Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-23

prOpatlOu OF tne neW-IongleQ, tnoOo8nQ-
legged" songs that nobody but the ''singin'
masters" could understand. that were TAX
ing the place Of the good old songs that
had the spirit of God in EN-
The people Of these mountains were d.
vided into two classes. This division was
not based on wealth nor blood nor educa-
ton; yet the line Of demarkation was sharp
ly drawn. 1t was a moral division-the re-
ligious and the rowdies. They all believed
in a personal God. a personal Son. a per-
sonal Holy Ghost: likewise in a personal
devil and flake that burns with fire and
birthstone" The religious were those who
had experienced a change Of heart, who had
been born again." the rowdies were the
drinking, gambling, dancing, fighting class.
Likewise the songs represented the two
classes Of people. sacred and rowdyish. At
the annual campmeetings this song was
frequently sung:
Twelve months have passed and gone
around,
Oh. no. no. Oh. no. no. no.
Since we met here on this camp ground.
Oh. no. no. Oh. no. no. no.
''The DEVILS mad and am glad.
Oh. no. no. Oh, no, no. no.
He's missed one soul he thought he had,
Oh. no. no, Oh. no. no. no.
THE devils a liar and con3urer too.
If you don't mind he'll conjurs you,
Oh. no. no. Oh. no. no. no.
'The devil shot a ball at me, Al
Oh. no. no. Oh. no. no, no,
He missed my soul and hit q tree.
Oh. no. no. Oh. no. no. no."
Here Ii another song in which the people
expressed their bad opinion of the devil
and their opposition to his designs on their
souls:
TIM happy now and I hope to be.
come, my miends. and 60 along with me.
On. may the Lord continue with me!
And give old Satan another round.
I'm happy. I'm happy.
Oh, may the Lord continue with me!''
There were many other songs equally ex-
pressive OF hatred to his Satanic majesty.
which the good brethren and sisters sang
with vim in their great shouting REVEALS.
Here Is one which was sung at the bap-
tisms when the people had congregated by
the side Of some deep creek for the purpose
OF emersing new converts after one of
their successful ''protracted meetines:'
"Oh, Moses smote the water,
And the children passed over
Oh, Moses smote the water
And the sea gave way.
"oh. fathers, amt you glad that you left
oh. fathers. amt you glad that the sea give
This song just goes on In the same way.
except that II changes by bringing in all
the family, according to consanguinity, and
other people. 1t ended only when the sing
ers were tired or when they could think
of no one in the way of mothers, brothers,
sisters. cousins. friends, &C.. who were
glad that they had left the sinful army
and that the sea give way"
This Is another that was sung at bap-
tisms:
Come down. fathers. and be baptised.
A mighty purity meetin' by the water side.
To the Dying Lamb.
wen pray a little here,
And we'll pray little there.
And We'll pray little almost everywhere,
To the Dying Lamb"
This had the same changes in the stanzas
as to fathers. mothers and on through the
family as had the other. In fact, most of
their songs consisted Of one stanza and Q
chorus, which were heightened out ad lib
ttum by repeating for each one Of the fam
This song was usually sung amid intense
rejoicing and shouting after one or more
had been converted:
oh. fathers amt you happy. happy. happy
Oh, fathers amt you happy, happy, happy.
With glory in your soul?
Cho.-I want to live rejoicing. rejoicing, re-
want to live rejoicing with glory
in my soul.
Another. usually sung under like circum-
stances:
Praise Him. fathers praise Him truly.
Praise Him fathers. and don't you love the
Oh. 60 and tell them I'm q comm new
Long time been talkin' about servin' OF the
Lord.
cho.-Glory, glory. glory. glory. new born
Long time been talkin' about ssrvin'
Of the Lord.
His track 1 see and I'll pursue.
narrow way to heaven I view,
Go on, go on, we will soon meet again
On the bright frontiers of glory.
Cho.-Oh, come my loving fathers. and
don't you want to go
To die in the arms of Jesusf
IF you get there before do,
Tell all my friends I'm coming. too
Go on, go on, we will soon meet again
On the bright frontiers of glory"
Cho.-Oh, come my loving fathers, and
don't you want to go
To die in the arms Of Jesus?
There is yet another. which for conglom-
crate nonsense has never been surpassed
by anything of negro invention 1t is meant
when he feels himself saved from the awful
wrath to be visited on the wicked at the
day of judgment, when the sun shall be
darkened and the moon and the stars shall
turn to blood.
II do believe without doubt
Poor sinner has a night to shout
Oh, where shall fly when the sun
And the moon goes down in blood?
Who? when? Come to Jesus.
Cho.-Halla, hallelujah, there's glory in m,
SOUL
There were number OF similar stanzas
which the writer fails to remember.
Some Of the better songs in those days
were written by a Baptist preacher. com.
monty remembered as "Old Uncle Lev
Devices" He wrote a song the inspira tiou
of which was one of the most atrocious
murders ever known in the mountains
A woman by the name of Drew killed he,
husband, and to prevent detection, choppeo
his body up with an ak and then burned
it. She was hanged for the crime. The
good old preacher preserved the incident
! in a melancholy song, in which he recount
ed everything, from the inception of the
crime to its expiation on the gallows. n
began:
1T was on a dark and gloomy day
took my husbands life away."
Then follows a full description OF how n,
was sleeping when she took the az anc
chopped his head open and proceeded Il
dispose Of him, as above related also o.
her arrest, trial, the verdict sentence h,
the Judge, Imprisonment, coming to tn,
scaffold and the minutia of an execution
I'm general.
But 'Old Uncle Levi Devices was ,
man of nnugua1 q r.,fth