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Lyr Req: We Shall Not Be Moved

19 Mar 00 - 03:12 PM (#197761)
Subject: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: GUEST,Weeble

Hiya Peeps,

Well, I'm looking for all the words to (and the proper title too) of a song. Nearly everyone knows the song, but don't know more than the first two lines and the tune. And we don't know where we learnt it or where it's from. (rather like the tradition with Happy Birthday!)

Anyway, this is what I know:

"We Shall Not, We Shall Not Be Moved. We Shall Not, We Shall Not Be Moved. We're like the...."

And so on. Anyone know the rest of it and/or the title?


19 Mar 00 - 03:17 PM (#197764)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: katlaughing

Hi, Weeble,

Welcome to the Mudcat.

If you will go to the DigiTrad database box up in the right hand corner and click on the "W" in the alphabetical listing, you will find the song there, with an audio file.

When looking for a song, it is 1) helpful to check there, using the search box,too, and 2) listing what you know of the title or words in the title of your thread. More people will see your request and likely be able to help.

all the best,

katlaughing


19 Mar 00 - 03:19 PM (#197765)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Bill in Alabama

Originally a hymn, the title is We Shall Not Be Moved.


19 Mar 00 - 03:24 PM (#197766)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: katlaughing

Laughing at myself, Bill! Thanks for pointing that out! Sheesh! I guess a person does need the title in order to look it up alphabetically, huh?!! Sorry, Weeble!


19 Mar 00 - 03:25 PM (#197767)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Amos

Just like a tree, that's standing by the water
We Shall Not Be Moved....

Boy, does that bring back memories...


19 Mar 00 - 03:51 PM (#197774)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Bill in Alabama

Kat--

A mere oversight; I have done much worse!


19 Mar 00 - 04:48 PM (#197788)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: tar_heel

i remember it as,i shall not be,i shall not be moved.i shall not be,i shall not b moved.just like a tree that's standing by the water.i shall not be moved. .....note!!!why is it all the flooding video we see on tv, always shows a tree being swept away by the current??? i guess they didn't have flooding when this song was written!!!!!!


20 Mar 00 - 09:43 AM (#198043)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Jacob B

It seems to me I recently came across the Bible verse that the song was based on, but I forget where it was. The image is supposed to be of a tree which doesn't suffer from drought because it has its roots in a source of living waters.

They had floods when the song was written, but they definitely didn't have flooding videos!


20 Mar 00 - 10:07 AM (#198048)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: black walnut

Psalm 1: 2, 3

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither, And in whatever he does, he prospers.

~black walnut


20 Mar 00 - 01:19 PM (#198141)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: paddymac

Flooding has been a feature of the blue orb's climate from the beginning. The key difference in then and now is the effect that human population growth has had, and continues to have, on the myriad things, large and small, which contribute to runoff volumes and rates. Generally, we seem to want to move rainfall faster, which results in higher flood stages. The causes of nth order problems are better understood today than in the recent past. The solutions, however, haven't gotten any easier; only more expensive, both economically and politically. It's enough to make a man cry out fer another pint.


20 Mar 00 - 01:39 PM (#198155)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: bob schwarer

I'll drink to that.


22 Mar 00 - 12:35 PM (#199202)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: GUEST,hollowfox

Yeah, just ask Noah.


22 Mar 00 - 01:33 PM (#199252)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Fortunato

If you can ever hear Mississippi John Hurt's version, "I shall not be moved", do so. It's pure joy.

Cheers Fortunato


22 Mar 00 - 01:58 PM (#199263)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Bill D

...you ain't lived till you have sung this nose to nose with a bunch of Mississippi sheriff's deputies who have a notion you SHALL be moved...


22 Mar 00 - 02:11 PM (#199273)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Amos

Mine were in urban Connecticut and North Philly, where civil rights had a lower profile but was just as compelling. We sang it over and over again and a lot of fuzz looked ready to diagree... but we never got dragged or dogged the way they did in Mississippi. What did you see happen, Bill?

