Kumbaya - wikipedia Kumbaya This article is about the song. For the town in Ecuador, see Cumbayá. `` Come By Here '', transcribed by J. Cutting from the singing of H. Wylie, 1926 `` Kum ba yah '' ( `` Come by Here '' ) is a spiritual song first recorded in the 1920s. It became a standard campfire song in scouting and summer camps and enjoyed broader popularity during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. The song was originally a simple appeal to God to come and help those in need. Contents 1 Origins 2 Folk music revival 3 Lyrics 4 References 5 External links Origins Come By Here / Kum Ba Ya / Kumbaya Earliest known recording ( 1926 ) Problems playing this file ? See media help. According to Library of Congress editor Stephen Winick, the two oldest versions whose year of origin is known for certain were both collected in 1926, and both reside in the Library 's American Folklife Center. No precise month or day was recorded for either version, so either may be the earliest known version of the song. One was submitted as a high school collecting project by a student named Minnie Lee to her teacher, Julian P. Boyd, later a celebrated historian. This version, collected in Alliance, North Carolina, is a manuscript featuring lyrics but no music. The other 1926 version was recorded on wax cylinder by Robert Winslow Gordon, founder of what began as the Library of Congress 's Archive of Folk Song, which became the American Folklife Center. The singer 's name was H. Wylie, and the song was recorded within a few hours ' drive of Darien, Georgia, although Gordon did not note the exact location. Between 1926 and 1928, Gordon recorded three more versions of traditional spirituals with the refrain `` come by here '' or `` come by heah ''. One of these is a different song concerning the story of Daniel in the den of lions. Of the other two, one has been lost, and one cylinder was broken, so it can not be determined if they are versions of `` Kumbaya ''. According to an article in Kodaly Envoy by Lum Chee - Hoo, some time between 1922 and 1931, members of an organization called the Society for the Preservation of Spirituals collected a version from the South Carolina coast. `` Come by Yuh '', as they called it, was sung in Gullah, the creole language spoken by the former slaves living on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, as well as The Bahamas. It is possible this is the earliest version, if it was collected before 1926. Because the individual songs in this society 's publications are not dated, however, it can not be dated with certainty to before 1931. In May 1936, John Lomax, Gordon 's successor as head of the Archive of Folk Song, discovered a woman named Ethel Best singing `` Come by Here '' with a group in Raiford, Florida. These facts contradict the longstanding copyright and authorship claim of Reverend Marvin V. Frey. Rev. Frey ( 1918 -- 1992 ) claimed to have written the song circa 1936 under the title `` Come By Here, '' inspired, he claimed, by a prayer he heard delivered by `` Mother Duffin, '' a storefront evangelist in Portland, Oregon. It first appeared in this version in Revival Choruses of Marvin V. Frey, a lyric sheet printed in Portland, Oregon in 1939. In an interview at the Library of Congress quoted by Winick Frey claimed the change of the title to `` Kum Ba Yah '' came about in 1946, when a missionary family named Cunningham returned from Africa where they had sung Frey 's version. According to Frey, they brought back a partly translated version, and `` Kum Ba Yah '' was an African phrase from Angola ( specifically in Luvale ). Frey claimed the Cunninghams then toured America singing the song with the text `` Kum Ba Yah ''. The story of an African origin for the phrase circulated in several versions, spread also by the revival group the Folksmiths, whose liner notes for the song stated that `` Kum Ba Yah '' was brought to America from Angola. As Winick points out, however, no such word or phrase exists in Luvale or any related language. Although it is often claimed that the song originated in Gullah, Winick further points out that the Boyd manuscript, which may be the earliest version of the song, was probably not collected from a Gullah