"Didn't It Rain?"
PeaceBangers, you in your infinite wisdom can help me.
I am singing some of the old gospel song "Didn't It Rain" (sometimes called "Oh! Didn't It Rain") in my sermon on Sunday. I have been haunted by it lately and humming it all the while I'm drafting, so it clearly wants to get in there. I have the Mahalia Jackson version and although she sings like an angel, I can't understand a derned word she's singing in the middle verses. Many Google searches yield nothing helpful. I know that Paul Robeson recorded it, as did Sister Rosetta Tharpe, but no luck on finding lyric printouts.
I don't really NEED to know the whole thing, but I WANT to know.
Many of you have scads of music. Does anyone perchance have this beautiful song in a collection? If so, would you be ever so kind as to transcribe the lyrics for little ole moi?
I would be eternally grateful, but you knew that.
P.S. If you even remotely like old time gospel, you just have to have to have to get the Columbia recording called, "The Essential Gospel Sampler." This can get you through more bad times than anything. It should be prescribed along with pharmaceuticals. If you can listen to the Dixie Hummingbirds sing, "Hide Me In Thy Bosom" and still feel down in the dumps, child, you are truly suffering and should go immediately to "What Could I Do" by the rockin' Marion Wiliams. That should help some. I swear by it.
I am singing some of the old gospel song "Didn't It Rain" (sometimes called "Oh! Didn't It Rain") in my sermon on Sunday. I have been haunted by it lately and humming it all the while I'm drafting, so it clearly wants to get in there. I have the Mahalia Jackson version and although she sings like an angel, I can't understand a derned word she's singing in the middle verses. Many Google searches yield nothing helpful. I know that Paul Robeson recorded it, as did Sister Rosetta Tharpe, but no luck on finding lyric printouts.
I don't really NEED to know the whole thing, but I WANT to know.
Many of you have scads of music. Does anyone perchance have this beautiful song in a collection? If so, would you be ever so kind as to transcribe the lyrics for little ole moi?
I would be eternally grateful, but you knew that.
P.S. If you even remotely like old time gospel, you just have to have to have to get the Columbia recording called, "The Essential Gospel Sampler." This can get you through more bad times than anything. It should be prescribed along with pharmaceuticals. If you can listen to the Dixie Hummingbirds sing, "Hide Me In Thy Bosom" and still feel down in the dumps, child, you are truly suffering and should go immediately to "What Could I Do" by the rockin' Marion Wiliams. That should help some. I swear by it.
posted by PeaceBang at 9:17 PM
2 Comments:
There seem to be a lot of variations on the theme out there. Don't know which is closest to the one you have in mind.
How about this?
Or this?
Or this?
Or this?
Or this, paired with Dorsey's "Precious Lord, Take my Hand"?
Or this?
It's not the Frankie Laine one. How interesting. The Nana Mouskori and Tommy Dorsey ones , and the first link are right. But Mahalia Jackson has this amazing haunting refrain where she sings, "some moaning, some praying, some crying, some moaning" which I guess refers to the people who couldn't get on the ark.
Then later, the refrain includes "Some running, some dying." I can't stop seeing images from Katrina in my head when I hear that.
I knew my faithful readers would be super-helpful geniuses. Thanks, guys.
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