Origins: Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Subject: Rise Up Shepherd and Follow
From: MMario
Date: 10 Dec 99 - 02:58 PM

Anyone have any background on this besides it is a Christmas spiritual and dates back before 1902?

Subject: RE: Rise Up Shepherd and Follow
From: Caitrin
Date: 10 Dec 99 - 09:39 PM

'fraid not...though I would be interested in knowing. I sang it in chorale last year and enjoyed it a lot.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Shepherd and Follow
From: raredance
Date: 10 Dec 99 - 10:01 PM

Ruth Crawford Seeger included the song in her "American Folk Songs For Christmas". Seeger's book does not contain a lot of backgound information to the songs but she does cite a reference for Rise Up Shepherd. The reference cited is "Religious Folk Songs of the Negro, A Sung on the Plantations" edited by Thomas P. Fenner, 1909, Hampton Normal And Agricultural Institute, Hampton, VA. Perhaps someone has access to a library that might contain this reference to see if there is any information beyond a lyric text.

rich r

Subject: Rise up, shepherd
From: GUEST,Kathleen
Date: 16 Dec 00 - 03:16 PM

Hi! Does anyone know the verses to "Rise up, shepherd"? I have the first two, but I know there's at least one more. . .Thanks!

Slan Kathleen

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 16 Dec 00 - 04:47 PM

"Rise Up Shepherd and Follow" from Ruth Crawford Seeger's book "American Folk Songs for Christmas" has only two verses given, but there are quite a few Christmas songs about shepherds being told to get up and go see what's happening. Which one do you mean?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: GUEST,Kathleen
Date: 16 Dec 00 - 04:51 PM

I mean the African-American spiritual. . .like I said, I have the first two verses. I saw a version with three before, but can't seem to find it. I don't know if this is the same as in Seeger's book, though.

Slan Kathleen

Subject: Lyr Add: RISE UP, SHEPHERD AND FOLLOW^^
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 16 Dec 00 - 05:12 PM

Well, Seeger got it from "Religious Folk Songs of the Negro, as Sung on the Plantations" by Thomas P. Fenner, 1909, so it would count as a spiritual.

Since I don't see it in the Mudcat, I'm going to post it here. I think perhaps you've heard part of the part she calls the refrain as the third verse.

RISE UP, SHEPHERD AND FOLLOW

There's a star in the East on Christmas morn,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
It'll lead to the place where the Savior's born,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow

Refrain
Leave your sheep and leave your lambs
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
Leave your ewes and leave your rams
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
Follow, follow
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
Follow the star of Bethlehem
Rise up, shepherd, and follow

If you take good heed of the angel's words
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
You'll forget your flocks, you'll forget your herds
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
Refrain

From Seeger "American Folk Songs for Christmas" CD^^

This version also in Ruth Crawford Seeger's book, American Folk Songs for Christmas

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Jul 01 - 08:03 PM

A tune! A tune! My kingdom for a tune!
More verses would be nice, too.
-Joe Offer (click to e-mail)-

---

Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song:

Rise Up, Shepherd

DESCRIPTION: "There's a star in the east on Christmas morn, Rise up, Shepherd, and follow." The shepherd is advised to "Leave your sheep and leave your lambs" and follow the star to where Jesus is
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: Bible religious shepherd Christmas
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Dett, pp. 79-79, App.IV, "Rise Up, Shepherd, an' Foller" (2 texts, 2 tunes; p. 173 in the 1909 edition)
Lomax-FSNA 253, "Rise Up, Shepherd" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fireside, p. 266, "Rise Up, Shepherd, an' Foller" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 373, "Rise Up, Shepherd, And Follow" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #85, "There's a Star in the East" (1 text)
Roud #15289
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow" (on PeteSeeger37, PeteSeeger42)
NOTES: Although everything mentioned here comes from the Gospels, there is no evidence that the shepherds behaved as described. The star is mentioned only in Matthew (2:2, 9-10), and it seems to have been visible only to the Magi ("Wise Men") -- at least, Herod and his advisors couldn't tell which star it was.
The shepherds who see Jesus, on the other hand, are found only in Luke (2:8-20). They are not guided by the star, but given explicit directions by an angel. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.0
File: LoF253

---

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2016 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

---

....and the Digital Tradition lyrics:

RISE UP, SHEPHERD AND FOLLOW

There's a star in the East on Christmas morn,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
It'll lead to the place where the Savior's born,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow

cho: Leave your sheep and leave your lambs
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
Leave your ewes and leave your rams
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
Follow, follow
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
Follow the star of Bethlehem
Rise up, shepherd, and follow

If you take good heed of the angel's words
Rise up, shepherd, and follow
You'll forget your flocks, you'll forget your herds
Rise up, shepherd, and follow


From Seeger "American Folk Songs for Christmas" CD
Ruth Crawford Seeger got it from "Religious Folk Songs of the Negro, as Sung on
the Plantations" by Thomas P. Fenner, 1909.

