Roll the old chariot along- or similar-want MP3

Subject: Roll the old chariot along- or similar
From: Bloke in the Corner
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 01:54 PM

Last week at our local session in Barrow, North Lincs, we all sang a really good a capella version of the song 'Roll the old Chariot along' (or some similar title.) Question is, does anyone know of such an a capella version of the song which is available for downloading?

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar
From: Peace
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 01:57 PM

mp3 here.

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 02:02 PM

Check our African American Spirituals permathread, where a group of Chariot Spirituals' links appear. You can find it with the Filter box set back about 90 days.

~S~

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar
From: Andy Jackson
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 02:08 PM

Hmmm.. seems more likely to be a song realating to the inability of a small amount of a certain Admirals vital fluids causing anyone permanent damage. Try a search for "A Drop of Nelson's Blood"
Andy

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 02:31 PM

Thanks Peace for the link
Barry

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar-want MP3
From: Peace
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 08:04 PM

Welcome.

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar-want M
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 02:48 AM

Being pedantic here, a capella means in the style of the church, it does NOT apply to sea shanties, which were mostly ribald and often obscene.


In folk music the tradition is ' unaccompanied ' ie. no musical instruments, not a capella.

eric

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar-want MP3
From: Bloke in the Corner
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 01:30 PM

Whoops, sorry Eric, my roots are in the spiritual not the secular. I thought any unaccompanied song could be described as a capella.
To the others, esp. Peace, thanks for the info, I will make good use of it.
Lawrie

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar-want MP3
From: MMario
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 01:33 PM

eric - while what you say is true (though I believe it is in the style of the "chapel" ) - in the US "a capella" generally means "unaccompianied" and used interchangeably with that term.

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar-want MP3
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 03:08 PM

From Peace's link above:

"Roll the Old Chariot Along" has direct connections with black folk music of the nineteenth century, appearing in most of the standard collections of spirituals (Dett, pp. 192-93; Fenner and Rathbun, pp. 106-7; Johnson, pp. 110-11). Sandburg published a variant (pp. 196-97), and it has also been noted by collectors of shanties, including Hugill (pp. 150-51) and Doerflinger (pp. 49-50, 357). A version of this was sent to Gordon by an Adventure reader (3758) and he collected another text in California (Cal. 243). There were many black sailors on the crews of nineteenth-century vessels. They brought with them traditions of work songs, and their songs, religious and secular, were usually rhythmic and thus suited for the many kinds of gang labor needed on the big sailing ships. Gordon devoted a chapter in Folk-Songs of America to "Negro work songs from Georgia" (pp. 13-19).

~S~

Subject: RE: Roll the old chariot along- or similar-want MP3
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 03:12 PM

Oops, here's the lyric from that site:

ROLL THE OLD CHARIOT ALONG [MP3 file]
Gordon cyl. 50, ms. Cal. 104A
Anon
Bay Area, California
Early 1920s

Roll the old chariot along
And we'll roll the old chariot along
And we'll roll the old chariot along
And we'll all hang on behind.

If the devil's in the way,
We'll roll it over him
If the devil's in the way,
Why we'll roll it over him,
If the devil's in the way,
We'll roll it over him.
And we'll all hang on behind.

~S~