Lyr Add: Lord, Show Me the Way (chant spiritu

Subject: Lord, Show Me the Way (chant spiritual)
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 16 Nov 01 - 07:01 PM

LORD, SHOW ME THE WAY

I was settin' in the shade, by the graveyard fence,
Prayin' to myself, an' I commence to sing;
When all at once, I heard a voice call:
"Come on, and go with me."
I looked 'round to see who was callin' my name.
The graveyard was empty; I was settin' there alone.
I began to wonder if the spirit had called;
Den my mind told me, listen to the word.
The grass in the graveyard begin to wave,
An' I felt the cool wind fannin' my face;
Den I leant 'ginst the fence, an' I shet my eyes,
An' my soul felt happy, an' I start to sing:

O I ain' got long to stay hyah, good Lord, good Lord,
No, I ain' got long to stay hyuh,
Good Lord, I'm goin' home.
To my God and yo' God, I'm goin' home,
Bow down on your knees,
Good Lord, I'm goin' home.

All at once, the wind stop blowin',
I left off singin' an' I look around,
The dusk was just beginnin' to fall,
Night was goin' a-ketch me on a lonesome road.
I looked up an' seen the sky sprinkled with stars,
An' I knowed my Redeemer was showin' me the way.

By an' by I come to a field full of weeds,
With a ditch full of water runnin' cross my path.
Somethin' told me, the ditch too wide,
Don't try to jump over, you gotta walk on through.
I went through the water to the other side,
An' my feets an' my body an' my clo'se was all dry!
The weeds growin' 'round me was over my head,
But I tromped through them, searchin' for my way.
All at once it look like the weeds disappear;
I was standin' in a wide, strange, furrin place.
The moon come out from behin' the clouds,
An' a voice say, follow me.

I kep' on walkin' till I come to a stream,
Whah a ole man was settin' on a chopped down tree.
His clo'se was all raggety an' splashed with mud,
An' his face an' his hands was scrawny an' thin.
When he seen me comin' he turned way roun',
An' he took off his garment an' he held it out,
An' he says to me; "Down on yo' knees:
Take the garment an' wash it clean."
Then I reached for the garment an' I rolled it un-loose,
An' I seen in the moonlight 'twas stained with blood.
I went to the water side an' got on my knees,
An' I dipped down the garment in the runnin' stream.
When my hands touched the water it was chilly and cold,
An' I start to shiver, an' I looked aroun',
The man say: "If you believe in me
You must wash that garment until you make it clean."
Then I flung the garment in the stream once mo',
An' I swished it in the water all up an' down;
Till firs' thing I knowed, all the color turned red,
The water was flowin' like stream o' blood!
I heard my mind whisper to me, "Tain' no use";
Then the man say, "If you believe in me,
You can wash that garment till you make it clean."

I start rubbin' on the garment with all my might,
Then I swished it in the water, an' I wrung it dry;
Then I held it up ag'in to see if it was clean:
The garment looked bran' new; the mud was all gone.
I seen it shinin' in the moonlight, white as snow!
I got up off my knees, an' I went to'ads the man
Whar I left him settin' on the chopped down tree;
But the man looked diff'runt, all his body had change,
His face was smilin, an' his age was all gone.
I held out the garment, but he waved his hand,
An' he say to me, "You must believe in me."
Then he pull back his robe, an' I seen the scars
Whah the cruel Jews gashed him in the naked bres'.

I fell on my knees, in a blindin' light,
An' I bowed down befo' Him, clean down to the groun',
An' I cried: "Lord Jesus, thy word fulfill;
Let my feet go steady an' my soul be saved!
I prayed to Him an' I prayed to Him long,
An' I prayed with all of my mind an' all of my heart;
Till my hands an' my body was cold an' num',
An' at las', when I look up an' open my eyes,
'Twas evenin' an' the graveyard was lonely an' still.

R. Emmet Kennedy collected Negro songs and stories, and occasionally put fragments in his books about the common people of the South. This is one I found in a notebook, probably from one of his books. Chant, often developed into a story after listening to sermons, was once common but now is practiced only by some gospel preachers.
@religion @spiritual @chant

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Lord, Show Me the Way (chant spiritu
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Nov 01 - 12:58 PM

And Anglicans. *G*

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Lord, Show Me the Way (chant spiritu
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Nov 01 - 07:09 PM

Lots of Anglican churches here in Canada- I think something like this would blow them outta their britches.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Lord, Show Me the Way (chant spiritu
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 11:13 PM

Well Dicho, it would blow MOST of them outta their britches here too, but we would do it. On a Satureday night... you'd be surprised at that service I think!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Lord, Show Me the Way (chant spiritu
From: Burke
Date: 08 Feb 02 - 12:05 PM

Chanting a psalm or canticle is an entirely different thing than the chanted extemporaneous prayers or sermons that I've heard. The people I've heard consider it a gift.