Folk-Songs of America: The Robert Winslow Gordon Collection, 1922-1932

Band B1

Darien, Georgia, the childhood home of Mrs. Gordon, was Gordon's "field station" for over two years, 1926-28. Located on the coast of Georgia, this town was ideally situated for the study of Afro-American folksong. The Carolina and Georgia sea coast blacks spoke a dialect (Gullah) thought to represent the earliest mixing of English with African languages. Gordon hoped to find folksong evidence of similar mixture. This led him to spirituals, of which he collected a substantial number. "Deep Down In My Heart" was performed by one of his best Darien informants, W. M. (Billy) Givens. Gordon later recorded a variant of this song from the white singer Betty Bush Winger (Record 8A), who is discussed below.

DEEP DOWN IN MY HEART [MP3 file]
Gordon cyl. A279, Item GA69
W. M. (Billy) Givens
Darien, Georgia
March 19, 1926

Lord, you know I love everybody,
Deep down in my heart.
Lord, you know I love everybody,
Deep down in my heart.
Lord, you know I love everybody,
Deep down in my heart.
Amen, Amen, Amen.
Lord, you know I love my preacher, etc.
Lord, you know I love my deacon, etc.
Lord, you know I love my brother, etc.
Lord, you know I love my Savior, etc.
Lord, you know I love everybody, etc.

Spoken:
W. M. Givens, Darien [?], Georgia, March the nineteenth, Nineteen twenty-six.

In his article on "Negro Spirituals from Georgia," Gordon describes the context in which these songs were performed. He urges the reader to "Go, on a Tuesday evening, to the smallest wooden church in a country district, and slip quietly into the last of the rough-hewn wooden benches" (p. 20). He describes the preparations of the sexton, the gathering of the congregation and the preacher's first hymn, lined out "just as he heard the white preacher do it seventy years ago … It is not a spiritual, but an old hymn of the camp-meeting type." A deacon is called upon for the first or "mourner's" prayer, and Gordon describes the congregations response, which leads up to the first spiritual:

The older women are swaying back and forth, and one of them is tapping nervously with her foot. When finally in the course of his prayer he mentions something that calls to mind the words of an old spiritual, this same woman who is tapping begins, probably quite unconsciously, to croon it almost under her breath. The spark catches, others near her join in, and the crooning becomes an audible under-tone -- "Jesus, Jesus, is my ond-ly friend, Jesus, Jesus, is my ond-ly friend, Jesus, Jesus is my ond-ly friend; King Jesus is my ond-ly friend." Louder and louder it grows as more and more join in till it seems actually to compete with the prayer. The deacon pauses a second, ceases abruptly his chanting, and drops into prose for a concluding line or so. And as he ceases the spiritual bursts forth free of all restraint: (here Gordon gives two stanzas of "Jesus is My Only Friend," p. 21).

Bessie Shaw and her husband Henry were the persons in the service Gordon described, and it was Bessie Shaw whose singing he transcribed in his article. Gordon's comment at the end of this recording indicates his awareness of the way in which the song was performed in context at church meeting. As mentioned in the note to "Brother Jonah," Henry Shaw was an important informant not only for Gordon but also for Lydia Parrish. As in Asheville, the outside collector relied upon local contacts, in this case the Shaws, for guidance and collectanea. Gordon recorded two other performances of this song (A308, GA97; A408, GA178) and an additional manuscript text (GA388) -- all from Georgia, and Ballanta- (Taylor) also published a version from St. Helena Island (pp. 6-7).

JESUS IS MY ONLY FRIEND [MP3 file]
Gordon cyl. A341, Item GA120
Bessie Shaw
Oakhill, Georgia
April 10, 1926

*Oh go back doctor you done come too late,
Go back doctor you done come too late,
Go back doctor you done come too late,
Lord, Jesus is my only friend.

*If you ain't got Jesus you ain't got no friend,
Ain't got Jesus, you ain't got no friend,
Ain't got Jesus you ain't got no friend,
Lord, Jesus is my only friend.

*Conscience, conscience, conscience [?] taught me to pray,
Conscience, conscience, conscience taught me to pray,
Conscience, conscience, conscience taught me to pray,
Lord, Jesus is my only friend.

*If you ain't got Jesus, you ain't got no friend,
Ain't got Jesus, you ain't got no friend,
Ain't got Jesus, you ain't got no friend,
Lord, Jesus is my only friend.

*When friends and relations turn their backs on you,
Friends and relations turn their backs on you,
When friends and relations turn their backs on you,
Lord, Jesus is my only friend.

*Lord, when my wrong becomes a public hall,
When my wrong becomes a public hall,
When my wrong becomes a public hall,
Lord, Jesus is my only friend.

When my face becomes a looking glass,
Lord, when my face becomes a looking glass,
When my face becomes a looking glass,
Lord, Jesus is my only friend.

Spoken by Bessie Shaw:
Sung by Bessie Shaw, Oakhill, Georgia, April the tenth, Nineteen twenty-six.

Spoken by R. W. Gordon:
The last verse should also appear in this song as the first verse.

*Not reproduced on this LP due to the poor audio quality on this portion of the original recording.

Although the story of the prodigal son has been the subject of a number of songs, this one is apparently known only in the Georgia coast region. Gordon collected another version of it from Henry Shaw (A328, GA113).

GLORY TO GOD, MY SON'S COME HOME [MP3 file]
Gordon cyl. A401, Item GA171
J. D. Purdy
Place not given -- near Darien
Date not given -- ca. 1926

The young prodigal son
Boy said to his father one day,
"Hey father, give me the portion for me."
Father begin to divide,
Oh Mother she did cry,
Cryin', "Glory to God, my son come home."

Chorus:
Oh, glory to God, my son come home, done come home,
Oh, glory to God, my son come home, come home,
Well he done come home from sinnin' and crying,
He done come home from feedin' the swine,
Crying glory to God, my son come home.

A young prodigal son
Way off in the distant land,
As long as he had money
He had plenty of friends,
But as soon as his money was gone,
I declare he had no home,
Crying "Glory to God, my son come home."

Oh, glory to God, my son come home, done come home,
Oh, glory to God, my son come home, come home,
Well he done come home from sinnin' and crying,
He done come home from feedin' the swine,
Crying glory to God, my son come home.