- Michael Row the Boat Ashore
-
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore (or Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore or Michael Row That Gospel Boat) is an African-American spiritual. It was first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helena Island, one of the Sea Islands of South Carolina.[1]
It was sung by former slaves whose owners had abandoned the island before the Union navy would arrive to enforce a blockade. Charles Pickard Ware, an abolitionist and Harvard graduate who had come to supervise the plantations on St. Helena Island from 1862 to 1865, wrote the song down in music notation as he heard the freedmen sing it. Ware's cousin, William Francis Allen reported in 1863 that while he rode in a boat across Station Creek, the former slaves sang the song as they rowed.[2]
The song was first published in Slave Songs of the United States, by Allen, Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, in 1867.[3]
Contents
Lyrics
The oldest published version of the song runs in a series of unrhymed couplets:[4]
- Michael row de boat ashore, Hallelujah!
- Michael boat a gospel boat, Hallelujah!
- I wonder where my mudder deh (there).
- See my mudder on de rock gwine home.
- On de rock gwine home in Jesus' name.
- Michael boat a music boat.
- Gabriel blow de trumpet horn.
- O you mind your boastin' talk.
- Boastin' talk will sink your soul.
- Brudder, lend a helpin' hand.
- Sister, help for trim dat boat.
- Jordan stream is wide and deep.
- Jesus stand on t' oder side.
- I wonder if my maussa deh.
- My fader gone to unknown land.
- O de Lord he plant his garden deh.
- He raise de fruit for you to eat.
- He dat eat shall neber die.
- When de riber overflow.
- O poor sinner, how you land?
- Riber run and darkness comin'.
- Sinner row to save your soul.
-
- or
-
- Michel, row the boat a-shore
- Hallelujah!
- Then you'll hear the trumpet blow
- Hallelujah!
- Then you'll hear the trumpet sound,
- Hallelujah!
- Trumpet sound the world around
- Hallelujah!
- Trumpet sound the jubilee
- Hallelujah!
- Trumpet sound for you and me
- Hallelujah!
As this song originated in oral tradition, there are many versions of the lyrics. It begins with the refrain, "Michael, row the boat ashore, Hallelujah." The lyrics describe crossing the River Jordan, as in these lines from Pete Seeger's version:
- Jordan's river is deep and wide, hallelujah.
- Meet my mother on the other side, hallelujah.
- Jordan's river is chilly and cold, hallelujah.
- Chills the body, but not the soul, hallelujah.[5]
The River Jordan can be viewed as a metaphor for death.[6] According to Allen, the song refers to the Archangel Michael.[7] In Christian tradition, Michael is often regarded as a psychopomp, or conductor of the souls of the dead.[8]
Recordings
The version of "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" that is widely known today was adapted (and copyrighted) by Boston folksinger and teacher Tony Saletan, who taught it to Pete Seeger in 1954.[9] One of the earliest recordings of the song is by folksinger Bob Gibson, who included it on his 1957 Carnegie Concert album.[10] After The Weavers included an arrangement in The Weavers' Song Book, published in 1960, the American folk quintet The Highwaymen had a number-one hit on both the pop and easy listening" charts in the U.S. with it (under the simpler title of "Michael") in 1961; this version also went to #1 in the United Kingdom.[11] Lonnie Donegan reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart with his cover version in 1961. Harry Belafonte recorded a popular version of it for his 1962 Midnight Special album; Pete Seeger included it in his Children's Concert at Town Hall in 1963. Trini Lopez had a hit with it in 1964. The Israeli-French singer Rika Zaraï also recorded a French version under the title "Michaël" in 1964. German disco group Dschinghis Khan recorded a version of it in 1981.
The Smothers Brothers did a fairly straightforward version of the song on their album It Must Have Been Something I Said!, before turning it into a comic sing-along on Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers, Vol. 2 (which is also included on their album Sibling Revelry: The Best of the Smothers Brothers.
Preceded by
"Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn)" by Joe DowellBillboard Hot 100 number-one single (The Highwaymen version)
September 4 – 11, 1961Succeeded by
"Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby VeeBillboard Easy Listening number-one single (The Highwaymen version)
September 4 – October 2, 1961Succeeded by
"Mexico" by Bob MoorePreceded by
"Kon-Tiki" by The ShadowsUK Singles Chart number-one single (The Highwaymen version)
October 12, 1961Succeeded by
"Walkin' Back to Happiness" by Helen ShapiroNotes
- ^ William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, Slave Songs of the United States, p. xl.
- ^ Epstein, Dena (2003). Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music of the Civil War. University of Illinois Press. p. 290. ISBN 0252071506.
- ^ William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, Slave Songs of the United States, p. 23.
- ^ William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, Slave Songs of the United States, p. 23
- ^ "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore", Pete Seeger Appreciation Page.
- ^ Walter E. Gast, Interestingly, Harry Belafonte sings a rendition that combines the Christian, American Slavery and 60's Civil Rights traditions. The lyrics work their way through different parts of the Biblical narrative before concluding with the following verses: They nailed Jesus to the Cross, Hallelujah But his faith was never lost, Hallelujah So Christian soldiers off to war, Hallelujah Hold that line in Arkansas, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Joshua at Jericho, Hallelujah Alabama's next to go, Hallelujah So Mississippi kneel and pray, Hallelujah Some more buses on the way, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! <a href="http://www.lyricstime.com/harry-belafonte-michael-row-the-boat-ashore-lyrics.html" title="Harry Belafonte - Michael Row The Boat Ashore Lyrics @ LyricsTime.com">Harry Belafonte - Michael Row The Boat Ashore Lyrics @ LyricsTime.com</a> "River", Symbols in Christian Art and Architecture.
- ^ William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, Slave Songs of the United States, p. xvi.
- ^ "St. Michael the Archangel", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913.
- ^ "Shaker Village Work Group" Shaker Village Work Group#Role in the American folk music revival
- ^ "Merr to Mif", Folk Music Index.
- ^ "The Highwaymen: Biography", All Music.
External links
- Audio sample of the song performed by the German choir Outta Limits
Categories:- 19th-century songs
- American folk songs
- 1961 singles
- Harry Belafonte songs
- Trini Lopez songs
- Pete Seeger songs
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Norway
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