[Music]
My father's gone to view that land,
My father's gone to view that land,
My father's gone to view that land
To wear a starry crown,
Away over yonder, away over yonder,
Away over yonder to wear a starry crown.
Seaborn M. Denson, widely known fasola country singing-school teacher
and musical editor of the 1911 edition of the _Original Sacred Harp_,
and author of this song, told me he had heard this song sung in camp
meetings around Civil War times in northern Alabama. He recorded it
from memory and published it first in the _Union Harp_ in 1909. The
tune is a member of the 'Roll Jordan' group. See Introduction, page
14, and the song by that name in this collection. Further stanzas read
"My mother's gone", "My sister's gone" etc.
The wide spread of this song in the American oral tradition and
especially at the time when Mr. Denson heard it in northern Alabama,
is indicated by the variant and musically somewhat inferior recording
in the _Revivalist_, Albany, New York, 1868. It is there called 'Away
over Jordan'. It runs:
My brother's going to wear that crown _etc._
To wear that starry crown.
Away over Jordan, with my blessed Jesus,
Away over Jordan, to wear that starry crown.
My father's gone to wear that crown _etc._
My mother's gone _etc._
John Wesley's gone _etc._
You must live right _etc._
No. 179
WINGS OF THE MORNING or WESTERN MELODY, BHTBK, p. 213