I CAN'T STAY AWAY
(I WISH I HAD DIED IN EGYPT LAND)

Cho.
O, I can't stay away, I can't stay away,
I can't stay away, I wish I had died in the Egypt Land.

Children grumbled on the way,
"Wish I had died in the Egypt land;"
Children they forgot to pray,
"Wish I had died in the Egypt land."
Cho.
Now they wept and now they moaned,
"Wish I had died in the Egypt land;"
Then they turned around and groaned,
"Wish I had died in the Egypt land."
Cho.
Yes, the children, they did right,
"Wish I had died in the Egypt land;"
When they went and had that fight,
Wish I had died in the Egypt land."
Cho.

Work, John W., 1940, American Negro Songs and Spirituals, p. 157.
Cited in the Cleveland Index under I Can't Stay Away, I.
@religion @spiritual