Discussion: Wade in the Water

Subject: Wade in the Water
From: Erik.
Date: 06 Apr 97 - 05:42 AM

I'm looking for the lyrics of "Wade in the Water".

Thanks.

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Erik
Date: 06 Apr 97 - 11:23 AM

Oeps, the lyrcis are in the Digitrad database. Sorry about that.

Subject: Lyrics wanted:Wade in the Water
From: Bhhamilton
Date: 11 May 99 - 01:54 PM

I only have the first verse of this traditional gospel song, and I can't find any other lyrics, except for some new updated lyrics I do not care for. Anyone?

Subject: RE: Lyrics wanted:Wade in the Water
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 11 May 99 - 07:16 PM

Bhhamilton,

Welcome to the Mudcat Cafe Discussion Forum. The first place to look for songs is in the DigiTrad Database (or DT for short). There's only 6,000 or so songs in there, but you might get lucky and find what you are looking for. Just go to the upper right hand corner of this page where it says "Search the Digitrad Database". Type in [wade in the water] and then click on search. Those little brackets [ ] tell the search engine to look for the whole phrase. If you type in without the brackets, you get every song with "wade", "in", and "water" in it (more than you want!).

Because you're new and asked politely I'll even give you a link, CLICK HERE! However, if you learn to fish, you will be fed for a lifetime!

Unfortunately, disappointingly, and unusually the DT doesn't offer much on this song. So let's you and I sneak off quietly to Rise Up Singing (some folks are puking as we sneak!) and see what they have. Aha! Here you go! I'm not gonna type in all the "God's gonna trouble the water" parts, 'cause I suspect you know where they go. This is sort of a "plug-in spiritual, any good ol' pair of lines might fit!

Who are those children dressed in red? Must be the children that Moses led.

Who are those children dressed in white? Must be the people getting ready to fight.

.....blue? Must be the people gonna see this through.

....black? Must be the hypocrites turning back.

He spoke and divided the sea in two. Allowing all his people to pass on through.

He spoke and the water flowed back again. And drowned the oppressors pursing them.

The enemy's great but my Captain's strong. I'm marchin' to the City and the raod ain't long.

Traditional Spiritual New verses by Paul Ashton.

I hope these aren't those updated lyrics you don't care for.

Enjoy the song!

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: Wade In The Water
From: GUEST,Kev
Date: 13 Aug 02 - 06:41 PM

Hi

Does anyone know the version of Wade In The Water that I know? It is sung with 3 parts that overlap.
The lyrics I have found for Wade In The Water on here do not seem to match those I have learnt...

Part 1: (Very Low)
Wade in the water, wade in the water
Wade in the Water, wade in the water
Wade in the water, wade in the water
Wade in the Water, wade in the water

Part 2: (High)
Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children
Wade in the water
God's gonna trouble these waters

Part 3: (Solo - Very High)
Way over in Beauty Land
I say, way over in Beauty Land
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX - not sure of this
Way over in Beauty Land


Does anyone know this version, is it completely different to the others on here or am I just missing how to add the other words?

Thanks
Kev
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wade In The Water
From: Amos
Date: 13 Aug 02 - 10:52 PM

Kevin:

Hi, welcome to the 'Cat.

I believe what youre looking at here is an arrangement of the traditional song, done by someone with a nice bent for choral work. The traidtional "Wade In the Water" is a simple spiritual in one voice, with an indefinite number of verses on the pattern of:

Who's that comin' all dressed in blue?
God's gonna trouble the wa-a-ter.
Must be the Hypocrites a passing through!
God's gonna trouble the wa-a-ter

You gotta Wade, Wade in the Water
Wade, Wade in the Water
You gotta Wade, Wade in the Water
God's gonna trouble the wa-a-ter

It 's perfectly possible the choral arrangement you describe would support these verses with a strong soloist up front (I think it was Mahalia Jackson I first heard sing it -- none stronger!).

Sorry I cannot be more helpful about the rendition you describe, but I am not familiar with it.

