The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-10-27
Negro "Spirituals."
Lille Il. Bar, in CMis.ian TMie,

Inc splrlluat Is ab Hlucn Tue NlOlHcr-
tongue of the negro heart as the Psalms
OF David are our own spiritual voice. a
negro may have been to college. he may
be, in the EXTREMIST sense of which lie is
capable, all he defines By his favoritc
word, Stylish" yet when Tie pillows and
the waves of sea Of sorrow go over him
he forgcts his Hymnal and is sure to seek
comfort in one or other of the following
Shouts:
"Dc water deep, do water cold,
Nobody here TO help me
lie road am rocky, rough and steep.
Nobody here 10 help me,
Do, Lord,
Nobody here to help mer
"My God deliver Daniel from de lions den,
Jonah from De body OH de whale
Three Hebrew children from de furnace.
And he'll deliver me.
And he'll deliver me,
Shou. Dc Lord God deliver Daniel,
And he'll deliver me-
This is the form in which this iayorte
Shout" is sung in Virginia; but in
South Carolina heard it a, follows:
De King cast Daniel in dc lions den
Oh, how could Daniel pray?
All Gods chillcn hover round
TO hear what Daniel say
The good Lord deliver Daniel,
And he'll deliver me.
la the prayer meetings and experience
meetings the 'spirituals' and shouts"
arc always sung, and that with an car
ncsincs' and pathos they never cxhibi.
when using ''de printed words" For
these hymns of the race were never com
posed; they sprung warm and glowing
from hearts attaining in great cxircmi.
ties 10 heights and depths above and l.c
low AL the tides Of human joy and sor.
row.
While in South Carolina especially
enjoyed tic little Shouts" They are
nearly always i'll q joyful key, and rarely
contain more than one verse. which tho
happy singer would 70 over lust as a bird
goes over his few Wild notes. Often |
have watched the men and women, with
their hoes over their shoulders and their
stone water.jars on their heads, hurrying
TO the fields at early dawn, or sauntering
home Mt sunset, and throwing out and
upwards their very hearts in some jub-
liant little Shout" such rs this:
III had dc faith ob wrastling Jacob,
Jacob in dc dnys oh old
it climb to de top ob dc starry ladder.
And shout in de streets oh goldr'
beautiful popularity Of the shouts"
is their almost universal nse ut the bed
side of The dying Christian One night
coming through that part Of Manchester,
Va, in which the negroes muinly live. /
noticed u crowd gathered about door.
and passing through it into humble
little cabin | found young man who
had just been frightfuly and fatally in.
jured in the mill where he had worked.
a house of mourning? No, indeed /!
There was not sorrowful fucr in the
group around his bed His old mother
sat holding his hand, and she was rs
calm and happy rs though no parting
was at hand. When her son had taken
the Sacrament it was her voice that first
Joined his in the "shout" through which
he expressed his final victory:
my soul my soul!
My soul leaning on de Lord!
Eat and drink, stop and think
How close you stand on ruins brink.
My soul my soul!
My soul leaning on dc Lord
Shout Halelujah!'
All Christians profess to regard death
as gain" but tho negro really does 70
hold it. This young fellow, struck down
in the very noon of vigor and life. nbso.
lutcly rejoiced that his warfare wus 80
soon over. He shook hands with all in
the room, and many of them, with sin,
plicity of fnith child like in its tender
ness and beauty, gave him messages to
thei: own departed friends.
you'll look for my papa and brothers.
Daniel" said young girl to him, "ani
tell them | never forget"
I'll tell them, sure; I'll tell them YOU
arc on de road, stopping clear out to-
wards de Kingdom" he said, rs conf.
IDENTITY as Il child going homo speaks of
the members Of its own tnmily. Then he
broke into :, "s::out" which / uoycy
heard before, but which was evidently !.
familiar one, for the company, in stl onp
joyful voices, sung it over and over rs I
went slowly through the sympathizing
groups TINT filled the street:
81 diop this body by de river;
l drop it in de ground;
New feet de Lord done give me
To wander Canaan round.
y, Canaan Canaan OH de heavenly side.
Heavenly side of Jor.lan ~
Going home from that strange sccnc
saw negro woman sitting on door.
step, swaying backward and forward and
singing. to little baby in her arms; and
the lullaby was SO sweet that cannot
help but see it down here, though it can.
lay no claim to being Spiritual"
"De Lord bless do lilies.
De Lord bless de wheat,
De Lord bless de little chillen.
Dat blessing am so sweet
Dat blessing nm SO sweet T"
Two more "spirituals" hold very prom.
inent places in my memory, both of them
being baptismal spirituals, or rather. one
being a spiritual and the other "shont.1
The shout, heard first in Talladeca la.
While in that place heard that mere
wese two men in the Jail under sentence
of death for murder, and that neither of
them had any knowledge of Christ. Tho
Sheriff, Mr. Edwards, courteously gave
me free access TO them. AMI for several
weeks 1 read to them daily the Gospel of
Jesus cruciied. at length they desired
to be baptized; aud IL was a baptismal
ceremony ! shall not soon forget.
About two hundred yards from the iail
was one of those beautiful natural springs
which abound in that State, and here
Mr. Edwards marched the two men hand
cuffed together. When they reached the
water lie removed the handouts, and the
ceremony of immersion was performed in
nm intpnra ct1anca h,,t a. -. ~ ii