Origins: Dying Preacher / Hicks' Farewell

Subject: time is sweetly rolling by
From: GUEST,MAG
Date: 20 Feb 09 - 04:15 PM

I've got this song on the "Oak and Ash and Thorn" CD, and would more info on it.

It doesn't seem to be in the DB.

MA

Subject: RE: time is sweetly rolling by
From: GUEST,MAG
Date: 20 Feb 09 - 06:19 PM

The lyrics I've memorized so far are:

The time is sweetly rollong on, when you and I must part

But little know of grief and woe, when bless with a singing heart.

2 more stanzas

Subject: RE: time is sweetly rolling by
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Feb 10 - 04:32 PM

Info found at The Folk Song Index: An Oberlin College Libraries & Sing Out! Collaboration

Title: HICKS' FAREWELL
First line of verse: The time is sweetly rolling on when you and I must part
Composer: Unknown
Book ID: 2236
Page Number: 143

Found in
Title: English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians V.2
Author(s): Collected By Cecil J. Sharp
Place: London
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 1932
Remarks: "Second and Enlarged Edition" First Edition, Published In 1917.--Cf. Pref. P. Xii
Includes Music: Yes

Subject: RE: Origins:Time Is Sweetly Rolling On/Hick's Farewell
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Feb 10 - 05:36 PM

There's a message in this thread (click) that speculates that "Hick's Farewell" may be related to "The Blackest Crow."

-Joe-

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Here's the entry on this song from the Traditional Ballad Index:

Dying Preacher, The (Hick's Farewell)

DESCRIPTION: "The time is swiftly rolling on When I must faint and die, My body to the dust returned And there forgotten lie." The dying preacher bids farewell to his wife and remembers his family fondly. He bids his fellow preachers to do their work well
AUTHOR: probably Rev. Berryman Hicks 1778-1839)
EARLIEST DATE: 1835 (Southern Harmony)
KEYWORDS: religious clergy death farewell
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Randolph 617, "The Dying Preacher" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 530, "Hicks' Farewell" (1 text)
Fuson, pp. 73-74, "Hick's Farewell" (1 text)
SharpAp 122, "Hicks's Farewell" (6 texts, 6 tunes)
DT, DYPREACH* HCKSFRWL*
ADDITIONAL: Original Sacred Harp, 1971 Denson Revision, p. 83, "The Dying Minister" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2869
RECORDINGS:
Dillard Chandler, "Hick's Farewell" (on OldLove)
Texas Gladden, "Hicks' Farewell" (on LomaxCD1702)
Doc Watson & Gaither Carlton, "Hick's Farewell" (on FOTM, WatsonAshley01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Preacher's Legacy" (theme)
cf. "The Iron Mountain Baby" (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Minister's Last Goodbye
Notes: In the Sacred Harp (which has a much-shortened text), this is called "The Dying Minister" and the tune is said to have been written by E. Dumas in 1854.
The attribution of this song to someone named Hicks seems strong, given the number of versions with his name in the title, but of course there were a lot of, um, hick preachers out there. The most famous Hicks in American religious history is surely Elias Hicks (1748-1830), a Quaker who eventually caused a split within that denomination. But this *really* doesn't sound like the work of a Quaker.
That leaves Berryman Hicks, whose career was researched by Jackson (White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands, pp. 203-205). He was a "noted revivalist," and a poet and violinist. Though this attribution too has its problems; he became "financially embarrassed for a large amount," and was apparently dropped from his (Baptist-affiated) church. On the other hand, that might explain the cranky tone of the piece.
The mid-nineteenth century seems to have witnessed a number of these "Preacher's Confession" sorts of pieces. No doubt it was the usual situation of the elderly frowning on the degenerate morals of the young. - RBW
Properly speaking, this should be "Hicks's Farewell." - PJS the nitpicker
And I thought I was the only one who remembered such things! Of course, this particular error is more that of the transcriber than the singer.... - RBW
"More sung against than singing?" - PJS
File: R617

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Subject: Lyr Add: HICKS' FAREWELL (from Southern Harmony)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 20 Feb 10 - 06:20 PM

Entries in the DT are short. Eleven verses in Southern Harmony

Hicks' Farewell
Southern Harmony no. 19

1
The time is swiftly rolling on
When I must faint and die;
My body to the dust return,
And there forgotten lie.
2
Let persecution rage around,
And Antichrist appear;
My silent dust beneath the ground;
There's no disturbance there.
3
Through heats and colds I've often went,
And wondered in despair,
To call poor sinners to repent,
And seek the Savior dear.
4
My brother preachers, boldly speak,
And stand on Zion's wall,
T' revive the strong, confirm the weak,
And after sinners call.
5
My brother preachers, fare you well,
Your fellowship I love;
In time no more I shall you see
But soon we'll meet above.
6
My little children near my heart,
And nature seems to bind,
It grieves me sorely to depart,
And leave you all behind.
7
O Lord, a father to them be,
And keep them from all harm,
That they may love and worship thee,
And dwell upon thy charms.
8
My loving wife, my bosom friend,
The object of my love;
The time's been sweet I've spent with you,
My sweet and harmless dove.
9
My loving wife, don't grieve for me,
Neither lament nor mourn;
For I shall with Jesus be,
When you are left alone.
10
How often you have looked for me,
And ofttimes seen me come;
But now I must depart from thee,
And never more return.
11
For I can never come to thee;
Let this not grieve your heart,
For you will shortly come to me,
Where we shall never part.

Note: "This song was composed by the Rev. B. Hicks, (A Baptist minister of South Carolina) and sent to his wife while he was confined in Tennessee by a fever, of which he afterwards recovered."

Printed with music by Wm. Walker. Meter C. M.

Southern Harmony, online.

Subject: RE: Origins:Time Is Sweetly Rolling On/Hick's Farewell
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 20 Feb 10 - 06:23 PM

I couldn't print the link; the message said I had an html marker and kicked it back. The link had .html at the end.

Subject: RE: Origins:Time Is Sweetly Rolling On/Hick's Farewell
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 20 Feb 10 - 06:40 PM

Hicks' Farewell in Southern Harmony online.

Mick