Best regards,


A

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wade In The Water
From: masato sakurai
Date: 13 Aug 02 - 11:19 PM

The version in the DT (WADE IN THE WATER) is not the one. For other versions and discussions, see this thread: Wade in the Water, where the version doesn't seem to be posted.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wade In The Water
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Aug 02 - 04:01 AM

I would suppose that "Beauty Land" is a misinterpretation of "Beulah Land."
I'd agree - sounds like a choral arrangement, rather than the traditional song.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wade In The Water
From: Dani
Date: 14 Aug 02 - 12:15 PM

Kev,

Two choral arrangements that sound similar to what you mention are on Smithsonian Folkways' "African American Spirituals: The Concert Tradition" Volume I. One is by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and the other by the Howard University Chamber Choir. Later I'll listen to the disc and see which is which!

Dani

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: SINSULL
Date: 30 May 05 - 01:09 AM

Miriam Makeba recorded this in the 60s.

In addition to the children in red, white, etc.:
"Jesus met the woman, met her at the well
God's gonna trouble the water.
He said 'Look out lady, you're headed for hell'
God's gonna trouble the water...


When I get to heaven, sing and shout
God's gonna trouble the water.
Nobody there will turn me out
God's gonna trouble the water"

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Azizi
Date: 30 May 05 - 02:25 AM

Welcome to Mudcat!

I agree with Joe that 'Beauty land' is probably folk etymology for 'Beulah land'.

{'folk etymology'=substitution of a familiar word, phrase or sound for an unfamiliar word, phrase or sound}

Also, as you probably are aware, 'Beulah land' was an African American referent for heaven {the promised land; glory; glory land}.

'Beulah land' was also said to be a referent for Canada {freedom land} for after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 if they were successful in entering this nation, African Americans fleeing slavery could be assured that they remained free.

Of course, 'the water' sung about in this song was the 'Jordan River' which symbolized the passage from earthly existence to heaven.
The 'water' {or the Jordon River} could also symbolize the Ohio River which was crossed by many escaping slaves to reach freedom in the North {and which, after 1850, marked the first successful part of their journey on to Canada}.

'Wade In The Water' and 'Steal Away' are two spirituals which are usually said to have sometimes been used to convey coded messages that someone was planning to escape from slavery 'soon and very soon' with help from the 'underground railroad' or with no help whatsoever.

I'm one of those people who doubts that spirituals were used in this manner as often as some have suggested. For a discussion on spirituals and other songs as coded messages, click here for the Mudcat thread Follow The Drinking Gourd

By the way, "Wade In The Water" is a call & reponse, open-ended song-which means that it was led by a soloist, with the rest of the folks responding to his or her lines. And its verses could go on and on depending on the creativity of the soloist {caller/soloist} and the willingness of the rest of the group {responders} to continue singing it. Therefore like other African American spirtuals and like secular folk songs that originated in slavery, "Wade in the Water" is not supposed to have any fixed verses or fixed order of verses.

I remember singing "Wade in the Water" as a member of my African American church in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. And it was definitely NOT sung with the verses given in the "Rise Up Singing" book.

That's all good-unless folks require that everytime it is sung, it must be done the way that book provides.

In my opinion, the spirit of a spiritual is diminished if folks mandate that it must be sung the same way at all times.

Peace!


Ms. Azizi

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Azizi
Date: 30 May 05 - 08:37 AM

Correction: the song 'Wade in the Water' is most often said to have been used by persons escaping slavery more than planning to escape bondage.

For example, see this excerpt from www.osblackhistory.com/wade.php

"Harriet Tubman sang this spiritual ["Wade In The Water"] as a warning to runaway slaves. To escaping slaves, the song told them to abandon the path and move into the water. By travelling along the water's edge or across a body of water, the slaves would throw chasing dogs and their keepers off the scent."

-snip-

It seems improbably to me that any person fleeing slavery would have time to and take the risk of singing spirituals out loud. Wouldn't you think that that would alert those "chasing dogs and their keepers" of the escaping person's or groups' whereabouts?

However, I suppose it is highly possible that this song was sung as a learning tool for those planning to escape slavery [e.g. going into the water to throw chasing dogs off your scent]. And perhaps I jumped to conclusions thinking that folks who accept this coded message theory meant that "Wade In The Water" like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"; "Don't Miss That Train" {and other references to the "Gospel train and chariots}' referred to a person's or group's immediate plan to escape slavery. IMHO, the subject of coded slave songs needs much more serious, reality based study.

