Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Mar 19 - 10:09 AM

Actually I just turned up a bluegrass version and a gospel version:

Bluegrass version from Bluegrass Lyrics.com

Take Me In Your Lifeboat

Take me in your lifeboat,
Oh, take me in your lifeboat
It will stand the raging storm;
Take me in your lifeboat,
Oh, take me in your lifeboat
It will bear my spirit home.

Now come, brothers and sisters, and don’t fall asleep
We’ll pray night and day or we’ll sink in the deep;
Fathers and mothers are prayin’ so well
Oh Lord, won’t you take me in your lifeboat.

The clouds are so heavy the winds are so loud
The thunder are rollin’ and burstin’ the clouds
They pray to their sinner mates for what they have done
They took the dyin’ sinner in their lifeboat.

Posted in "Name That Hymn.com"

Take Me In Your Lifeboat

Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will stand the raging storm
Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will bear the spirit home.

Now come brother and sisters, and don't fall asleep
But pray night and day, or you'll sink in the deep
Father and mothers are praying so loud
Sayin', Lord, won't you take me in your lifeboat.

Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will stand the raging storm
Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will bear the spirit home.

The clouds are so heavy, the winds are so loud
The thunder is rolling, bursting in the clouds
They pray for their shipmates, for what they have done
They took the dying sinner in your lifeboat.

Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will stand the raging storm
Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will bear the spirit home.

Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will stand the raging storm;
Take me in your lifeboat, Lord, take me in your lifeboat
It will bear the spirit home.

Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Mar 19 - 09:55 AM

This "Lifeboat" song seems unrelated to one collected by Mary Wheeler of Paducah, KY, in the 1930s. This is what she took down:

As sung by Mose on the steamboat Robert E. Lee just before starting out
Collected by Mary Wheeler of Paducah, KY, in the 1930s.

Let Me in the Lifeboat


Come, brother sailor, and don't fall asleep,
Pray both night and day, or you'll sink in the deep;
Hope is the anchor, this you must keep,
If you want to sit with Jesus in the life boat.


Chorus:

Let me in the life boat, let me in the life boat,
She will bear my spirit home;
Let me in the life boat, let me in the life boat,
She will bear my spirit home.

Some at the hellum. Some down below,
Ship is a-dashin' and her decks overflow;
Mothers and fathers cryin' so loud,
"Oh, Jesus, will you take me in the life boat?" (CHO)

Does this song resonate with anyone? I'm sure there is a longer gospel version out there somewhere.

Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: GUEST,Karon J.
Date: 23 Aug 15 - 09:45 AM

The music I have for The Life-boat says copyright 1894 by Jno. R. Bryant, arr by Jno. R. Bryant & owned by J. A. Lee, Glencoe, KY
I would love to hear a recording of this song if one exists.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: masato sakurai
Date: 16 Jan 03 - 09:10 AM

Only the title is mentioned in Sigmund Spaeth, A History of Popular Music in America (Random House, 1948, p. 257):

By 1891 the outstanding songs from DeKoven's Robin Hood had been published and were in general circulation. Harrigan and Braham had their usual quota of hits, with Scanlan represented by Molly O! and McGlennon by Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Life Boat and That Is Love.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: masato sakurai
Date: 16 Jan 03 - 08:16 AM

According to The California Library Systems Cooperative Song Index, "Life-Boat" is in the following book (possibly the same as "Lee, J.A., Lasting Hymns #1" listed above):

Greatest And Lasting Hymns, A Collection Of The Worlds Best Songs
Lee, John A.
John A. Lee & Co.
Glencoe, KY, USA
1906

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 07:55 PM

Jean, your story of the Arkansas connection is interesting. There're two hymnbooks published in Kentucky too in 1898 and 1901.

This is the entry in Country Music Sources:

71. FLOATING DOWN THE STREAM OF TIME

[Felix McGlennon, 1891, arr. by F. McD Hunter, 1894/Jno. B. Bryant, arr., 1894/Atkins Cole, wds, J.D. Patton, m, 1904; Ref: (1) Revival#2 (1896), #78; ApH (1898), #160; LH, #126; CSC (1906), #198; (2) AFL, #21, p. 82]

We're Floating Down the Stream of Time (13701) - George Reneau (vcl by Gene Austin w/gtr & hca) - ca. 08/1924, NYC.
         Vo 15046 - 09/1925                Vo 5064 - 02/1927
The Life Boat (E 35573-) - Frank & James McCravy (vcl duet w/unk acc) - 12/18/1930. NYC.
         Me M12185 (Al & Joe Blackburn)    Po P9058 (Al & Joe Blackburn)
Floating Down the Stream of Time (BS 011995-1) J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers (vcl by Leonard Stokes and George Morris w/gtr & mdln) - 08/05/1937. Charlotte, N.C.
         Bb B7523 - 06/1938                Alp 202
         MW M 7303
The Life Boat (C 2123-2) - Jo & Alma [Taylor] (vcl duet w/gtr, mdln & bs) - 02/23/1938. Chicago. Ill.
         ARC iniss
........................................

