OLD TIME RELIGION (4)
cho: 'Tis the old time religion, (3x)
And it's good enough for me.
It was good for our mothers. (3x)
And it's good enough for me.
Makes me love everybody. (3x)
And it's good enough for me.
It has saved our fathers. (3x)
And it's good enough for me.
It will do when I am dying. (3x)
And it's good enough for me.
It will take us all to heaven (3x)
And it's good enough for me.
Heard by Charles Tillman (1861-1943) at an 1889 Black camp meeting in Lexington,
SC, titled
"My Old Time Religion." Tillman arranged and published it with other gospel
songs in one of
his Songbooks, 1891. He published 20 songbooks, all very rare. For a time he was
song leader
at the Indian Springs Holiness Camp Meeting at Flovilla, Georgia (still held
yearly).
The lyrics above are from Cyberhymnal; I have not seen the Songbook and am not
sure that
these are the words he published.
The origin and date of composition of this gospel song are unknown. The song is
generally presumed
to be African-American, the evidence for this being first publication in Marsh,
"The Story of the
Jubilee Singers; with Their Songs," c. 1880. Their version is given in the text
following the Tillman
version.
(From The Ballad Index)
That Old Time Religion
DESCRIPTION: "Give me that (or: It's the/that) old time religion (x3), And it's
good enough for me." Verses describe those for whom it was good enough: "It was
good for Paul and Silas" "It was good for the Hebrew children," "It was good for
my dear parents," etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 872 ("Jubilee Songs as sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers")
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
BrownIII 640, "That Old-Time Religion" (1 text)
Chappell-FSRA 91, "The Old Time Religion" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Randolph 628, "The Old Time Religion" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 438-440, "The Old-Time Religion" (1 text, 1 tune --
Randolph's 628)
Silber-FSWB, p. 362, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (1 text)
Roud #6423
RECORDINGS:
The Blue Chips, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (ARC 6-07-60, 1936)
Emmett Brand, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (on MuSouth06)
Haydn Quartette, "The Old Time Religion" (Victor 4656, 1906)
Old Southern Sacred Singers, "The Old Time Religion" (Brunswick 161, 1927)
Pace Jubilee Singers, "Old-Time Religion" (Victor 22097, 1929)
Paramount Jubilee Singers, "That Old Time Religion" (Paramount 12073, c. 1924)
Ernest Thompson, "The Old Time Religion" (Columbia 15007-D, 1924)
Tuskegee Institute Singers, "The Old Time Religion" (Victor 18075, 1916)
Tuskegee Quartet, "The Old Time Religion" (Victor 20519, 1927)
Congregation of Wesley Methodist Church, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (on
JohnsIsland1)
SAME TUNE:
Old Time Religion [parody] (DT, OLTIMREL, OLTIMR2, OLTIMR3; on PeteSeeger47)
Notes: This piece was copyrighted in 1891 by Charlie D. Tillman -- but given
that the text sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers was printed in 1880, the claim is
obviously bogus.
This seems, for all intents and purposes, to have become a parody of itself of
late. All three Digital Tradition versions, for instance, are modern versions
praising various improbable deities (I suspect that most of the verses are
filk). It's not really surprising, given the excellent tune and the asinine
lyrics of the original. - RBW
@religion
filename[ OLTIMRO4
QX
Feb07
mudcat.org
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