Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side

Subject: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH SIDE (Oatman & Oatman)
From: Stewie
Date: 21 Oct 00 - 01:37 AM

Here's a fine old sacred song that I couldn't find in the DT:

HALLELUJAH SIDE
(Johnson Oatman/J. Howard Oatman)

Once a sinner far from Jesus, I was perishing with cold
But the precious Saviour heard me when I cried
And he threw his robe around me and led me to the fold
And I'm living on the hallelujah side

Chorus:
Oh, glory be to Jesus, let the hallelujahs roll
Help me ring the saviour's praises far and wide
For I've opened up towards heaven all the windows of my soul
And I'm living on the hallelujah side

Though this world may sweep around me with her dazzle and her dreams
Yet I envy not her vanities and pride
For my soul looks up towards heaven where the golden sunlight gleams
And I'm living on the hallelujah side

Not for all earth's gold and millions would I leave this precious place
Though tempters to persuade me often tried
For I'm safe in God's pavilion, happy in his love and grace
And I'm living on the hallelujah side

Source: Transcription from Ernest V. Stoneman and The Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers Vi 20224, recorded Camden NJ on 21 September 1926. Reissued on Ernest V. Stoneman and The Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers 'Same' Rounder LP 1008.

PS.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: Dale Rose
Date: 21 Oct 00 - 02:49 AM

I tried to find a music source among my song books, but could not find it. Here is the next best thing though, a Real Audio file of Hallelujah Side. I was a bit lazy, so rather than dig out the old Ernest Stoneman LP, I took one of those nice shiny CDs and came up with a totally different version by the Tindley Quaker City Gospel Singers. I am sure that Stewie will agree that it is just about as good a choice as the Ernest Stoneman. Members of the group were D. C. Wright, Albert T. Tindley, Thomas Brown, Harvey Mason, and Haywood Purnell. It is from the Roots N' Blues The Retrospective, Columbia 47911, 1992, recorded March 8, 1932 and was previously unissued. After you hear it, you will wonder why the experts at Columbia did not see fit to release it.

From the notes by Lawrence Cohn: It is assumed that the Tindley Quaker City Gospel Singers took their name from the founder of Philadelphia's Tindley Methodist Church, composer C. H. Tindley. (This is the same church where Bessie Smith was laid to rest.)

I have a bluegrass version by the Country Gentlemen as well ~~ somewhere.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: Stewie
Date: 21 Oct 00 - 09:58 AM

Thanks for that, Dale. The Tindley Quaker City Gospel Singers rendition is great. There are a few previously unissued sides in the 'Retrospective' set, including the stunning untitled guitar solo by Sherman Tedder.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: Dale Rose
Date: 22 Oct 00 - 12:54 AM

After posting, I started to get curious about Tindley and the church which bears his name, and went on a search. It is somehow comforting that the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church is still there, and according to their own website, doing well. Check the links entitled History and Charles A. Tindley for more information. (note also that the CD notes have his middle initial wrong) More interesting info about him and his hymns here

Here is a very brief summary from the church's site: "In 1885, a man by the name of Charles A. Tindley became janitor of the Church. Born a slave July 26, 1856, Tindley taught himself to read and write and eventually rose to become Pastor of the Church in 1902." To summarize the rest, Tindley who by all reports was a dynamic preacher as well as a hymn writer, guided the church for many years, culminating in the building in 1924 of a 3,200 seat church, which the parishioners renamed for Tindley, though he was not in favor of the name change. He died in 1933. No mention was made of the Tindley Quaker City Gospel Singers on the site. Do take note of the fact that one of the singers was Albert T. Tindley, almost certainly a relative, I would think.

Well, that is a bit of a side step from the subject matter (Hallelujah Side, wasn't it?), but I found it to be fascinating reading about someone I previously had never heard of but who certainly deserves the attention. Among his best known compositions were I'll Overcome Some Day (better known today as We Shall Overcome!), We'll Understand It Better By and By, and Stand By Me. Apparently he also was a direct and profound influence on hymn writer Thomas A. Dorsey who wrote such classics as Peace In The Valley and Take My Hand Precious Lord.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: Dale Rose
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 12:11 AM

I had completely forgotten this thread, which was apparently just the property of Stewie and me WAAAAaayyy last October when we talked about it, and I at least, promptly forgot it.

Oh, and thanks to Max for updating the Super Search ~~ see his note of February 22. It makes it a heck of a lot easier for those of us who forget what we say and when we say it to find it again!

Please take note of the sound file link that I posted on 21 Oct 00 ~~ it is worth clicking!!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: treaties1
Date: 26 Feb 01 - 08:55 AM

Dale Rose congratulations for the fascinating information given.My original incorrect thread was for the Hallelujah Line just goes to show how great Mudcatters are. Thanks a lot

Subject: Lyr Add: THE HALLELUJAH SIDE (Oatman, Entwisle)
From: GUEST,Dale Rose
Date: 18 Mar 01 - 11:46 AM

I accidently came across the print version this morning while leafing through an old gospel songbook ~~ I was pretty sure I had it, just couldn't locate it!

Since there are two more verses than Stewie and I were familiar with, I will transcribe the entire text. Variations from Stewie's transcription are slight, probably the most noticeable is substitution of bless-ed for precious in the first verse.

