth was a gospel horn

Yet bold and brave he stood
Salvation in his hand
Go blow them ram horns Joshua cried
'Cause the devil can't do you no harm

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
Jericho Jericho
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
And the walls come tumbling down

Up to the walls of Jericho
He marched with spear in hand
Go blow them ram horns, Joshua cried
'Cause the battle is in my hands

Then the lamb ram sheep horns began to blow
The trumpets began to sound
Old Joshua shouted glory
And the walls came tumblin' down

God knows that
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
Jericho Jericho
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
And the walls come tumbling down

Down, down, down, down, down
Tumblin' down.

SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD
This is one of the most widely known Black spirituals and hardly needs a commentary. It can be linked to the text of the Wilderness story in the Book of Numbers, or to the later Christian story of spiritual sin, and to the still later Black story of slavery.
As usual in gospel texts, probably all meanings are inseparably fused. After all, the Bible is really the world's first "postmodern" text, even before there was such a thing as the "mdoern," much less the "postmodern"!

Sometimes I feel like a motherless Child (3)
A long ways from home, a long ways from home.
True believer, I'm a long ways from home, a long ways from home.

Sometimes I feel like I'm almost gone (3)
A long ways from home.
True believer. A long, long ways from home, a long ways from home.

Sometimes I feel lika a motherless child. (3)
A long ways from home.

DEEP RIVER
Another of the timeless spirituals known all over the world. A jazz tune was based on this spiritual, called Dear Old Southland.
Once again "Jordan" is a type of crossing. "Campground" is "safety," whether Canaan, Heaven, or peace. The sense of "journey" is basic to Bible history, from Abraham, who obeys at the command to "go"; to Moses, "a stranger in a strange land"; and to the strangers called Christians, who considered their bodies only "tents" of temporary use.
Sam Cooke, the great soul singer (usually credited with inventing Soul music) actually (like many soul singers) started in Gospel. He sang with the Gospel group, The Soul Stirrers. With little change in style, he crossed over, not into Jordan, but into Pop music, with such classic pop records as You Send Me, Wonderful World ("Don't much about Geography," etc.).
Soul music, by the way, is essentially Gospel music. But instead of singing about Jesus, it sings about human love, with the same shouts of rapture!
Great soul singers such as Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston all started in Gospel, usually with parents (Franklin's father, Whitney's mom) who sang Gospel:

Deep River,
My home is over Jordan.
Deep river,
Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

Deep River,
My home is over Jordan.
Deep river,
Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

Oh, don't you want to go
To that gospel feast,
That promised land,
Where all is peace.

Deep river,
Lord, I want to cross over into campground.
Songs, Week of 28 December 2004
The story of Samson and Delilah has had wide popularity in the visual arts (paintings and movies). There is also at least one Gospel song, in two versions. The following version has been performed by the Rock group, The Grateful Dead. We will not listen to this version, but the lyrics are given for curious students:

If I had my way I would tear this whole building down. Delilah was a woman, she was fine and fair. She had good looks - God knows - and coal black hair. Delilah she gained old Samson's mind. When first he saw this woman, she looked so fine. Delilah she climbed up on Samson's knee. Said tell me where your strength lies, if you please. Then she spoke so kind, she talked so fair. That Samson said, Delilah you cut off my hair. You can shave my head, cleanse my hand. My strength comes as natural as any other man.
You read about Samson, all from his birth. He was the strongest man ever had lived on earth. One day while Samson was walking along. Looked down on the ground he saw an old jaw bone. Then he stretched out his arm and his chains broke like threads. And when he got to move, ten thousand were dead.
Now Samson and the lion, they got in attack. And Samson he walked up on the lion's back. You read about this lion, he killed a man with his paw. Samson got hands up round the lion's jaw. He ripped that beast, killed it dead. And the bees made honey in the lion's head.
IF I HAD MY WAY
{Chorus}
Well, if I had my way
If I had my way, little children!
If I had my way
I’d tear this building down!

Great God!
If I had my way
If I had my way, little children
If I had my way
I’d tear the building down!

Well you read in the Bible, you will understand
That Samson was the strongest man
They tell me God moved on the wings of the wind
He saw old Samson and he called to him.
He whispered low into Samson’s mind,
Saying, “Deliver the children from the Philistines.”
{Chorus} Well if I had my way . . .

Great God! Then Samson went down and he wandered about.
Tell me that his strength was never found out.
They tell us down in Chapter 9
That he killed 3000 of Philistines
Then Samson’s wife she sat on his knees
And said, “Samson, tell me Samson, where your strength lies, please."
Samson’s wife, she talked so fair
That Samson told her to cut his hair
Said you shave my head as clean as your hand
Then my strength gonna go like a natural man
Chorus
He said, If I had my way. . .