@Xmas @spiritual
filename[ RISESHEP
CD
Oct01

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: vectis
Date: 04 Jul 01 - 06:21 PM

There's a Manx song which has the phrase
Oh arise you my shepherd
and away to the hills
For the old sheep are dying
And the snow's falling still
It's a Christmas song/carol

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 04 Jul 01 - 07:56 PM

Well, yes: see for example  Gaelic:Kirree fo Niaghtey-English Lyrics.  Mind you, it isn't even remotely related to the song in question, except that it has sheep in it.  Rather a lot of songs have sheep in them.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 05 Jul 01 - 07:38 PM

Hey Joe, I'm sending a midi of Rise Up Shepherd, and Follow. The only difference is that my words say shepherds.

...now about that kingdom...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jul 01 - 07:44 PM

Scotty G e-mailed me a link to a MIDI and sheet music - (click). Thanks, Scotty and Mary!!
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: MMario
Date: 05 Jul 01 - 09:23 PM

More verses would be nice...I do this one during our Dicken's Christmas street theatre...claim to have learned it from an American sailor

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: MMario
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 09:04 AM

note: some versions use the "leave your sheep and ...." section as the second verse and keep only the "follow, follow" portion as the refrain.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 10:59 AM

Your right MMario!

I had both versions, but used the "leave your sheep" version because the words posted above already had that. Also, the version I sent Joe had a time change from 4/4 to 2/4 on all the "follows" at the end of the line. (It also was written in dialect with "foller" and "shepherds," but I just left that out.

I suspect the "more verses" discussion is from confusion over these versions.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: MMario
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 11:09 AM

I love this song - it's both fun to sing and somewhat challenging to sing - (at least it's challenging two or three hours into a performance) - it's good as a a solo - and yet it can be done as a chorus song...it's religious but not shove it in your face; and it isn't a "cookie cutter" christmas carol - or common enough to be Christmas muzak

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:42 PM

Here's a link to a YouTube video clip of FAMU [Florida Agriculture & Mechanical University] concert choir singing a medley of "What Ya Gonna Name Your Baby Boy?", "Sweet Little Jesus Boy", "Rise Up Shepherd and Follow"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5KIv6SFFqw


[I've been having difficulty this evening getting that video clip to load, but I'm posting it in the hope that the video is still good.]

**

Also, the song "Rise Up Shepherd and Follow" is mentioned on this Mudcat thread: thread.cfm?threadid=98178&messages=17
Folklore: Website on the 'Drinking Gourd' song

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:55 PM

Although rabbitrunning provided the lyrics in his {her?} 16 Dec 00 - 05:12 PM post, a verse is mixed in with the chorus {refrain}, and so I'm posting the same lyrics here:

There's a star in the East on Christmas morn,
Rise up shepherd and follow.
It will lead to the place where the Saviour's born,
Rise up shepherd and follow.

Follow, follow,
Rise up shepherd and follow.
Follow the star of Bethlehem.
Rise up shepherd and follow.

Leave your sheep and leave your lambs
Rise up shepherd and follow.
Leave you ewes and leave your rams.
Rise up shepherd and follow.

Follow, follow,
Rise up shepherd and follow.
Follow the star of Bethlehem.
Rise up shepherd and follow.

If you take good heed to the angel's words.
Rise up shepherd and follow.
You'll forget your flocks; you'll forget your herds.
Rise up shepherd and follow.

Follow, follow,
Rise up shepherd and follow.
Follow the star of Bethlehem.
Rise up shepherd and follow.

Source:

http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/vanessa_williams/rise_up_shepherd.html

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Azizi
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 12:08 AM

Btw, since this is a discussion thread about this song, let me mention that I have rarely if ever heard any contemporary [post 1950] African American choir use supposedly Black slavery dialectic phrasing for Rise Up Shepherd and Follow or any other African American spiritual.

A dialect version of Rise Up Shepherd and Follow is provided by Q in the Folklore: Website on the 'Drinking Gourd' Mudcat thread whose link is given above.

Regardless of whether "Foller, foller, rise up Shepherd an' foller, foller,Foller de star of Bethlehem" was the way the song was collected, in my not at all humble opinion, most African Americans
I know would take great offense to the song being sung with 'des' and 'follers'.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Azizi
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 12:41 AM

I was going to write more about this subject, but remembered doing so in another Mudcat thread.