speaker. However, Winick concludes that the song almost certainly originated among African Americans in the Southeastern United States, and had a Gullah version early in its history even if it did not originate in that dialect. Folk music revival The Folksmiths, including Joe Hickerson, recorded the song in 1957, as did Pete Seeger in 1958. Hickerson credits Tony Saletan, then a songleader at the Shaker Village Work Camp, for introducing him to `` Kumbaya '' ( Saletan had learned it from Lynn Rohrbough, co-proprietor with his wife Katherine of the camp songbook publisher Cooperative Recreation Service, predecessor to World Around Songs ). Joe Hickerson later succeeded Gordon and Lomax at the American Folklife Center ( successor to the Archive of Folk Song ). The song enjoyed newfound popularity during the American folk music revival of the early to mid-1960s, largely due to Joan Baez 's 1962 recording of the song, and became associated with the Civil Rights Movement of that decade. Lyrics Version No. 1 Version No. 2 Version No. 3 Version No. 4 Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Someone need you, Lord, come by here Someone need you, Lord, come by here Someone need you, Lord, come by here Oh, Lord, come by here. For the sun, that rises in the sky For the rhythm of the falling rain For all life, great or small For all that 's true, for all you do. Someone 's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Hear me crying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Hear me crying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Hear me crying, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Now I need you, Lord, come by here Sinners need you, Lord, come by here Sinners need you, Lord, come by here Oh, Lord, come by here. Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Someone 's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Hear me singing, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Hear me singing, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Hear me singing, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Come by here, my Lord, come by here, Come by here, my Lord, come by here, Come by here, my Lord, come by here, Oh, Lord, come by here. Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Someone 's praying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's praying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's praying, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Hear me praying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Hear me praying, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Hear me praying, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. In the mornin ' see, Lord, come by here, In the mornin ' see, Lord, come by here, In the mornin ' see, Lord, come by here, Oh, Lord, come by here. For the second on this world you made, For the love that will never fade, For a heart beating with joy, For all that 's real, for all we feel. Someone 's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Someone 's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Oh, I need you, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Oh, I need you, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Oh, I need you, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. I gon ' need you, Lord, come by here, I gon ' need you, Lord, come by here, I gon ' need you, Lord, come by here, Oh, Lord, come by here. Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. Oh, Sinners need you, Lord, come by here, Sinners need you, Lord, come by here, Sinners need you, Lord, come by here, Oh my Lord, wo n't you come by here. Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya ; Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya, O Lord, kum bay ya. In the morning - morning, wo n't you come by here Mornin ' - morning, wo n't you come by here In the Mornin ' - morning, wo n't you come by here Oh, Lord, come by here. References ^ Jump up to : Winick, Stephen ( Summer -- Fall 2010 ). `` The World 's First ' Kumbaya ' Moment : New Evidence about an Old Song '' ( PDF ). Folklife Center News, Library of Congress. Retrieved March 1, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Jeffery, Weiss ( November 12, 2006 ). `` ' Kumbaya ' : How did a sweet simple song become a mocking metaphor ? ''. The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Mama Lisa'a World - Kumbaya ''. Retrieved November 1, 2008. ^ Jump up to : Stern, Gary ( June 27, 2009 ). `` '' Kumbaya, My Lord : '' Why we sing it ; why we hate it ``. The Journal News. Retrieved February 1, 2010. Jump up ^ Smithsonian Folkways, We 've Got Some Singing to Do, FW02407 Jump up ^ Amy, Ernest F. ( 1957 ). Cooperative Recreation Service : A unique project. Midwest Folklore 7 ( 4, Winter ) : 202 -- 6. ISSN 0737 - 7037. OCLC 51288821. Jump up ^ World Around Songs : Our History Jump up ^ Zorn, Eric ( August 31, 2006 ). `` Someone 's dissin ', Lord, kumbaya ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2008. Jump up ^ Mitra ( September 6, 2009 ). `` Kumbaya '' ( in English and Persian ). YouTube. Jump up ^ `` Kumbaya, my Lord '' ( PDF ). evangeliser.nu. Retrieved 2 December 2015. Jump up ^ Sacro Capo ( March 11, 2009 ). `` Kumbaya my Lord ''. YouTube. External links Library of Congress research on the origins of Kumbaya Civil rights movement Notable events ( timeline ) Prior to 1954 Lynching in the United States Murder of Harry and Harriette Moore 1954 -- 1959 Brown v. Board of Education Bolling v. Sharpe Briggs v. Elliott Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County Gebhart v. Belton White America, Inc. Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company Emmett Till Montgomery bus boycott Browder v. Gayle Tallahassee bus boycott Mansfield school desegregation 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom `` Give Us the Ballot '' Royal Ice Cream sit - in Little Rock Nine National Guard blockade Civil Rights Act of 1957 Kissing Case Biloxi wade - ins 1960 -- 1963 Greensboro sit - ins Nashville sit - ins Sit - in movement Civil Rights Act of 1960 Gomillion v. Lightfoot Boynton v. Virginia Rock Hill sit - ins Robert F. Kennedy 's Law Day Address Freedom Rides attacks Garner v. Louisiana Albany Movement University of Chicago sit - ins `` Second Emancipation Proclamation '' Meredith enrollment, Ole Miss riot `` Segregation now, segregation forever '' Stand in the Schoolhouse Door 1963 Birmingham campaign Letter from Birmingham Jail Children 's Crusade Birmingham riot 16th Street Baptist Church bombing John F. Kennedy 's Report to the American People on Civil Rights March on Washington `` I Have a Dream '' St. Augustine movement 1964 -- 1968 Twenty - fourth Amendment Bloody Tuesday Freedom Summer workers ' murders Civil Rights Act of 1964 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches `` How Long, Not Long '' Voting Rights Act of 1965 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections March Against Fear White House Conference on Civil Rights Chicago Freedom Movement / Chicago open housing movement Memphis sanitation strike King assassination funeral riots Poor People 's Campaign Civil Rights Act of 1968 Green v. County School Board of New Kent County Activist groups Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Atlanta Student Movement Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Congress of Racial Equality ( CORE ) Committee on Appeal for Human Rights Council for United Civil Rights Leadership Dallas County Voters League Deacons for Defense and Justice Georgia Council on Human Relations Highlander Folk School Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Montgomery Improvement Association Nashville Student Movement NAACP Youth Council Northern Student Movement National Council of Negro Women National Urban League Operation Breadbasket Regional Council of Negro Leadership Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC ) Southern Regional Council Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ) The Freedom Singers Wednesdays in Mississippi Women 's Political Council Activists Ralph Abernathy Victoria Gray Adams Zev Aelony Mathew Ahmann William G. Anderson Gwendolyn Armstrong Arnold Aronson Ella Baker Marion Barry Daisy Bates Harry Belafonte James Bevel Claude Black Gloria Blackwell Randolph Blackwell Unita Blackwell Ezell Blair Jr. Joanne Bland Julian Bond Joseph E. Boone William Holmes Borders Amelia Boynton Raylawni Branch Ruby Bridges Aurelia Browder