I'm going to post the words from Elizabeth LaPrelle's Website. The CD notes from Elizabeth's Lizard in the Spring say the song originally came from the gospel group Harps of Melody, but Elizabeth learned it from Ed Norman, who heard it from the Nashville Bluegrass Band. On their CD, the a cappella gospel group "New Hope Harmony" say they got the song from Harps of Melody and the Nashville Bluegrass band (Joe Newberry is part of New Hope Harmony).BLIND BARTIMUS
Well old Blind Bartimus stood on the way blind
Blind Bartimus stood on the way,
Well old Blind Bartimus stood on the way, cryin'
Oh Lord have mercy on me
(repeat)
In my God's bible in the book of James
Christ was a-healin' the crippled and the lame
He gave to the poor and the needy bread,
Healin' the sick and a-raisin' the dead
Well when he came to Galilee
He passed by a man who could not see
The man was blind, he was blind from birth;
They tell me that his name was Blind Bartimus
Well old Blind Bartimus stood on the way blind
Blind Bartimus stood on the way
Well old Blind Bartimus stood on the way, cryin'
Oh Lord have mercy on me
When Bartimus heard that the Lord was nigh
He fell on his knees and began to cry
Oh the man from Galilee
Cryin' Great God Almighty have mercy on me
Cryin' Oh Lord
(Mary's baby)
Oh Lord
(Son of David)
Oh Lord
(Bleeding Lamb)
Lord, my troubles in Bethlehem
(repeat)
Well my God he stopped, he turned around
And he saw Blind Bartimus on the ground
And he touched his eyes with the palm of his hand
Blind Bartimus saw like a natural man
Crying Thank God
(Mary's baby)
Thank God
(Son of David)
Thank God
(Bleeding Lamb)
Lord, my troubles in Bethlehem
(repeat)
Well old Blind Bartimus stood on the way blind
Blind Bartimus stood on the way
Well old Blind Bartimus stood on the way, cryin'
Oh Lord have mercy on me.
This page (click) has a copy of what Joe Hickerson said about the song in his "Songfinder" column in Sing Out! in September, 2007:Nicole enquires: "I'm trying to learn more about a song called 'BLIND BARNABUS.' I first heard it on a Laura Love recording years ago and I'm having a hard time tracking down any written lyrics or other recordings of it. Does anyone know more about it?" Bill Brisotti opined, "You probably mean 'Old Blind Barnabas,' an old Johnny Horton song from the 1950s. You should be able to find it on the web." From Bill Roberson came "Jackie Washington [of Canada] sings it on his cd 'Where Old Friends Meet' with Mose Scarlett and Ken Whiteley, Pyramid Records, 1991." Our esteemed Editor Mark Moss had this to offer: "Johnny Horton recorded the song, and claimed ownership to boot, but this one has been around and recorded lots of times, with various titles ('Blind Barnabas' or 'Blind Bartimus' ... with or without the 'Old'), well before Horton put his automatic copyrighting machine to it. It's an old gospel piece, recorded several times by the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Golden Gate Quartet and a number of other classic Gospel groups. (My personal favorite is the recording by the Harps of Melody, a Memphis based women's quartet, captured on Happy in the Service of Our Lord a compilation put together by ethnomusicologist David Evans in the early 1980s, now reissued on CD by Hightone . There are actually two versions on this disc, by two different groups ...) I don't actually have the CD reissue, but the lyrics were included (along with great historical notes by Kip Lornell) with the original LP. Ideally, they'd be included with the reissue as well." Jack Beard added that "Mark 10:46-52 is the story of blind Bartmacus whose sight was restored by Jesus. I assume all the songs about Blind Barnabus et al are based on this story. Until I hear the Harps of Melody, my favorite version is 'The Little Wonders of Havre de Grace Maryland'--Old Blind Bartemus."
I also found that Document Records has a 1927 recording of a song called Blind Bartemus by Rev. T.T.Rose - but it's kind of a "singing sermon," half sung and half spoken. It's not the same song at all.
Becky, on this one, I'd guess that if you paid royalties to the Harry Fox Agency, you're likely to be paying royalties to the wrong party. The authorship is just too heavily clouded. Heck, even Joe Hickerson doesn't have a definitive answer, and I found five files on the song at the Harry Fox Agency - attributed to "Stepney," Willie T. Johnson, Martha Carson, A. Coleman, and 'trad-arranged by.'"
Great song - I especially like the Golden Gate Quartet recording.
I hope you'll come back to the Getaway some day, Becky. It's a treat to sing with you.
-Joe Offer-
I don't always like the Gaither Organization because they're more than a little bit commercial, but I like this Gaither recording of "The Bishops" performance of the song:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xu-6RZ7mzI