Lyr Add: Wide River (spiritual)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Wide River (spiritual)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Mar 08 - 04:03 PM

"Shut the Door" is closely related to the spiritual, "Oh, Wasn't that a Wide River," as collected by Noble.

Lyr. Add: OH, WASN'T THAT A WIDE RIVER

Chorus-
Oh, wasn't that a wide river,
There's one more river to cross
Oh, wasn't that a wide river!
River of Jordan, Lord?
There's one more river to cross.

1
Oh, the river of Jordan is so wide,
One more river to cross;
I don't know how to get on the other side;
One more river to cross.
2
I have some friends before me gone,
One more river to cross;
By the grace of God I'll follow on,
One more river to cross.
3
Shout, shout, Satan's about
One more river to cross;
Shut your door and keep him out,
One more river to cross.
4.
Old Satan is a snake in the grass,
One more riverto cross;
If you don't mind he'll get you at last,
One more river to cross.

p. 59, with score, G. C. Noble, 1911, "The Most Popular Plantation Songs," Hinds, Noble & Eldridge, NYC.

Perhaps should have been posted in thread 41329, OH, Wasn't that a Wide Ribber: Wide Ribber

Variations on this song have been in print from the 1860s. Several threads have versions or comments.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Wide River (spiritual)
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Mar 08 - 08:41 AM

Q, this song probably has no connection to the reggae Christian song "Shut The Door", except for the floating lyric "Shut your door [and keep him out]"

But here's the lyrics to the song "Shut The Door"

SHUT THE DOOR

Shut the door, keep out the devil
Shut the door, keep the devil in the night
Shut the door, keep out the devil
Light the candle everything's alright
Light the candle everything's alright

When I was a baby child (shut the door, keep out the devil)
Good and bad was just a game (shut the door, keep the devil in the night)

Many years and many trials (shut the door, keep out the devil)
They proved to me they not the same (shut the door, keep the devil in the night)

chorus

Oh, satan is an evil charmer (shut the door, keep out the devil)
He's hungry for a soul to hurt (shut the door, keep the devil in the night)

And without your holy armor (shut the door, keep out the devil)
He will eat you for dessert (shut the door, keep the devil in the night)

chorus

My mama used to sing this song (shut the door, keep out the devil)
Poppa used to sing it, too (shut the door, keep the devil in the night)

Jesus called and took them home (shut the door, keep out the devil)
And so I sing the [this]song for you (shut the door, keep the devil in the night)

chorus

http://www.onlylyrics.com/song.php?id=29632

-snip-
The choir sings the part in parenthesis. I've heard that last line given as And so I sing this song for you (shut the door, keep the devil in the night)

*I believe that I posted these lyrics before in another thread, but I can't remember which thread.

Subject: Lyr Add: Wide River (spiritual)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Mar 08 - 08:15 PM

Lyr. Add: WIDE RIVER

1
Oh, the river of Jordan is so wide,
One more river to cross,
And I don't know how to get on the other side,
One more river to cross.
2
Shout, shout, Satan's about,
One more river to cross,
Shut your door and keep him out,
One more river to cross.

Chorus-
Oh, wasn't that a wide river,
River of Jordan, Lord,
Wide river,
There's one more river to cross.

Lyrics only.
p. 47, John Wesley Work, 1915, "Folk Song of the American Negro," reprinted 1929, Negro Universities Press, NY.