H. Rap Brown Guy Carawan Stokely Carmichael Johnnie Carr James Chaney J.L. Chestnut Colia Lafayette Clark Ramsey Clark Septima Clark Xernona Clayton Eldridge Cleaver Kathleen Cleaver Charles E. Cobb Jr. Annie Lee Cooper Dorothy Cotton Claudette Colvin Vernon Dahmer Jonathan Daniels Joseph DeLaine Dave Dennis Annie Devine Patricia Stephens Due Joseph Ellwanger Charles Evers Medgar Evers Myrlie Evers - Williams Chuck Fager James Farmer Walter Fauntroy James Forman Marie Foster Golden Frinks Andrew Goodman Fred Gray Jack Greenberg Dick Gregory Lawrence Guyot Prathia Hall Fannie Lou Hamer William E. Harbour Vincent Harding Dorothy Height Lola Hendricks Aaron Henry Oliver Hill Donald L. Hollowell James Hood Myles Horton Zilphia Horton T.R.M. Howard Ruby Hurley Jesse Jackson Jimmie Lee Jackson Richie Jean Jackson T.J. Jemison Esau Jenkins Barbara Rose Johns Vernon Johns Frank Minis Johnson Clarence Jones J. Charles Jones Matthew Jones Vernon Jordan Tom Kahn Clyde Kennard A.D. King C.B. King Coretta Scott King Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Sr. Bernard Lafayette James Lawson Bernard Lee Sanford R. Leigh Jim Letherer Stanley Levison John Lewis Viola Liuzzo Z. Alexander Looby Joseph Lowery Clara Luper Malcolm X Mae Mallory Vivian Malone Thurgood Marshall Benjamin Mays Franklin McCain Charles McDew Ralph McGill Floyd McKissick Joseph McNeil James Meredith William Ming Jack Minnis Amzie Moore Douglas E. Moore Harriette Moore Harry T. Moore William Lewis Moore Irene Morgan Bob Moses William Moyer Elijah Muhammad Diane Nash Charles Neblett Edgar Nixon Jack O'Dell James Orange Rosa Parks James Peck Charles Person Homer Plessy Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Fay Bellamy Powell Al Raby Lincoln Ragsdale A. Philip Randolph George Raymond Jr. Bernice Johnson Reagon Cordell Reagon James Reeb Frederick D. Reese Gloria Richardson David Richmond Bernice Robinson Jo Ann Robinson Bayard Rustin Bernie Sanders Michael Schwerner Cleveland Sellers Charles Sherrod Alexander D. Shimkin Fred Shuttlesworth Modjeska Monteith Simkins Glenn E. Smiley A. Maceo Smith Kelly Miller Smith Mary Louise Smith Maxine Smith Ruby Doris Smith - Robinson Charles Kenzie Steele Hank Thomas Dorothy Tillman A.P. Tureaud Hartman Turnbow Albert Turner C.T. Vivian Wyatt Tee Walker Hollis Watkins Walter Francis White Roy Wilkins Hosea Williams Kale Williams Robert F. Williams Andrew Young Whitney Young Sammy Younge Jr. James Zwerg Influences Nonviolence Padayatra Sermon on the Mount Mahatma Gandhi Ahimsa Satyagraha The Kingdom of God Is Within You Frederick Douglass W.E.B. Du Bois Mary McLeod Bethune Related Jim Crow laws Plessy v. Ferguson Separate but equal Buchanan v. Warley Hocutt v. Wilson Sweatt v. Painter Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States Katzenbach v. McClung Loving v. Virginia Fifth Circuit Four Brown Chapel Holt Street Baptist Church Edmund Pettus Bridge March on Washington Movement African - American churches attacked Journey of Reconciliation Freedom Songs `` Kumbaya '' `` Keep Your Eyes on the Prize '' `` Oh, Freedom '' `` This Little Light of Mine '' `` We Shall Not Be Moved '' `` We Shall Overcome '' Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam `` Beyond Vietnam : A Time to Break Silence '' Watts riots Voter Education Project 1960s counterculture In popular culture King Memorial Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Freedom Riders National Monument Civil Rights Memorial The New Jim Crow ( 2010 ) Noted historians Taylor Branch Clayborne Carson John Dittmer Michael Eric Dyson Chuck Fager Adam Fairclough David Garrow David Halberstam Vincent Harding Steven F. Lawson Doug McAdam Diane McWhorter Charles M. Payne Timothy Tyson Akinyele Umoja Movement photographers Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kumbaya&oldid=853714323 '' Categories : American Christian hymns American folk songs Gullah Hidden categories : CS1 Persian - language sources ( fa ) Use mdy dates from December 2011 Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español עברית Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 6 August 2018, at 14 : 47 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what does kuehm by ya my lord mean
Answer: Come by Here