Just to add my 10 pennorth.

I was under the impression that Kumbayah was from the South Welsh dialectual phrase "come by yer" - still used in South Wales/West of England.

Yer, is a prevelant form for here in the South Welsh dialect (some speakers use "hyer" - not too sure of the cross-over point) and in the Gloucestershire, and Forest of Dean dialect:

"yer t'is" - here it is.

is there any evidence to suggest that the writer was South Welsh? the phrase "Come by here" is not natural English, but is certainly a good Celtic [I am referring to the language family]construction.

Is kom bye natural Afrikaans? I understood the equivalent Dutch phrase to be kom op hier, which ruins the kumbayah sound altogether. I am aware that Afrikaans is a distinctly different language to Dutch, although ultimately derived from that language. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on the matter.

Likewise, Azizi, is Kum ba yah natural Gullah use? Would the additional preposition be added to the pronoun in that language, or, if the language is based on English, would not the useage be different?

Regards

Steve.