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Lyr ADD: Ain't No Grave
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Subject: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: metnorm@aol.com Date: 14 Jun 99 - 10:01 PM I heard a band playing this old gospel blues tune in Cambridge, MA. Does anybody know the verses? Here's the chorus:
Ain't no grave |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Date: 14 Jun 99 - 10:54 PM Recorded by Joe Hickerson on Folk Legacy FSI-58. |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Charlie Baum Date: 15 Jun 99 - 12:45 PM The granddaddy of all of the "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down" versions is the one recorded by Lomax and Jones of Bozie Sturdivant in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1942 for the Library of Congress. His virtuoso rendition can be heard on a recent release: "A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings," selected and annotated by Stephen Wade, on Rouder CD 1500. I'll try to transcribe it in the next couple of days, if someone else doesn't beat me to it. --Charlie Baum |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: PJ Curtis, The Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland. Date: 15 Jun 99 - 01:36 PM metnorm, Another great version of 'Aint o Grave' was recorded by the Cauldill family of Whitesbbug, Kty in 1954 for the Rich-R-Tone label. Diggy Liggy Li, Diggy Liggy Lo was recorded by the Kershaw Bros(Doug & Rusty) for the Monument label in nasville C 1956/7. PJ Curtis |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: PJ Curtis Date: 15 Jun 99 - 06:03 PM Netnorm, Further to my last on Diggy Liigy Li...it was recorded by te Kershaw Bros on the Hickory label.. not Monument. PJC |
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Subject: Lyr Add: AIN'T NO GRAVE CAN HOLD MY BODY DOWN From: Charlie Baum Date: 16 Jun 99 - 12:40 PM AIN'T NO GRAVE CAN HOLD MY BODY DOWN from the singing of Bozie Sturdivant CHORUS: Ain't no grave can hold my body down Ain't no grave can hold my body down, (my body down)* (Now) When the first trumpet sound I'll be getting up (and) walking around Ain't no grave can hold my body down CHORUS Well I heard of a beautiful place The streets are paved with gold Then I have not been to heaven O Lord I've been told When I ride that throne of grace He's going to appoint my soul a place Ain't no grave can hold my body down CHORUS When Jesus hanging on the cross It made poor Mary moan He looked down on his disciples Said take my Mother home Ain't that a pity and what a shame How they crucified the name Ain't no grave can hold my body down CHORUS *parentheses in Chorus indicate words that do not appear in all repetitions transcribed by Charlie Baum
recorded by Alan Lomax and Lewis Jones in Clarksdale, Mississippi, July 25, 1942 |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Sandy Paton Date: 16 Jun 99 - 01:55 PM Joe Hickerson does a credible "interpreter's" job on this song, and it was fun to sing along with him, but I would urge all of you to get the Library of Congress Field Recordings CD from Rounder and listen to the original. It is truly one of the greatest traditional performances ever recorded! Stephen Wade did an excellent job in selecting the material included on this disc. You'll also hear Texas Gladden singing her "Bad Girl's Lament" and Vera Hall singing "Another Man Done Gone." Glorious! Sandy |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: wysiwyg Date: 01 Nov 03 - 02:56 PM Hear a great version of this at Voices Across America. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Peter T. Date: 01 Nov 03 - 03:24 PM Sister Rosetta Tharpe!!! yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: masato sakurai Date: 01 Nov 03 - 08:11 PM Click here (Dovesong site), and listen to "There Ain't No Grave" by Brother Claude Ely. |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: wysiwyg Date: 01 Nov 03 - 09:47 PM I love that guy! ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Stewie Date: 01 Nov 03 - 10:26 PM The Rich-R-Tone recording of 'Ain't no grave' by the Caudill Family, mentioned above by PJ Curtis in 1999, is now available on CD on a fine collection of relatively obscure gospel groups: Various Artists 'Hillbilly Gospel 1948-1958' Flyright FLY CD 64. I concur with comments by Charlie and Sandy above that the Sturdivant recording is something very special indeed. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Margret RoadKnight Date: 01 Nov 03 - 10:37 PM Odetta!! |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: GUEST,Pete Peterson Date: 02 Nov 03 - 11:57 AM Not unmindful of the other versions mentioned, my favorite is E.C. Ball, I think his Rounder CD is still in print (11577) . About to be recorded by the Well Tempered String Band with our friend Steve Senderoff playing harmonica! |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: GUEST,JosMorn@aol.com Date: 16 Feb 06 - 09:01 PM Hello friends! How about the lyrics en francais? Jos. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: wysiwyg Date: 13 Mar 06 - 11:01 AM At the Dovesong link above, the Claude Ely version has different verses than those postred above. Can anyone hear these better than I can, or anyone have other lyrics that match Ely's? Well go down yonder Gabriel, ... won't you put all (on???) the land .... [can't be "put all the land in cheese"?!?!] But Gabriel don't blow your trumpet Until you hear from me Well I looked way over yonder Seen people dressed in white I know it was God's people I seen that through his eyes Well I looked way down t' th'river And what do you think I seen? I seen a band of angels They'uz comin' after me CHORUS ('Cause there) ain't no grave Gonna hold my body down (There) Ain't no grave Gonna hold my body down. When I hear that trumpet sound Gonna get up out'v the ground ('Cause) Ain't no grave Gonna hold my body down. Well I'm goin' to the river of Jordan, ... my knees down in the sand Gonna holler "High Old Hannah" Till I reach 'at promised land. Well I looked way over yonder, And what do you think I seen? I seen a band of angels, They'uz comin' after me. Well meet me Jesus meet me, Well meet me in the middle of the air, And if these wings should fail me There won't be nine other pair CHORUS ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: Jim Dixon Date: 15 Mar 06 - 09:21 PM Susan, this is what I hear: Well, go down yonder, Gabriel. Put your foot on the land and sea.... Well, I'm goin' to the river of Jordan, Bury my knees down in the sand.... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: wysiwyg Date: 15 Mar 06 - 09:24 PM Hm, thanks.... ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: GUEST,Art Thieme Date: 15 Mar 06 - 09:53 PM I used Bodie's version (one intense verse of it) on my phone message for a while. I just wanted to force people to hear that amazing performance! It is THAT singular---and that important! Art Thieme |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: GUEST,Just Me Date: 24 Sep 06 - 09:24 AM Ain't No Grave Well meet me meet me Jesus, meet me in the middle of the air, I'm gonna rise to meet my Lord, gonna say goodbye down here Well I looked way over yonder, what do you think I see I see a band of angels They're comin' after me ('Cause there) ain't no grave, Gonna hold my body down (There) Ain't no grave Gonna hold my body down. When I hear that trumpet sound Gonna get up out'v the ground ('Cause) Ain't no grave Gonna hold my body down Well go down yonder Gabriel, put your foot on the land and sea, But don't you blow your trumpet Gabriel, Until you hear from me Well I'm goin' to the river, bury my knees in the sand I'm Gonna holler "High Old Hosanah" Till I reach 'at promised land. You can take me out to the Graveyard lay this body down But on that first resurection morning, I'm coming up out of the ground Well meet me meet me Jesus, meet me in the middle of the air, I'm gonna rise to meet my Lord, gonna say goodbye down here |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: Desert Dancer Date: 24 Sep 06 - 01:24 PM oooOOOOoooeeeeoooOOOoooeeeoooOOOooo... It's the folk police! [voice from megaphone] justme: posting a lyric with no attribution is a punishable offense! You have 24 hours to let us know where those words came from! Consider the ankle bracelet locked on... ;-) |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: wysiwyg Date: 24 Sep 06 - 03:12 PM Brother Claude Ely's version, I would think. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 24 Sep 06 - 03:25 PM Tail end position on the county chain gang open- One singer of this song, "Huddie" (Jeff H.) says it has "as many versions as there are magnolias in Mississippi" (some would say kudzu vines). Variation is achieved mostly by incorporating lines or verses from old spirituals or gospel songs. In a recent thread on a similar 'trad' song, the correspondant posted what he called a 'complete' version. Of course there ain't one, and never will be as long as singers add their ideas. "Huddie" version here" Aint No Grave |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: GUEST,Angee Date: 08 Oct 06 - 05:17 PM Go down to the river, put my knees down in the sand. I'm gonna holler High Hosannas, when I reach that promised land. Well I looked way over