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Lyr Req: Great Dream from Heaven (Joseph Spence)

24 Feb 00 - 07:31 AM (#183955)
Subject: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: GUEST,chrish@uk.muze.com

Calling all Bahamians!

I love the Joseph Spence song "The Great Dream Of Heaven" (turned into a famous guitar instrumental by Ry Cooder). Sadly, I can't make out all the lyrics, due to Mr. Spence's idiosyncratic performance style.

Can anyone help? Many thanks.

Chris

24 Feb 00 - 10:18 AM (#184005)
Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: GREAT DREAM FROM HEAVEN (J Spence)
From: Sorcha

GREAT DREAM FROM HEAVEN
(Joseph Spence)
  D                      G           D
  Had a great dream from heaven last night
                           G          A
  The angels in heaven are calling me home
        D                G           D
  Thank God I can sing a song of his love
                          A        D
  I know some day I'll be singing above    

 Chorus:
  G        A         D
  Glory to Jesus who saved us from sin
                      G          A
  Glory to Jesus, our freedom in him
        D                G           D
  Thank God I can sing a song of his love
                          A        D
  I know some day I'll be singing above    

 When mother and father forsake me, I know
  The angels in heaven are calling me home
  Thank God I can sing a song of his love
  I know some day I'll be singing above    

 Tablature
  =========    

 Tuning:  Dropped D (DADGBE)    

 Verse:    

   D                                     G                  D
  --------5-----5h7---|5-----------------|0-----------------|------------------|
  5/7--------2--------|------7\5---3-----|0-----3-----0-----|------------3-----|
  --------------------|------------------|0-----4-----0-----|2-----------2-----|
  --------0-----0-----|------------------|------0-----------|------4-----------|
  --------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|
  --0-----------------|0-----------------|5-----------------|0-----------------|
    Had      a  great  dre-  am    from   hea-  ven   last   night       The    

     

                                                          A           A7
  ------------------|2-----5-----------|2-----------------|0-----------------|
  3-----3-----3-----|3-----3-----------|------5-----3-----|2-----------2-----|
  2-----------2-----|2-----2-----2-----|------------------|2-----------0-----|
  ------0-----------|------4-----------|0-----------------|------2-----------|
  ------------------|------------------|------4-----2-----|0-----------------|
  0-----------------|0-----------------|------------------|------------------|
  an-   gels  in     heav- en    are    cal-  ling  me     home        Thank    

     

 D                                     G                  D
  2-----------------|------------------|0-----------------|------------------|
  3--------5--3-----|------------2-----|0-----3-----0-----|---3--------------|
  2-----------------|2-----------3-----|0-----4-----0-----|2-----------2-----|
  ------0-----------|0-----4-----------|------0-----------|------4-----------|
  ------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|
  0-----------------|0-----------4-----|5-----------------|0-----------------|
  God      I  can    si-   ing   a      song  of    His    love    

     

                                       A                  D
  ------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|
  3-----3-----5-----|7\----------3-----|5--------3--2-----|3-----------------|
  2-----------------|------------2-----|2-----------------|2-----2-----------|
  ------------------|------------------|------2-----------|------------0-----|
  ------------------|------------0-----|0-----------------|------------------|
  0-----4-----5-----|7\----------------|------------------|0-----------------|
  I     know  some-  day   I'll  be     sing-    ing a-    bove    

     

 Chorus:    

 G                  A                  D
  3--------2--0-----|------5-----3-----|2-----------------|------------------|
  0-----------------|2-----------------|3--------5--3-----|------------------|
  4-----0-----------|2-----------------|2-----2-----------|2-----------2-----|
  ---0--------------|------------------|---0--------------|------4-----------|
  ------------------|0-----------------|------------------|------------------|
  5-----------------|------------------|0-----------------|0-----------------|
  Glo-     ry to     Je-   sus   Who    Saved-   us from   sin    

     

                                                          A
  ------------------|2-----5-----2-----|2-----------------|------------------|
  3-----3-----3-----|3-----------------|------5-----3-----|2-----------2-----|
  2-----2-----2-----|2-----------------|------------------|2-----------0-----|
  ------0-----0-----|------0-----------|0-----------------|------2-----------|
  ------------------|------------------|------4-----2-----|0-----------------|
  0-----------------|0-----------------|------------------|------------------|
  Glo-  ry    to     Je-   sus,  our    free- dom   in     Him         Thank    

     