A


22 Mar 00 - 02:18 PM (#199281)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: katlaughing

Yeah, Bill, wow, tell us more, please. You, too, Amos! Some of us were just a tad underage to partake too much in rabblerousing back then.*bg*


22 Mar 00 - 06:19 PM (#199405)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Bill D

I was in Hattiesberg & McComb Miss. in 64-65...not long..a week or so in each place, one of the barrage of 'noth'n agitatuhs' who came down on them....we tried to sing at a voter registration around courthouse in Hattiesberg, and were summarily threatened with arrest (had a permit to 'march', not sing!)...the leader of our group decided we were best off marching and being seen, not sitting in jail...but I hear the best version of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" I ever heard there, sung by a 15 year old girl...we all picked up on it and made a JOYFUL noise!,,until a parody of Edward G, Robinson came out and questioned us all and made dire threats,,

also was stopped by sheriff with a group on a dark night while walking to a meeting...the squad car had a tall, young kid in it who got out and stood glowering at us as we were questioned...I asked later why the 18 year old..(looked like a linebacker on the local football team)my compatriots grinned.."you mean you hadn't figgered out that they don't like news of the cops beating up civil rights folk? Now they have an "honest citizen" who will 'help' the cops if they 'need' it."

In McComb, I sat in a tiny room in a once-bombed house and heard all the protest songs sung by those LIVING the experience....amazing music...some that never got recorded...

too much to type easily...that was a LONG time ago...


22 Mar 00 - 07:02 PM (#199435)
Subject: Civil Rights
From: Joe Offer

I marched with the NAACP Youth Council in Milwaukee in the 1960's, and it was a wonderful experience. I was always jealous of people like Bill who got to go to the South. My chance came in the late 70's and early 80's, when I worked as a federal election observer in small towns in Mississippi and Alabama, enforcing the Voting Rights Act. Seems to me that the demonstrations and legislation of the 1960's must have worked, because we rarely saw any problems 15 years later. Still, it felt good to be taking even a small part in bringing fairness to elections. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was one piece of Civil Rights legistation that worked very well.
At most of the polling places where I worked, the election seemed to be a day-long party for everybody, a really joyful community gathering. Everybody knew everybody else, and everybody seemed to get along, both black and white. Besides that, people brought barbecue and fried chicken that was the best I've ever tasted. My biggest problem was figuring out how to diplomatically turn down food, once I had my fill.
-Joe Offer-


22 Mar 00 - 08:18 PM (#199511)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: John in Brisbane

A year or so ago I saw (and sang) a much slower hymn like version of this song. It was a 4 part harmony, and once I got used to the fact that it was quite different to the 'normal' folkie version it was really a beautiful song. It was called 'I Shall Not Be Moved' and I got the impression that it was the predecessor of the popular version. I don't think I have the score any more. Does this ring a bell with anyone else? Regards, John


22 Mar 00 - 08:36 PM (#199529)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Bill in Alabama

John

Right--it started out as a hymn. I can't remember what hymnal I first saw it in, but it was from that source that the song came into the civic rights movement.


22 Mar 00 - 08:42 PM (#199536)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Joe Offer

Say, this could get really interesting. How 'bout if we move this discussion over to a thread with a more specific title, like Gospel Origin - Civil Rights & Labor Songs (click)?
-Joe Offer-


22 Mar 00 - 11:52 PM (#199682)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: katlaughing

Bill, did you happen to see a made-for-tv movie shown on TNT in Jan. and again just recently, called Freedom Song? I started a thread about it, here. The music was really good in it.

Thank you very much for telling us more about your experiences. I would love to hear more about actually being there from any and all who were.

Thanks,

kat


23 Mar 00 - 03:52 AM (#199780)
Subject: RE: A song I bet you'll all know...
From: Ranks

There is a Reggae-Version by Cornell Campbell called "I shall not remove" on a CD with the same titel on the Blood&Fire lable. Listen to it when you get the chance.

Ranks