Jordan, I saw people dressed in white. (This is Janet Paschal's version of Ain't No Grave) I know they was God's children, Lord, cause I seen 'em doin' right. And then I looked way over Jordan, and what do you think that I did see? I seen a band of angels, Lord, comin' after me. Well you can take me out to the graveyard. And you can lay this 'ol body down. But on that first resurrection mornin'. Well I'm gonna come up, come up, come up, come up, come up outta the ground. (c) There ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. There ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. And when I hear that trumpet sound well I'm gonna get up, gonna get up, gonna get up outta the ground. Oh yes and meet me Jesus, meet me, meet me in the middle of the air. Although all others have failed me Lord I know that you'll be there. If you get to heaven before God calls me home. You can just tell everybody that I'm comin' and it won't be long. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: NO GRAVE (from Kris Delmhorst) From: Jim Dixon Date: 11 Oct 06 - 12:28 AM NO GRAVE CHORUS: Well, there ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. No, there ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. When I hear that trumpet sound, I'm gonna get up out o' the ground, And there ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. Look down yonder, Gabriel. Look down on land and sea. Gabriel, don't you blow that trumpet until you hear from me. Oh, I looked on down the river, and what do you think I see? I see a band of angels, Lord. They're comin' after me. CHORUS I'm goin' down in Jordan. I'm gonna bury my knees in the sand. I'm gonna holler out "hosanna!" I'm gonna reach that Promised Land. So now, meet me, Jesus, meet me. And meet me in the middle o' the air. If these wings will carry me, I won't need another pair. CHORUS [As sung by Kris Delmhorst on "Signature Sounds 10th Anniversary Collection," Signature #1289. You can hear an archived radio program that includes this song. Click to play, and then advance to 44:00 minutes from the beginning of the program.] |
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Subject: Lyr Add: AIN'T NO GRAVE (from Crooked Still) From: Jim Dixon Date: 12 Oct 06 - 10:04 PM Another version: AIN'T NO GRAVE CHORUS: Ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. Ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. When I hear that trumpet sound, I'm gonna get up out o' the ground. Ain't no grave gonna hold my body down. Go down yonder, Gabriel. Put your foot on the land and sea. Oh, Gabriel, don't you blow your trumpet until you hear from me. I looked way over yonder, and what do you think I see? I see a band of angels, and they're comin' after me. Then I looked way down the river, saw the people dressed in white. I knew it was God's people, 'cause I saw them doin' right. CHORUS Goin' down to the river Jordan, and I'm gonna bury my knees in the sand, Holler out "hosanna!" till I reach the Promised Land. Then I looked way over yonder. What do you think I see? I see a band of angels, and they're comin' after me. So meet me, King Jesus, meet me. Won't you meet me in the middle o' the air. If these new shoes kill me, I won't need another pair. CHORUS [As sung by Crooked Still on their album "Shaken by a Low Sound," 2006. [You can hear this recording as part of an archived radio program. Click here, then advance to 1 hour 4 minutes from the beginning of the program.] |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: Janie Date: 12 Oct 06 - 11:32 PM OK Getaway attendees. Get ready to sing this one at the "Raise the Roof" Gospel Sing! Janie |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down From: Murray MacLeod Date: 13 Oct 06 - 12:56 PM I've just realised that this is what the rest of the convicts in "Cool Hand Luke" were singing as they watched Paul Newman digging what looked to be his grave in the prison yard. And all these years I thought they were singing "Ain't no grave gonna hold my buddy down " |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: GUEST,"Ain't No Grave" - The Book Date: 20 Jan 07 - 10:38 PM Check out the book that was recently written entitled "Ain't No Grave: The Life & Legacy of Brother Claude Ely." http://www.claudeely.com It discusses the song and its history in great detail. |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Richie Date: 20 Jan 07 - 11:15 PM Guest, Although it's an interesting site, where you can listen to Brother Claude Ely's version, there really isn't any information about the song, where Ely got it, heard it. There's no history, just a samll bit of flowery info with no substance. Or did I miss something? Thanks for the link tho, I liked listening to him play it. Richie |