That being said, there is documentation that spirituals were used to provide coded messages among enslaved African Americans about non-escape plans. See this comment found in Henry Louis Gates, Jr's scholarly book "The Signifying Monkey, A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism" {Oxford Univ. Press, 1988, p.: 68} :

"When de niggers * go round singin' "Steal Away To Jesus" dat mean der wuine to be 'ligious meetin' dat night. sat de sig'fication of a meetin'. De masters 'fore and after freedom didn't like dem 'ligious meetin's. so us natcherly slips off at night, down in de bottomss or somewheres. Sometimes us sing and pray all night."

-snip-

* For the record, I use this word only for purposes of accurately writing this quote. I consider N----'s contemporary usage to be highly offensive no matter who uses it.


Azizi

PS: I had forgotten to include "Canaan" {and "Sweet Canaan"} as another coded referent for Canada and freedom in spirituals.

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Azizi
Date: 30 May 05 - 09:20 AM

While I'm on this subject, here are the verses of "Wade In The Water" that are often given to support the Underground railroad/coded message for fleeing slavery meme:

Wade in the water.
Wade in the water, children.
Wade in the water.
God's gonna trouble the water.


Jordon's water is chilly and cold.
God's gonna trouble the water.
It chills the body, but not the soul.
God's gonna trouble the water.


If you get there before I do.
God's gonna trouble the water.
Tell all of my friends I'm coming too.
God's gonna trouble the water.

-snip-

However, I would love to know if anyone has studied if there is any connection between the references to colors in "Wade In The Water" {and other spirituals} and the colors that symbolize the Yoruba
{Nigeria} orishas.

See these commonly sung verses:

Well, who's that younder dressed in Red?
God's gonna trouble the water.
Must be the children that Moses led.
God's gonna trouble the water.

Who's that yonder dressed in White?
God's gonna trouble the water.
Must be the children of the Israelites.
God's gonna trouble the water.

Who's that yonder dressed in Blue?
God's gonna trouble the water.
Must be the Children now, let them through.
He's gonna trouble the water.

-snip-

{sometimes the words are "Who's those children dressed in red" etc}

One webstite that provides that version has this to say about those colors:

"Using the colors of American patriotism in progressive verses, this gospel song pointed to the stark differences in America's promises to its black and white citizens, not so subtly holding our feet to a fire of our own making.."

http://www.cattailmusic.com/LyricsandNotes/WadeintheWater.htm

-snip-

I'm sorry, but that theory sounds to me like someone from the present looking back and attaching his own patriotism to these lyrics.

We may never know the origins and meanings of those verses. But jsut for the sake of consideration, Yoruba people from Nigeria were numerous and heavily influential during Southern slavery. Their cultural beliefs live on in a number of ways including in the higly corrupted Hollywood interpretations of the Yoruba/Fon religion of ifa or orisha vodoun {voodoo}.

See this quote:
"The Yoruban spiritual system has been described as a pyramid with five layers. At the apex is Oldumare, the Supreme Being. The second layer beneath the Supreme Being is composed of lesser deities called Orisha. Below these deities are ancestral deities called Egungun. While all of the above are noted as spiritual beings, the next two layers of the pyramid consist of human beings."

Click Seven Orishas for information on seven of the most important orishas.

Also click HERE for more information on those religious beliefs.

****
Each orishas has symbols, food and a color or colors that are associated with it {him or her or him/her}.

Esu {Eshu; Elegb}, the trickster messanger of the orishas; also the orisha of the crossroads {including the line separating the earth from the heavens and the river bank from the river}; colors: black & red and black & white


Obatala {Oxala}- the orisha of peace, harmony and purity. He is the father of most orishas and the creator of humankind. He is the owner of the world. He represents clarity, justice and wisdom. color: white.."Everything that is white on Earth belongs to him: the snow, the sky, the bones and the brain. In some paths, Obatala manifests as a female. Some people see him as an androgynous deity that contained both male and female energies representing respectively heaven and earth. Obatala is invoked for health, peace and harmony."

