Topic: Rev. Gary Davis Lyrics

[anjo]

Does anyone know of any lyrics to this tune?

[Richard]

Any more clues.. like who recorded it ?

[anjo]

It featured on the Stefan Grossman video "How to play blues guitar", and is similar to "Cocaine Blues"

[GhostRider]

Hi all:

It is a Gary Davis tune. I've only ever heard it as an instrumental.

Later,
Alex

[Doug]

I'm busy trying to get the lyrics of some of Reverend Gary Davis' songs, and most of them are pretty understandable.  But there's a couple that stump me.  Off of his CD "A Little More Faith", Davis does the song "I'll Be All Right Someday". 

Anyone know what he's singing in the second verse (where I have "words sigmund shells", which it obviously isn't)?

Here's what I have:



I'll be All Right Someday

(chorus:)
I?ll be all right; I?ll be all right
I?ll be all right someday
Yes in my heart I do believe
I?ll be all right someday

If Jesus Christ I want to find
Pray tell me where he is
It is him alone can ease my mind
And give my conscience ease

Chorus

Words Sigmund shells (??)
I?ll tell him by from any other man
He will salvation on his brow
And in his arm a lamb

Chorus

I thank you friends for your advice
I?ll find him if I can
And if I do, I will rejoice
Ohh, Christ is friend to man

(spoken to guitar: Great God? uh huh? yeah)

I?m going home, I am going home
I?m going home someday
And in my heart I do believe
I?m going home someday

(spoken to guitar: Talk to me now? yeah?... one more time then quit now? yeah?)

[Doug]

Here's another RGD song I'm having problems with.  It's "Angel?s Message to me" off of Complete Early Recordings.  Even though he repeats it like fifty times in the song I can't get the fourth line in the chorus.  And I don't have the second verse.

Thanks for the help!

"Angel's Mesage to Me" 
(from Complete Early Recordings)



I?m going home to see my Jesus
I?m going home to see my Lord
I?m going home to see my Jesus
When I?m ?
I?m going home to see my Jesus
I?m going home to see my Lord
I?m going home to see my Jesus
When I?m ?


Oh Angel tried to keep your help
And God to glorify
And never dying soul to save
Is headed for the sky

Chorus

Yeah  I?ll meet my jealous carer?
And on thyself rely
And surely I?m a trustfor tree?
I shall forever die

Chorus

Many times I?m going along
Don?t know what to do or say
I cast my cares to Jesus
And ask him to teach me to pray

Chorus

Moan on sister moan on
Won?t be very long
Will be sitting in glory
Won?t have to weep and moan

Chorus

If your brother don?t like you
Don?t take his name abroad
Just seal it in your bosom
And carry it to your Lord

[banjochris]

This is from memory, so there might be a couple of prepositions wrong, but this should be basically right:

I?m going home to see my Jesus
I?m going home to see my Lord
I?m going home to see my Jesus
When I?m ?

I?m going home to see my Jesus
I?m going home to see my Lord
I?m going home to see my Jesus
There's a mansion up there for me.

Oh Angel tried to keep your help
And God to glorify
And never dying soul to save
Is headed for the sky

A charge to keep our health
A God to glorify
And never sell his soul to Satan
Save it for his God.

This next verse I'm not sure of the first 2 lines:

Yeah  I?ll meet my jealous carer?
And on thyself rely

But: And surely I?m a trustfor tree?
I shall forever die
is
And surely I my trust betray
I shall forever die.
Chris

[Doug]

Thanks for your huge help, Chris!  Your suggestions (mansion up there for me, a charge to keep our health, surely I my trust betray) make a lot of sense, and even better, now I can hear them!

I now think the first two verses are from a Charles Wesley hymn, "A Charge to Keep I Have".  Wesley was a very popular hymn writer who lived in the 1700s.  The first verse of the hymn is:

A charge to keep I have
A God to glorify
A never dying soul to save
And fit it for the sky

Which I think, is what RGD sings for his first verse.

Another two verses of the hymn go:

Arm me with jealous (sometimes: watchful) care
As in Thy sight to live
And now Thy servant, Lord prepare
A strict account to give

Help me to watch and pray
And on thyself rely
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.

It sounds to me like Davis took the first line from one verse and joined it with the three from the other, so what he sings would be:

(Yeah)
Arm me with jealous care
And on thyself rely
And surely I my trust betray
I shall forever die

[banjochris]

Doug --

I'm glad you found those hymn lyrics, cause that one verse had stumped me for a long time.
Chris

[frankie]

That certainly does clear up those first two verses.  I never could make those out in a way that was satisfying...

[frankie]

Words Sigmund shells (??)
I?ll tell him by from any other man
He will salvation on his brow
And in his arm a lamb

What signal shall I tell him by
From any other man?
He wears salvation on his brow
And in his arm a lamb

I tell ya...  once you start to hear 'Sigmund' in there, it's hard to get it out of your ears!

[Doug]

What signal shall I tell him by
From any other man?
He wears salvation on his brow
And in his arm a lamb

Thanks frankie, that makes a lot more sense!

I tell ya...  once you start to hear 'Sigmund' in there, it's hard to get it out of your ears!

Don't I know it!  I'm not sure how many times I listened to that phrase, and I just couldn't get it...  Thanks again!

[LoneWolf]

Could someone please find me the lyrics to this song? English is not my native language and it's hard for me to understand some parts...

This song was also performed by Mance Lipscomb on the album "You got to reap just what you sow".




THANKS!

[LoneWolf]

If you never heard the song, you can download it from here:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=5BA1088E6DED6FF3



I'll appreciate your help!:)

[Rivers]

Here you go, great tune and a good way to start Sunday morning. This is from the Say No To The Devil recording. Apart from verse 1 I've transcribed the only first lines, the other verses take the same form as the first verse. The only other recording I have of it is the Golden Gate Quartet which has beautiful singing and fewer verses.

Lord I looked down the road and I wonder
And I wonder, and I wonder, and I wonder
Lord a long way from home

And I buckled up my shoes and I started

Well I lost a lot of my friends since I started

Then I been made made to cry since I started

Well I have been going hongry since I started

Well I looked down the line and saw my mother

Well I looked down the line and saw my father

<break>

Well I've been in a lot of trouble since I started

Said I had a hard way to go since I started

<stop time break> Well I... Lord... Yeah? Yeah?

Well I been in trouble since I started

Well I had steep hill to climb since I started

Well I'm wading mighty deep water since I started.