Here's that exchange of opinion which I had with another Mudcatter regarding dialect songs: thread.cfm?threadid=27332#1531183

Lyr Add: Death Song - from rare African-Amer

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 12:50 AM

For the record, the version posted by Rabbitrunning above is an exact transcription of the Seeger songbook and CD - they inclued "ewes" as part of the chorus.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise up, shepherd
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 10:21 AM

ALso see additional discussion and lyric postings HERE.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 07:59 PM

The post by Rabbitrunning, with the extended refrain, is the same as the version in N. G. J. Ballanta-(Taylor), 1924, "Saint Helena Island Spirituals."
The spiritual was included for the first time in the 1909 edition of "Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro," when Robert R. Moton was Commandant of the Hampton Institute. The 1927 edition, edited by R. Nathaniel Dett, includes the extended chorus, which includes the 'sheep' lines, in Appendix IV; the lines are omitted altogether in a version on p. 79, "Transcribed by R. Nathaniel Dett."

The 1909 version is transcribed in "Saint Helena Island Spirituals."
For the sake of accuracy and completeness, here are the lyrics with the extended chorus:

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 08:35 PM

Whoops! My space bar problem again-

RISE UP, SHEPHERD AN' FOLLER

1
Dere's a star in de Eas' on Christmas morn,
Rise up, shepherd, an' foller;
It'll lead t' de place where de Savious born,
Rise up, shepherd, an' foller.

Chorus
Leave yo' sheep an' leave yo' lams
Rise up shepherd an' foller.
Leave yo' lives and leave yo' rams
Rise up shepherd an' foller.
Foller, foller, rise up shepherd an' foller
Foller, foller, rise up shepherd an' foller;
Foller de star of Bethlehem
Rise up, shepherd an' foller.

2.
If you take good heed to do angel's words,
Rise up, shepherd an' foller.
You'll forget yo' flock, you'll forget yo' herd
Rise up shepherd an' foller.

Copied from lyrics and music, no. 111, p. 91,
Nicholas George Julius Ballanta-(Taylor), 1924, "Saint Helena Island Spirituals," recorded and Transcribed at Penn Normal Industrial and Agricultural School, St. Helena Island.
The African Ballanta-(Taylor) received a Diploma in 1924 from the Institute of Musical Art, NYC, for his work in recording some 103 spirituals from the Island. The Ballanta Academy of Music, Freetown, Sierra Leone, is named for him.

Logic would support separation of the four 'sheep' lines into a verse as Azizi has posted, but logic has little to do with folk song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Aug 12 - 01:51 PM

The text and melody of this song, taken from the 1909 edition of "Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro," was reproduced in Florence Hudson, ed., 1922, "Songs of the Americas," G. Schirmer, Inc., arr. Franklin Robinson, pp. 45-46.

Subject: ABC: Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
From: Artful Codger
Date: 12 Aug 12 - 05:37 PM

The 1909 Fenner book is available for free viewing and download at Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=DhMzAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA173

The Hymn Site offers some nice harmonized MIDIs; see this web page:
http://www.hymnsite.com/fws/hymn.cgi?2096

The Cyber Hymnal also has a nice harmonized MIDI and score (available in both PDF and NWC formats).
http://hymntime.com/tch/htm/r/i/s/riseupsh.htm

Below I've transcribed the (melody-only) score from Fenner into ABC; feed it to the folkinfo.org ABC Converter to generate a MIDI and PDF score. You'll probably want to transpose the output, since G-flat isn't the most instrument-friendly key.


X:1
T:Rise Up, Shepherd, an' Foller
%%writefields SN
S:"Religious Folk Songs of the Negro, as Sung on the Plantations" p. 173, Thomas Putnam Fenner,
S:\   Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (Hampton, Va. : The Institute Press, 1909).
N:Labeled "Christmas plantation song".
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:Gb
d/ B/ | d(d/ B/)dB | BAA2 | AA_
w: 1.~Dere's a Star in de Eas' on Christ-mas morn, Rise, up,
w: 2.~If yo' take good* heed to~de an-gel's word, Rise up,
c/ c/ B | A<A z d/ B/ | d (B/ B/) d B/ B/ |
w: Shep-herd, an' fol-ler; It' ll lead t' de place where de
w: Shepherd, an' fol-ler; yo'll for-get yo'* flocks, you'll for-
AB((F/ E/)D) | FFE/ E/D | B,<D z ||
w: Sav-iour's born,__ Rise up, Shepherd, an' fol-ler;
w: get yo' herds,__ Rise up, Shepherd, an' fol-ler;
"^Refrain" DFAA | BBA2 | AA_c/ c/B | A<A z2 |
w: Leave yo' sheep and leave you' lambs, Rise up, Shep-herd, an' fol-ler,
DFAA | BBA2 | FFE/ E/DB,<D z2 |
w: Leave yo' ewes an' leave yo' rams, Rise up, Shep-herd, an' fol-ler;
D>FA2 | A2A2 | AA_c/ c/B | A<A z2 | DF/>F/
w: Fol--ler, fol-ler, Rise up, Shep-herd, an' fol-ler; Fol-ler de
AA | BA(F/ E/D) | FFE/ E/D | B,<D z |]
w: Star o' Beth-le-hem,__ Rise up, Shep-herd, an' fol-ler.