Supersearch is down, but I doubt this has been posted. See also "Heaven bell a-ring", "Jesus sittin' on de water-side", and "The Heaven bells", in SLAVE SONGS.

~S~

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NOBODY KNOWS WHO I AM

Traditional Negro Spiritual

REFRAIN
O, nobody knows a-who I am, a-who I am,
Till the judgement morning!

Heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.
O, the heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.

Want to go to Heaven,
Want to go right,
Want to go to Heaven
All dressed in white.
The Heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.
O, the heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.

Don't want to stumble,
Don't want to fall,
Want to be in Heaven
When the roll is called.
The Heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.
O, the heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.

If you don't believe
That I've been redeemed,
Follow me down….
To Jordan's stream.
The Heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.
O, the heaven bells a-ringing,
The saints all a-singing,
Heaven bells a-ringing in my soul.

SOURCE:
American Negro Songs, 230 Folk Songs and Spirituals, Religious and Secular. John W. Work, Dover Publications, Mineola, NY 1998. Orig. pub. Crown Publishers, NY, 1940. ISBN 0-486-40271-1.

SH

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