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Subject: RE: Lyric Req: Ain't No Grave From: Azizi Date: 21 Jan 07 - 01:11 PM A sound clip of Aint No Grave by Bozie Sturdivant as mentioned in Charlie Baum's 15 Jun 99 - 12:45 PM post above is found on http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5024892 Also, at that site is a NPR review of the book 'Lost Delta Found: A Chronicle of Mississippi Music' to be very interesting reading. Here's an excerpt from that book: "All Things Considered, November 24, 2005 · In the summer of 1941, a relatively unknown musicologist from Fisk University in Nashville accompanied the legendary folklorist Alan Lomax on a research trip to the American South. John Work, an African American trained in classical music, was interested in the musical traditions of rural life. Work and Lomax headed to Coahoma County in the Mississippi Delta -- where they documented the music heard in churches, blues joints and cotton fields. Most of the fieldwork there was conducted by Lomax. But it was Work who analyzed the music itself through recordings. Lomax went on to publish his memoir on the experience; the book helped to elevate his reputation as a musical historian. Work's writings on the same subject were unnoticed by the public. Michele Norris talks to Bruce Nemerov, one of the editors of the Lost Delta Found, a new book that chronicles the research of Work and other academics from Fisk University in the 1940s. In the following excerpt from Lost Delta Found, Fisk sociologist Lewis W. Jones writes about the pioneers of Coahoma County in the Mississippi Delta: The Pioneers The oldest person found in Coahoma County was Lucy Adams. A hundred and four years old, blind, and unable to control her memory, she would sit in her rocking chair and entertain herself for hours by singing in an uncertain and quavering voice. Usually she sang only snatches of songs and sometimes she confused one with another. Her favorite was one she said her grandfather had sung: Mary's the bosom bearer and Jesus is her child Mary's the bosom bearer and Jesus is her child Keep your lamp trimmed and burning Keep your lamp trimmed and burning For your work's most done. - - - - - - - Sister don't get weary Sister don't get weary Sister heaven's just before you Sister heaven's just before you Keep your lamp trimmed and burning For your work's most done. - - - - - - - Brother don't get weary, etc. Another song she liked, but of which she could remember only a fragment, was: In the morning when I rise Get up in the morning like a turtle dove I don't want to stay here no longer. - - - - - - - When I come to study my cause I'm afraid I'm not borned of God I don't want to stay here no longer. These and others she sang were not Delta songs for she had but recently come from the hills and her memories, therefore, were those of other Mississippi sections... Most of the Delta was virgin land in 1870. It was necessary to lay the ace to the forests before the plow could fulfill the destiny of one of the world's richest cotton areas. The people needed to develop the Delta came from the older settled areas where they has been concentrated in slavery. One who came from the vicinity of Meridian said: This country was built up out of hill people. It was just territory when the Civil War was fought. Wasn't nobody in here much... Some ideal soil and climate characterized the Delta, nearly all of the earliest settlers came with the express purpose of developing cotton. Even gamblers, in the pre-levee days, applied their winnings to the expense of harvesting their crops -- always, of course before the "high-water" covered the land. These planters took the risk of reaching the safety of the higher ridges ahead of the flood rivers. But coping with "high-water" was not the most arduous of their tasks -- they had to haul their harvested cotton over newly made paths to distant steamboat landings. They had to clear the land, and later build levees and railroads, both essential enterprises auxiliary to the basic cotton economy. In clearing the land of the forest, owners of plantations hired gangs of wood choppers while small farmers of forty and eighty acre tracts had "log-rollings." The sound of axes rang through the Delta as an accompaniment of simple rhythmic woodcutters' songs. A popular one was: July and August, Tu Lum July and August, Tu Lum July and August, Tu Lum Two hottest months in the year, Tu Lum. July and August are traditional wood-cutting months because they are the months of the "lay-by," the period between the planting