Great God!
They shaved his head just as clean as the hand.
They took him on down to a strange land
They led him on down to the judgment hall
Blind him and chained him to the wall
But he called on God, he called on the Lord
They tell me that his hair begins to grow
Then he called a kid about three feet tall
He said you place my hands up against the wall
Then he placed his hands up against the wall
Then he tore that building down!
Chorus
Never Turn Back
Like the parables of Jesus, Gospel songs use everyday images to make a point. By now you should be able to see references to Bible themes, such as turning one's back on the "fleshpots" of Egypt (Exodus); making oneself strong in the wilderness (Numbers); doing the assigned job (Joshua); the River Jordan (Numbers, etc.); and not looking back (compare Lot's wife, in Genesis). In the New Testament, Jesus says that anyone who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God. Second-language students should be aware that although double negatives are considered ungrammatical ("never look back no more" is, grammatically, "never look back anymore") double negatives are acceptable in Black speech and even the 19th-century American writer, Emerson, praised the strength of the double negative. Compare, "proper" English: "I don't have any home," with "incorrect" English: "I ain't got no home." The second sounds stronger, rhetorically, than the first; yet the second is considered ungrammatical.
Never turn back! I'll keep on till I reach the other shore. Rain may fall, floods may roll, storms may rise, winds may blow, but I'll never turn back no more! I started for Heaven a long time ago. In this world of temptation I found only pain and woe. Til I turned my back on pleasure I found only pain and woe. Now I'm back on the road to the city and I'll never turn back no more.

NEVER GIVE UP
In JOSHUA, God tells Joshua several times to "be strong and courageous (1:6, 7, 9), echoed by the people (1:19). The famous Gospel song, Joshua Fit the Battle also says about Joshua, "he never stopped his work until his work was done." The promise of rest (1:13) follows work. But God's chosen must answer when they're called, as with Moses, or, later, Gideon (in JUDGES). The following Gospel song, sung by Gospel superstar, Yolanda Williams, adapts the gospel message for an inspirational song. An "inspirational song" is separated from a gospel song by its more general message of belief, not necessarily faith in God. Adams is certainly a believer and a main star of modern Gospel. She probably kept out the word God in order to appeal to the crossover (pop) market, so that believing in God becomes believing in oneself. Yet this sentiment is not far from the message of Jesus, since his assurance that "the kingdom of heaven is within," may, in Greek, also mean "happiness [eudaimon=the good god] is within."

Visions that can change the world trapped inside an ordinary girl. She looks just like me: too afraid to dream out loud. And though it's simple your idea, it won't make sense to everybody. You need courage now if you're gonna persevere to fulfill divine purpose, you gotta answer when you're called. So don't be afraid to face the world against all odds
Chorus: Keep the dream alive: don't let it die. If something deep inside keeps inspiring you to try, don't stop. And never give up, don't ever give up on you. Don't give up. Every victory comes in time, work today to change tomorrow. It gets easier. Who's to say that you can't fly. Every step you take you get, closer to your destination. You can feel it now, don't you know you're almost there. To fulfill divine purpose, you gotta answer when you're called. So don't be afraid to face the world against all odds
Chorus: Keep the dream alive don't let it die. If something deep inside keeps inspiring you to try, don't stop. And never give up, don't ever give up on you.
Sometimes life can place a stumbling block in your way
But you've gotta keep the faith, bring what's deep inside your heart to light. And never give up don't ever give up on you, Don't give up
Bridge: Who holds the pieces to complete the puzzle
The answer that can solve a mystery. The key that can unlock your understanding. It's all inside of you, you have everything you need yeahhhh
Sooooo, keep the dream alive don't let it die. If something deep inside, keeps inspiring you to try don't stop. And never give up, don't ever give up on you
Sometimes life can place a stumbling block in your way
But you're gotta keep the faith, bring what's deep inside your heart yeah your Heart to the light and never give up Don't ever give up on you Nooo don't give up. No, no, no, no don't give up. Oh, no, no, no, no don't...give...up!
ROLL JORDAN ROLL
Another gospel song using the image of crossing the Jordan river as an image of crossing to God. It relies on the teaching texts of Deuteronomy ("teach the children"): 4:9, 6:7, 11:19, including the Shema (6:4).

Well now, roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan roll, I want to go to heaven when I die to hear old Jordan roll. Well now, roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan roll, I want to go to heaven when I die to hear old Jordan roll.
Oh brother you ought to been there, yes, my Lord, while sitting up in the Kingdom to hear old Jordan roll.
Well now, roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan roll, I want to go to Heaven when I die to hear old Jordan roll.
My sister, you ought to been there a-sitting up in the Kingdom to hear the preaching of the Elders talking about the river of Jordan. You've got to live right, and you got to stay right, then you will die right to cross the river of Jordan.
Well now, roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan roll, I want to go to Heaven when I die to hear old Jordan roll.
You can hear them preaching in the morning, hear them preaching in the evening, and if you sit and listen they will surely help, help you to live right, help you to stay right, help you to die right and cross the river of Jordan. Well now roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan roll, I want to go to Heaven when I die to hear old Jordan roll.

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