 D                                     G                  D
  2-----------------|------------------|0-----------------|------------------|
  3--------5--3-----|------------2-----|0-----3-----0-----|---3--------------|
  2-----------------|2-----------3-----|0-----4-----0-----|2-----------2-----|
  ------0-----------|0-----4-----------|------0-----------|------4-----------|
  ------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|
  0-----------------|0-----------4-----|5-----------------|0-----------------|
  God      I  can    si-   ing   a      song  of    His    love    

     

                                       A                  D
  ------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|
  3-----3-----5-----|7\----------3-----|5--------3--2-----|3-----------------|
  2-----------------|------------2-----|2-----------------|2-----2-----------|
  ------------------|------------------|------2-----------|------------0-----|
  ------------------|------------0-----|0-----------------|------------------|
  0-----4-----5-----|7\----------------|------------------|0-----------------|
  I     know  some-  day   I'll  be     sing-    ing a-    bove

URL in next post

HTML line breaks and preformat commands added. --JoeClone, 21-Apr-03.

24 Feb 00 - 10:20 AM (#184007)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Sorcha

URL Here

24 Feb 00 - 02:20 PM (#184152)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Sandy Paton

Sorcha: I hear that chorus section as:

Glory to Jesus, who saves us from sin.
Glory to Jesus, I'm free here within.

Whaddya think? Possible? Caroline and I sang this once in Fresno for Jesse Fuller, shortly before he died.

Sandy

24 Feb 00 - 03:49 PM (#184201)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Sorcha

Sandy, I don't know because I pasted the song from the URL. The notes there said he learned it from his teacher. GUESTchrish said he/she was having trouble 'cause of the dialect,so not having heard it, I suppose it could be either.

24 Feb 00 - 08:50 PM (#184362)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Sandy Paton

I learned it from one of the great folk recordings of all time: The Real Bahamas on Nonesuch. That's the album we all learned "I Bid You Goodnight" from, too, long before we discovered IBYG was an Ira Sankey hymn.

Sandy

24 Feb 00 - 10:46 PM (#184421)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Sorcha

Ira Sankey??? The Ira Sankey I knew was a PRCA rodeo contractor out of Rose Hill, KS! (Doubt if he ever went to a "buildin'" church in his life......bull ridin's was on Sunday!

25 Feb 00 - 01:27 AM (#184542)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Stewie

Sandy

The Cyber Hymnal gives Sarah Doudney as the writer of the words and Ira David Sankey as the writer of the tune of 'The Christian's Goodnight'. I noted from a thread - quite some time ago now - that you have the Yazoo set 'How Can I Keep from Singing'. On volume 1, there is a 1928 recording of Memphis gospel/blues singer Lonnie McIntorsh 'Sleep, mother, sleep'. Its first verse goes:

Sleep on, mother, sleep on, lie down and take your rest
You've got to lay your head upon your Saviour's breast
I love you lord my saviour and my God
Sleep on, sleep on, sleep on

The first verse of the Doudney/Sankey hymn is:

Sleep on, belovèd, sleep, and take thy rest
Lay down thy head upon the Savior's breast
We love thee well, but Jesus loves thee best
Good night! Good night! Good night!

Fascinating spread of versions from Bristol, the Bahamas and Memphis.

--Stewie.

25 Feb 00 - 01:58 AM (#184547)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Sandy Paton

And an absolutely superb "laying down" hymn in each manifestation! Have you heard the Carthy/Waterson performance of the English version? Or, if you ever get the chance, listen to Mudcat's own LaMarca and her husband George sing it. They grace the Washington, DC, region with some damned fine singing. Caroline and I were hoping to sing it at the memorial service for Gerry Armstrong, but ran out of time, so her daughters and granddaughters led us all in a spirited rendition of the Bahamian version. A fitting conclusion to the service.

Sandy

25 Feb 00 - 02:40 AM (#184562)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Stewie

I agree, Sandy, they are all superb. I have the Waterson/Carthy performance which likewise is excellent.

--Stewie.

26 Feb 00 - 02:49 AM (#185184)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Garry Gillard

Could someone please post the name of a recommended CD or CDs of Joseph Spence?

I'd like to hear more of him.

thanks, Gaz

26 Feb 00 - 10:46 AM (#185262)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: dick greenhaus

Gaz- Camsco carries:

Spence, Joseph

SF 40066, The Complete Folkways Recordings, 1959, $13.98

In 1958, Sam Charters ventured to the small island of Andros in The Bahamas and there encountered the stunning guitar music of 47-year-old stonemason, Joseph Spence. The recordings Charters made that day revealed a master of startling originality, and earned Spence immediate recognition for his beautiful, unorthodox synthesis of rhythm and melodic improvisation. These earliest and most widely praised recordings are among the best traditional musics ever issued.

