This is an African-American spiritual. Sometimes called "I Been in de Storm (So Long)" and less often "I've Been in the Storm."
I BEEN IN DE STORM SO LONG
I been in de storm so long,
I been in de storm so long, chillun,
I been in de storm so long,
Oh, gimme little time to pray.
1. Oh, let me tell you, Mother, hown I come 'long,
Oh, gimme little time to pray,
With a hung down head and an achin' heart,
Oh, gimme little time to pray.
'Cause I been in de storm so long,
I been in de storm so long, chillun,
I been in de storm so long,
Oh, gimme little time to pray.
2. Now when I get to Heaven I'll take my seat,
Oh, gimme little time to pray,
An-a cast my crown at my Jesus' feet,
Oh, gimme little time to pray.
I been in de storm so long,
I been in de storm so long, chillun,
I been in de storm so long,
Oh, gimme little time to pray.
SOURCE: Songs of Zion, no. 144 (with music)
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I'VE BEEN IN THE STORM SO LONG
I've been in the storm so long,
I've been in the storm so long, children,
I've been in the storm so long,
Oh, give me little time to pray.
Oh, let me tell my mother
How I come along,
Oh, give me little time to pray,
With a hung down head and a aching heart,
Oh, give me little time to pray.
Oh, when I get to heaven,
I'll walk all about
Oh, give me little time to pray,
There'll be nobody there to turn me out,
Oh, give me little time to pray.
I've been in the storm so long,
I've been in the storm so long, children,
I've been in the storm so long,
Oh, give me little time to pray.
SOURCE: Peters, Lyrics of the African-American Spiritual, p. 23 (original source: Fisher, Seventy Negro Spirituals, 1926)
There're some interesting recordings. Marian Anderson's concert-spiritual singing is in her He's Got the Whole World in His Hand (RCA/Victor). A version traditional singing style is in Been in the Storm So Long Spirituals, Folk Tales and Children's Games from Johns Island, South Carolina (Smithsonian Folkways 40031). Aretha Franklin, with Joe Ligon, sings in One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism; and, with her father (Rev. C.L. Franklin), in Only a Look (Jewel).
~Masato