THE HALLELUJAH SIDE
Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr./J. Howard Entwisle Copyright 1898 by John J. Hood

Once a sinner, far from Jesus, I was perishing with cold,
But the bless-ed Savior heard me when I cried;
Then he threw His robe around me, and He led me to His fold,
And I'm living on the hallelujah side.

Chorus:
Oh, glory be to Jesus! let the hallelujahs roll;
Help me ring the Savior's praises far and wide;
For I've opened up tow'rd heaven all the windows of my soul,
And I'm living on the hallelujah side.

Tho' the world may sweep around me with her dazzle and her dreams,
Yet I envy not her vanities and pride;
For my soul looks up to heaven, where the golden sunlight gleams,
And I'm living on the hallelujah side.

Not for all earth's golden millions would I leave this precious place,
Tho' the tempter to persuade me oft has tried;
For I'm safe in God's pavilion, happy in His love and grace,
And I'm living on the hallelujah side.

Here the sun is always shining, here the sky is always bright;
'Tis no place for gloomy Christians to abide;
For my soul is filled with music, and my heart with great delight,
And I'm living on the hallelujah side.

And upon the streets of glory, when we reach the other shore,
And have safely crossed the Jordan's rolling tide,
You will find me shouting "Glory!" just outside my mansion door,
Where I'm living on the hallelujah side.

From The Glory Barn Special, Full Gospel Campaigns, John W. Sproul Evangelist (Inter-Denominational) Copyright 1925, by Thoro Harris, Publisher, 512 S. Campbell Ave., Chicago, Ill. ~~ a small hardback and one of my treasured books. The extra two verses are worth the time, especially for the phrase, For my soul is filled with music, and my heart with great delight which should be watch words for us here at Mudcat.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Mar 01 - 12:07 PM

Aw Dale. We gotta meet. Soon!

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Mar 01 - 07:15 PM

I learned the Stoneman version may years ago, but also have it in an old songbook, and 'almost' know it all now...Rita, who memorizes better than I do, can usually dredge up the verses I am weak on...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hallelujah Side
From: GUEST,Pete peterson
Date: 19 Mar 01 - 11:03 AM

I can never think of the song without hearing in my head the wonderful Joseph Spence recording, with Spence mumbling the words (I would NEVER have known the words were it not for Stoneman!) and playing that cheap guitar making wonderful music. Thanks for reminding me

Subject: RE: Req/Add: Hallelujah Side
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 07:50 PM

Stewie, Dale, thanks so much for this song. It is going in our band's next gospel songbook, with thanks to you both.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Req/Add: Hallelujah Side
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 09:19 PM

My group... The Gospel Messengers used to sing this song. It's been awhile, and I'll have to scratch my brain to figure out what recording I learned it from. It was a black gospel quartet...

I was really surprised to see the song appear in a thread..

Jerry

Subject: RE: Req/Add: Hallelujah Side
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 10:15 PM

Could well be the version I linked to on 21 Oct 00 - 02:49 AM

The soundfile by The Tindley Quaker City Gospel Singers is still there, but a direct click does not work with Tripod anymore, but a simple copy and paste into the address bar does. Just don't ask me why they are able to catch one kind of direct link, but not the other.

Subject: RE: Req/Add: Hallelujah Side
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 10:36 PM

Dale, I did get there tonight via THIS PAGE, and got the sound file again, too. The page just took a whole lot of time and power to load, even on my cable modem. If anyone needs a copy by email, just PM me an email address.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Req/Add: Hallelujah Side
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 11:49 PM

Well, so it did, Susan! I was thinking that was a file that I had just put a link to without putting it on a particular page! You are right about the slowness. I tried to get to it tonight for the first time in months, and could barely get it to work.

Here's the front door to the whole site. I haven't worked on it in several years. http://goodoldsongs.tripod.com/goodoldsongs/

Actually, I've got several fairly nice things there, just not a "finished" site like I originally intended.

Glad you could get some use out of it.

Subject: RE: Req/Add: Hallelujah Side
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 09:20 AM

Dale,

Oh YES, it has been very useful.

The odd thing is, I have no recollection of first finding this song. I was cleaning out a folder full of archived MP3s the other day to clear up some disk space, and found a file I had labeled "Hallelujah Side - Tindley Quaker City Gospel Singers - Dale Rose." When I heard it, it instantly became a MUST DO instead of an interesting artifact. I didn't recall the long "ohhhhh" of the song or anything else-- so it is very likely that I was looking for Heavenly Aeroplane and saved Hallelujah Side at the same time without stopping to hear it, a couple of years ago!

Now there's some encouragement-- I ought to listen through the other several hundred songs in case there are a few more gems I overlooked!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Req/Add: Hallelujah Side
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Apr 06 - 09:38 AM

wow...had forgotten about this thread. I sang part of this at a small weekend gathering in W.VA. a couple weeks ago, and was wondering if I could find the old song book I have, so I could refresh my memory....goes to show...just check Mudcat!

Now, I of course, being an autoharp player, sing it more like Pop Stoneman,( more 'spirited'), than that mellow, dripping with harmonies version of the Quaker City Gospel Singers. It was a revelation (no pun intended) to hear it slow like that.

Thanks for reminding me of lost treasures.