I BELIEVE I'LL GO BACK HOME

cho: I believe I'll go back home (3 times)
An' acknowledge I done wrong.

When I was in my father's house,
I was well-supplied;
I made a mistake in doin' well,
An' now I'm dissatisfied.

When I was in my father's house,
I had peace all the time;
But when I left home an' went astray,
I had to feed the swine.

When the prodigal son first left home,
He was feelin' happy an' gay;
But he soon found out a riotous life
Was more than he could pay.

When I was in my father's house,
I had bread enough to spare;
But now I am naked an' hungry, too,
An' I am ashamed to go back there.

When I left home I was in royal robes,
An' sumptuously fed;
But I soon got ragged an' hungry, too,
An' come back home so sad.

When I get home I'll confess my sins,
And father's love embrace;
I'm no more worthy to be called thy son,
I'll seek a servant's place.

When his father saw him comin',
He met him with a smile;
He threw his arms around him
"Here comes my lovin' child!"

He spake unto his servants-
"Go kill the fatted calf;
An' call my friends an' neighbors,
My son has come at last."

His older son got jealous
An' he began to say:
"You did more for my brother,
Who left an' went away."

He spake unto his elder son-
It was with an humble mind-
"Son, you have always been with me,
An' all I have is thine."

They met together rejoicing,
I imagine it was fine;
The old man he got happy,
An' he was satisfied in mind.

Words and music in Grissom, M. A., 1930, The Negro Sings a New Heaven, p. 36-36.
Listed as a spiritual in the Cleveland Index. This song is apparently the sourc
e for Dock Bogg's "Prodigal Son." It is placed in a new thread here to make it m
ore easily harvestable for the Spirituals project. Grissom states "This is an ex
cellent version of the many Negro songs about the "Prodigal Son."

SEE: PRODIGAL SON

@religion @spiritual @gospel
filename[ PRODIGSO4
FS
mudcat.org

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