ARH 349, Bahamian Guitarist, $14.49

_Sounding like a delirious sea captain, a Delta bluesman on a tear, or a malfunctioning record player, Joseph Spence's mix of words and sounds is quite unique. The Bahamian guitarist's vocals bob like a fisherman's floater, sometimes leading the guitar and sometimes supporting it. He alternately picks, strums, and beats the acoustic instrument, and the sum total is the most unusual style I've ever heard from such a common setup. Hymns, sea chanties, popular folk songs, and other tunes make up his repertoire. This reissue includes many previously unreleased performances. Joseph Spence is where fans of Tom Waits meet followers of Mississippi John Hurt._ (Robert Gordon _ The Memphis Flyer)

Out on the Rolling Sea ~ I See Mary and Joseph ~ Oh, How I Love Jesus ~ Lay Down My Brother (I Bid You Good Night) ~ Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer . Good Morning Mr. Walker ~ The Glory of Love ~ Don't Let Nobody Burn Down the Burma Road ~ Bye and Bye ~ If I Had the Wings of a Dove ~ All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name ~ Don't Take Everybody to be Your Friend ~ Brown Skin Gale ~ Neighbor Gone Home ~ He Walks With Me ~ Will the Circle Be Unbroken ~ The Lord's My Shepherd ~ Yellow Bird ~ Sloop John B. ~ Be a Friend to Juses ~ Mary Ann

RDR 2021, Living On The Hallelujah Side, $12.98

RDR 2096, Glory, $12.98

These informal sessions recorded by Guy Droussart in the 1970s feature Spence performing his syncopated renditions of hymns, quadrilles and popular songs, filled with endless melodic variation.

RDR 2114, The Spring Of Sixty-Five, $12.98

These old hymns and popular songs are transformed by the compelling vocals of the Pinder Family and by Spence's counter-melodies and percussive syncopations.

Joseph Spence, if you haven't herd him, sounds like he's picking an old plywood guitar with a bent neck using a manhole cover as a pick, while he mumbles the words. THis said, I must add that I think he's absolutely wonderful. An acquired taste but, IMO, one well worth acquiring.

26 Feb 00 - 01:33 PM (#185311)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Sandy Paton

There you go, GAZ! I love that review by Gordon in the Memphis Flyer. Right on! Thanks for posting all that info, Dick.

Sandy

26 Feb 00 - 11:16 PM (#185577)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Garry Gillard

Yes indeed, Sandy! That's great: thanks very much, Dick. I've ordered the first one you mention.

thanks, Gaz

26 Feb 00 - 11:21 PM (#185580)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: Garry Gillard

Incidentally, it might be worth mentioning the existence of the Hokey Pokey collection called Out On the Rolling Sea HPR 2004.2, which includes a version of Great Dreams [sic] from Heaven by Michael Chapman, and I Bid You Goodnight sung wonderfully by Blue Murder (Watersons and friends).

It is "a tribute to the music of Joseph Spence", but does not include the man himself.

Garry

27 Feb 00 - 06:28 AM (#185693)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: dwditty

There is a songbook which transcribes the first few minutes of each of the songs on the Folkways recording mentioned above (1959). Joseph Spence is as much about where the music isn't as where it is. If you like syncopation, look no further.
DW

16 Apr 03 - 11:11 AM (#934755)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: GUEST,sjen@ptd.net

I have heard that Great Dreams was orginaly in an old Methodist hymnal I would love to know if there are more verses. I learned it of of his record years ago but have forever been curious of its orgin
Susan

16 Apr 03 - 11:33 AM (#934773)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: masato sakurai

THE CHRISTIAN'S "GOOD NIGHT" (from Cyber Hymnal).
It's also in Sankey et al.'s Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6 Complete (1895, No. 526).

~Masato

16 Apr 03 - 11:55 AM (#934789)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Great Dream Of Heaven
From: masato sakurai

And earlier in Sankey et al.'s Gospel Hymns Nos. 5 and 6 Combined (Biglow & Main/The John Church Co., 1892, No. 376).

16 Mar 14 - 09:31 PM (#3610138)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great Dream from Heaven (Joseph Spence)
From: GUEST

In the spirit of our renewal holidays, I'd like to resurrect this thread with a plug for John Renbourn (YouTube) -

John Renbourn - Great Dream of Heaven

voyager