of cotton and its harvesting. When cotton growers have done all that they can with plow and hoe, there is this interval of waiting while nature ripens the fruit. The time is used for incidental jobs -- clearing new fields, for example... The gamblers had game songs and gambler's talk peculiarly their own. One song they sang was: My lover says she's broken hearted And that she may be She says I'm a drunkard And on a drunken spree I'm gonna quit gambling and save my money For my little family. There were other songs popular with the gamblers such as "Wreck on the Road Somewhere", "If I Get Even I'm Gonna Get Up", "Jack's Neither; Trey's Neither Low". The dance, or "break-down", had a more developed ritual than the other recreational activities. The two participants of the "break-down" were the fiddler and the man who called figures. An old fiddler believed that "the ma who called figures was called just like a preacher". One of the dances went according to the following directions given by the caller: 1. Honor your partner 2. First gentleman and lady lead off from the right 3. And swing 4. Next lady lead out 5. Shoo Fly swing 6. Swing corners all 7. Gentlemen to the center 8. Ladies circle right 9. Form a basket 10. Break ranks, promenade to the bar "Break ranks" and "promenade to the bar" made it necessary for the gentleman to treat the lady to refreshments. Some of the popular fiddle tunes to which they danced were: "Irish Washerwoman", "Arkansas Traveler", "Tennessee Breakdown", "Susan Jane", "Blue Eagle Jail", and "Bell Cow in the Bend". An old fiddler explained that there was not much singing at the breakdown but he remembered some of the ditties they sang: (1) Alabam gal Can't you come out tonight Dance in the moonlight. (2) Stephen went to town For a wagon load of peaches Wagon broke down Broke Stephen all to pieces. (3) Wind up your hook; wind up your line Fish no more 'til summer time. Gimme the hook; gimme the line And gimme the gal you call Caline Well, she's neat in the waist Pretty in the face That's the black gal just suit my taste. The pioneers declared that they had a good time. They drank heavily and played strenuously but always with abandon and real enjoyment. From Lost Delta Found, Copyright 2005 Estate of Lewis Wade Jones." |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave From: GUEST,rennevat Date: 25 Mar 07 - 01:35 AM I Remember a version that started Going down to the river, Gonna rush right in, Gonna get baptized in Jesus' name, To wash away my sin. Kneeling at the alter, Crying to the Lord above, The Holy Ghost came down on me, I spoke in an unknown tongue. Well times may come, And times may go, ******************, ******************, But one of these days, Old Gabriel, Will blow his horn at last. Then I'm gonna get up , get up , get up, I'm gonna get up outta that ground, Ain't no grave, gonna hold my body down. Continue with rest of song. It was done by a black gospel choir but I can't remember who. Anybody have any ideas? I'm trying to locate the complete lyrics for this version. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave From: GUEST,Kelly Johnson Date: 10 Aug 10 - 05:12 PM Brother Claude Ely wrote the song after he was healed of tuberculosis as a very young man at the age of 12 ... his song was sang at several of the Pentecostal churches across the nation as a kid ... and later as a traveling preacher/singer. Sturdivant and members of his church in Mississippi heard it during a tent revival being held by Pentecostal ministers that heard Brother Claude Ely perform it in the Appalachian mountains. Later, the Caudill family of Whitesburg, KY recorded the song because they belonged to the church where Brother Claude Ely pastored in Cumberland, KY. Sister Rosetta Tharp was familiar with the song because her husband was a Pentecostal pastor that attended the same services as Brother Claude Ely and the two sang at many of the same racially integrated services. HOpe that helps! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Grave From: GUEST,Dick Ely Date: 12 Aug 13 - 04:08 PM I'm not sure you want to continue going down the lyric track on this one! I'm collecting cover versions, and I've got it by 226 different artists, not including downloads. I don't even want to guess at the lyric differentials; there's probably 50 different! Bozie's and Brother Claude's are still the best, although completely different songs in terms of style. I never have been able to find anything definitive on the authorship. Any information on those who have recorded it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
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