Thanks to the power of the Interweb, this song crossed my feed on The Tube of You. The song itself is a 19th Century American song; the arrangement here is done by Jos Slovick for the movie 1917.
I do not know why this song strikes me as a poignant example of the essence of humility. But it is, and it haunts me.
(Run time: 4:50)
Lyrics:
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
I′m
traveling through this world of woe
Yet
there is no sickness, toil, nor danger
In
that bright land to which I go
I'm
going there to see my father
I′m
going there, no more to roam
I'm
only going over Jordan
I'm
only going over home
I
know dark clouds will gather ′round me
I
know my way is rough and steep
But
golden fields lie just before me
Where
God′s redeemed shall have their sleep
I'm
going home to see my mother
And
all my loved ones who′ve gone on
I'm
only going over Jordan
I′m
only going over home
I'll
soon be free from every trial
My
body sleeping in the churchyard
I′ll
drop the cross of self-denial
And
enter on my great reward
I'm
going there to see my savior
To
sing his praise forever more
I'm
only going over Jordan
I′m
only going over home
(Source)
Ah! Music to mark Advent TB, you and Beans share a theme this day, a fitting choice sir.
ReplyDeleteBeans is far more the master of such things.
DeleteVery glad you enjoyed it. I found this moving.
Nice choice.
ReplyDeleteThanks John.
DeleteAs God is my witness, I do not remember this scene from 1917. Which is a shame, because I love the song.
I remember singing this song - maybe as a young person for a school program. I learned a fair number of folk songs in the 60's that way. I was able to sing along remembering the tune, but it was much slower than I learned it. I imagine this tempo was perfect for the movie. All that said, I'd never heard the third verse. And I'm a little embarrassed to admit that somehow I missed that this was a song about facing death. Very moving, TB.
ReplyDeleteBecki, I have heard of this song most of my adult life, but never actually heard it before now.
DeleteTo your point, I listened to some other versions and they were also more "upbeat". The reduced tempo makes it more powerful, in my opinion.
The amount of times I have missed what a thing was "about" are beyond measure.
What a beautiful song TB! Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteLate as ever, but thank you for posting this, sir. Prior primacy and a lack of personal spirituality would have kept me from finding this on my own audio ramblings.
ReplyDeleteWhile I likely may have heard other versions before, like you directly mention and Becki perhaps imply, they were more upbeat or exulting in their tone. Between preference and mindset, such renditions would have had a hard time gaining mental traction.
The one that did, however, was from an artist called Poor Man's Poison. I'm told the genre used is considered "Bluegrass", but the term I've heard (and grown fond of) for that sort of moody, dour country sound is "Southern Gothic". While I can't rightly say it connected on a spiritual level, that rendition struck an emotional chord the instant I heard it, and has become The One Version in my mind.
Doubly so once I heard others that were nigh-saccharine rather than bittersweet.