Joe,

There are three recordings of a song like this, billed as spirituals, in Amazon sound clips on albums with Leontyne Price, Barbara Hendricks, and Florence Quivar. The verse/chorus pattern scans right, and a lot of the lyric matches. Maybe this great song needs its own thread. PM me if you want me to email you the clips.

Lyrics I'm hearing in the clips, below.

~S~

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In "Roun' About de Mountain," with Hendricks:

The Lord loves the sinner.
The Lord loves the sinner man.
The Lord loves a sinner and he'll rise in His arms.

When I was a sinner, a-seekin' just like you,
I went down in the valley....

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In "Round the Mountain," with Price:

(chorally)
'Round about de mountain.
'Round about de mountain.
My God's a rulin', and she'll rise in His arms.

(solo)
'Round about de mountain.
'Round about de mountain.
My God's a rulin', and she'll rise in His arms.

The Lord loves a sinner.
The Lord loves a sinnerman.
The Lord loves a sinner and she'll rise in His arms.

(verse)
When I was a sinner, a-seekin' just like you,
I went out into the valley, and I prayed till I come through

You hypocrite! You concubine!
The ............


When I was a sinner, a-seekin' just like you,
I went down in the valley....

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In "Roun' About de Mountain," with Quivar:
Very expressively acted/sung, with the same words as the longer Price clip.

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I don't find it by a title like this in my index of spirituals in print, so I would suspect it had been heard and passed on orally till it got to an arranger for concert spirituals-- I'd bet it was ROLAND HAYES (thanks Masato!).

See also HYPOCRITE AND CONCUBINE, HERE.

Now, I happen to know Masato has the Hayes book, and perhaps if this is a separate thread he might notice it and share the full lyric....

I was thinking of doing it for Eastertide, but I have not been able to buy the book yet. I'm starting to need a dam' budget! :~)

~Susan