Sango {Shango}=orisha of thunder and lightning; color:
       red; also note that Sango also is represented with a double
       headed axe, same as Thor, teh Vicking god of thunder

Yemaja- orisha of fresh water; orisha of the Ogun River {in Nigeria}Yemoja's relation to water makes her a maternal deity who is regarded as the Mother of All; her color is blue, the color of the sea   

****
In my opinion, Southern African American and Afro-Caribbean customs such as lighting certain colored candles and having a sky blue bottle in the window and elsewhere in the house are remnants of these beliefs in the orishas. And actually those religious beliefs are quite strong in Brazil, Cuba, and even the United States. I count among my friends a number of persons who are Yorubas {followers of the Yoruba religion}. I hasten to note that it is not just African Americans who practice this religion. Particularly in Brazil, this religious system called 'Santeria' crosses all racial and 'class' boundaries.

Again, if someone knows of any studies on the connection between the colors of the orishas and "Wade In The Water", I would be very interested in hearing about them.

If not, I would certainly think that such a study should be made.


Azizi Powell

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Pauline L
Date: 30 May 05 - 01:01 PM

Azizi, thanks so much for all that information. You are a virtual library.

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Once Famous
Date: 30 May 05 - 01:07 PM

I want to say that I believe Judy Henske's version was probably the most well known version of this song.

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 May 05 - 02:14 PM

Check out the versions posted in thread 6108: Wade in the Water
Often titled "God's Gonna Trouble the Water."
Usually sung as a baptismal song, used by both blacks and whites in different versions.

I have been looking for early versions. John Wesley Work, 1915, "Folk Songs of the American Negro," is the earliest I have found so far.

Sometimes tied with "Let God's Saints Come In," in Allen, 1867, "Slave Songs..." but this spiritual doesn't have the 'wade in the water' line.
Come down, angel and trouble the water (3x), And let God's saints come in.'

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Bill D
Date: 30 May 05 - 05:03 PM

some of those verses..(.."who's that yonder dressed in..XXXX") were also often plugged into "Go Tell It On the Mountain" during the Civil Rights era. Some verses are just too 'versatile' to leave alone!

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Azizi
Date: 30 May 05 - 05:05 PM

I appreciate your comment, Pauline.

I have been collecting information on these subjects for some time and, thanks to the Internet, I glad to be able to share what I have learned and speculated about.

I'm thankful that Mudcat provides a forum to exchange information and learn from others.


Peace,


Azizi Powell

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 May 05 - 05:09 PM

'Beulah Land' comes from "Pilgrim's Progress," by Bunyan, 1628-1688. Bunyan used the name for an idyllic land near the end of life's journey. It later appeared in sermons and hymns.

The most popular hymn now is "Beulah Land," words by Edgar P. Stites, music by John R. Sweney, 1876, posted in thread 37937: Beulah Land
There are several others.

Pioneers moving west spoke of their destination (hopefully) as Beulah Land.

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Azizi
Date: 30 May 05 - 05:22 PM

Ha!

"teh Vicking god of thunder"!!!???

Correction [one of many]= the Viking god of thunder.

also the other name for the orisha of the crossroads-Eshu/Elegba.

Okay I promise to use Preview [more often anyway}.

****

As an aside, some people think that during American and Caribbean Black slavery remembrances of West African Egungun masked promanades merged with observances of European mummering {if that is the correct way to refer to the activities of the Mummers}.

According to this theory, this resulted in the Jonkonu {John Canoe} activities of African Americans during Southern slavery and of Afro-Caribbeans then and continuing to date.

Probably the only remnant of these African Americans Jonkanu promanades is the parading of New Orleans Wild Indians during Mardi Gras ....


Azizi Powell

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Azizi
Date: 30 May 05 - 05:26 PM

Q,

re: your comment:

'Beulah Land' comes from "Pilgrim's Progress," by Bunyan, 1628-1688. Bunyan used the name for an idyllic land near the end of life's journey. It later appeared in sermons and hymns.'

-snip-

I didn't mean to imply that enslaved African Americans were the first to use that Beulah to refer to an idyllic land. But I have read that they did use this name as a coded referent for Canada and freedom land.

It fits, don't you think?


Ms. Azizi

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 May 05 - 08:00 PM

Could be, Azizi.

Subject: RE: Wade in the Water
From: GUEST,JennyO
Date: 31 May 05 - 07:54 AM

I wasn't sure if I had heard the Judy Henske recording, so I went looking and found some sound clips. They include "Wade in the Water". Boy that lady certainly knows how to belt out a song!

some Judy Henske sound clips

---

Thread closed temporarily because it's been a target for Spam. If you have something to add to the discussion, contact me and I'll reopen it.
-Joe Offer-