"If the name of the composer is known, it appears first in the entry, followed by composition data, and alternate composer claims." (p. xix)

Abbreviations
Revival#2: Tillman, Charles D., The Revival #2 (Atlanta, Ga: C.D. Tillman, 1896)
ApH: Apostolic Hymns: A Collection Of Hymns & Tunes (Fulton, Ky: J.V. & R.S. Kirklan, 1898)
LH: Lee, J.A., Lasting Hymns #1 (Cincinnati/New Orleans/Glencoe, Ky: J.A. Lee, 1901)
CSC: Dortch, David E., Choice Songs Complete (Tullahoma, Tenn: D.E. Dortch, 1906)
AFL: Brown, Ray B., The Alabama Folk Lyric: A Study In Origins and Media Dessemination (Bowling Green, Ohio: 1979)

~Masato

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 01:15 PM

Dear Masato! And I do mean that- you're a lifesaver...I was sure the song would be in one of my old hymnbooks, but couldn't find it. Your research has me very curious now, as to what "appropriate gestures" would be when singing this? We always harmonized it very reverently and quietly! And there should be shouting, too, apparently. I notice also that Arkansas figures prominently in the notes on singers from whom it was collected, and this makes me think that my family may have brought it back to Kentucky from Arkansas. In the first years of last century (1900s), an uncle and a cousin of ours walked to Arkansas, looking for a better place to live. They came home, disillusioned, but brought back several great songs- and left a few Kentucky ones there in exchange, I'm sure. So it goes.

Many, many thanks,    Jean Ritchie

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: masato sakurai
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 10:54 PM

One stanza and refrain are recorded in Vance Randolph's Ozark Folksongs, vol. IV (revised ed., 1980, pp. 67-68 [No. 629]; with tune), with these notes:

    A variant of this piece, much longer, was printed in a shape-note hymnbook. I found in Rogers, Ark., but was unable to identify because the covers and title page were missing. At the top of the page, in parentheses, was the note: "Most effective when accompanied by appropriate gestures." There is a four-stanza text in Sacred Jewels (ed. by R.E. Winsett, Dayton, Tenn., 1939, No. 39); the first three verses are anonymous, the fourth by "F.M.C."

                   THE LIFE BOAT
Sung by Mrs. Marie Wilbur, Pineville, Mo., August 6, 1927. Mrs. Wilbur heard it sung in country churches "with a great deal of shouting" about 1895.

The life boat soon is comin', by the eye of faith I see,
As she sweeps through the water to rescue you an' me,
An' land us safely in the port, with friends we love so dear,
Get ready, cries the captain, oh look, she's almost here!

Then cheer, my brother cheer! Your trials'll soon be o'er,
Our loved ones we will meet, will meet upon that golden shore,
We're pilgrims an' we're strangers here, a-seekin' a city to come,
The life boat soon is a-comin' to gether[sic] its jewels home.

    A three-stanza version titled "The Lifeboat" is in The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection, which was "sung by Ollie Gilbert, Mountain View, Arkansas on Ocotber 7, 1969." Click here for sound recording and lyrics.

      In the Wolf Folklore Collection, the title is WE'RE PILGRIMS (Sung by: Mary Frances (Mrs. G.H.) Caldwell; Recorded in Pine Bluff, AR 11/10/62; lyrics only).

      The lyrics are also in BELIEVERS SONGBOOK (PDF FORMAT) as "No. 53: The Lifeboat."

~Masato

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LIFE-BOAT
From: masato sakurai
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 08:48 PM

From the link above (the word "anonymous" retained):

The Life-Boat
hymn and music anonymous
final stanza and musical arrangement by F. M. G.

1. We're floating down the stream of time,
We have not long to stay;
The stormy clouds of darkness
Will turn to brightest day.
Then let us all take courage,
For we're not left alone;
The life-boat soon is coming
To gather the Jewels home.

Refrain:
Then cheer, my brother cheer,
Out trials will soon be o'er,
Our loved ones we shall meet, shall meet,
Upon the golden shore.
We're pilgrims and we're strangers here,
We're seeking a city to come,
The life-boat soon is coming
To gather the Jewels home.

2. Sometimes the devil tempts me,
And says it's all in vain
To try to live a Christian life
And walk in Jesus' name.
But then we hear the Master say,
"I'll lend you a helping hand,
And if you'll only trust Me,
I'll guide you to that land."

3. The life-boat soon is coming,
By eye of faith I see
As she sweeps through the waters
To rescue you and me.
And land us safely in the port
With friends we love so dear,
"Get ready," cries the Captain;
"O look, she's almost here."

4. O now's the time to get on board,
While she is passing by;
But if you stand and wait too long,
You shall forever die;
The fare is paid for one and all,
The Captain bids you come,
And get on board the life-boat,
She'll carry you safely home.

Click to play

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Strea
From: Amos
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 08:41 PM

Wow, Masato -- another Oscar for ya! I yam impresssed!

A

Subject: RE: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: masato sakurai
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 08:35 PM

The Life-Boat (lyrics & midi) from Pentecostal Online Hymnal, which says it is "anonymous."

However, according to Meade et al.'s Country Music Sources (p. 597):

[Felix McGlennon, 1891, arr. by F. McD Hunter, 1894/Jno. B. Bryant, arr., 1894/Atkins Cole, wds, J.D. Patton, m, 1904]

It was in Charles D. Tillman, The Revival #2 (Atlanta, Ga: C.D. Tillman, 1896). The earliest recording is by George Reneau in 1924 (issued in 1925) as "We're Floating Down the Stream of Time." The title "The Life Boat" came later.

~Masato

Subject: Origins: The Lifeboat (Floating Down the Stream..
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 07:46 PM

All right- I've been super-searching with no results here. Can anyone help with author/composer/publishing date for "We're Floating Down the Stream of Time?" Correct title I believe is, "The Lifeboat." NOT, "Gently Down the Stream of Time," but the one whose first line is, "We're floating down the stream of time, we have not long to stay..." ASCAP wants to know, as well as I!

Thanks in advance,    Jean