There Is a Balm in Gilead

"There Is A Balm in Gilead" is a traditional African American spiritual. The date of composition is unclear, though the song dates at least to the 19th century. A version of the refrain can be found in Washington Glass's 1854 hymn "The Sinner's Cure". The Clark Sisters recorded a version of Balm In Gilead in 1986.

History

The “balm in Gilead” is a reference from the Old Testament, but the lyrics of this spiritual refer to the New Testament concept of salvation through Jesus Christ. The Balm of Gilead is interpreted as a spiritual medicine that is able to heal Israel (and sinners in general).  In the Old Testament, the balm of Gilead is taken most directly from Jeremiah chapter 8 v. 22: "Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then is there no healing for the wounds of my [God's] people?" (Another allusion can also be found in Jeremiah chapter 46, v. 2 and 11: “This is the message (of the Lord) against the army of Pharaoh Neco … Go up to Gilead and get balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt, but you multiply remedies in vain; here is no healing for you” - see also Jeremiah chapter 22, v. 6.) 

The first appearance of the spiritual in something close to its current form is uncertain.  A version of the refrain can be found in Washington Glass's 1854 hymn "The Sinner's Cure," (see link below) where it is in 7s.6s.7s.6s rather than the Common Meter of today's refrain.  Glass attributed this hymn to himself, but like several of the hymns so attributed, it is substantially the work of another.  He attached to one of John Newton's Olney hymns  of 1779 this refrain:

There is balm in Gilead,
To make the wounded whole;
There's power enough in heaven,
To cure a sin-sick soul.

There is no mention of the balm of Gilead in Newton's poem, but it begins:

How lost was my condition
Till Jesus made me whole!
There is but one Physician
Can cure a sin–sick soul.

The similarities in the refrain make it likely that it was written for Newton's verse.

The 1973 edition of the 1925 7-shape Primitive Baptist songbook Harp of Ages has an unattributed song "Balm in Gilead" with a similar chorus, but verses drawn from a Charles Wesley hymn, "Father I Stretch My Hands to Thee."

The second verse quoted below ("If you can't...") is also found in some versions of another well-known spiritual "(Walk That) Lonesome Valley."  "Wandering verses," as they are often called, are quite common in the camp meeting and revival context, and were already found in by 1800 in the African-American community, as shown by Richard Allen's 1801 "A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs Selected from Various Authors."

A version of the song was recorded by the singer Nina Simone on her album Baltimore.

Traditional Lyrics
Chorus:
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.

(Chorus)

If you cannot sing like angels,
If you can’t preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
And say He died for all.

(Chorus)

Alternative Lyrics
Chorus:
 There is a balm in Gilead,
 To make the wounded whole;
 There is a balm in Gilead,
 To heal the sin-sick soul.

 Sometimes I feel discouraged,
 And think my work’s in vain,
 But then the Holy Spirit
 Revives my soul again.

(Chorus)

 If you cannot preach like Peter,
 If you cannot pray like Paul,
 You can tell the love of Jesus,
 And say He died for all.

(Chorus)

 Don't ever feel discouraged,
 'Cause Jesus is your friend,
 And if you lack for knowledge,
 He'll not refuse to lend.

Recordings
Recordings include:
Paul Robeson on his 1945 album Spirituals
 George Beverly Shea on his 1957 album A Billy Graham Crusade In Song
Rahsaan Roland Kirk on his 1972 album I, Eye, Aye: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1972
Nina Simone on her 1978 album Baltimore
Jessye Norman on her 1979 album Negro spirituals
Nana Mouskouri on her 1990 album Oh Happy Day
Sweet Honey in the Rock on their 1995 album Sacred Ground
Karen Clark Sheard on her 1997 debut album Finally Karen
Toshi Reagon on the 1998 TV soundtrack Africans in America
Larry Willis on his 2003 album Sanctuary
Leon Bibb and Eric Bibb on their 2004 album A Family Affair
 "Balm of Gilead", a song by the Sunday Service Choir on their 2019 album Jesus Is Born
 Archie Shepp on his 1969 album Blasé

External links
Hymnal website with lyrics to this spiritual.
An early version of the chorus: "The Sinner's Cure" by Washington Glass in The Revivalist, 1854.

19th-century songs
African-American cultural history
Christian songs
African-American spiritual songs
Gilead