This YouTube video reflects the power of a gospel song I think probably started as a spiritual. If it did, it's survived a long time!

I know the first time I heard it, it was a very early black gospel quartet doing it. As I heard it then, it was the same style you can hear at the LOC's recordings of songs the singers said then that they had learned as spirituals from slave forebears.

http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=I0K56fu5IR0&feature=related

The words are a tad murky. Amazon also has a black gospel MP3 of the song.

Anyone wanna take a shot?

~Susan